And Still More Snow...

What is it with Tuesdays and snow lately???? It always seems to hit on a Tuesday or Sunday this winter. At least, the bad snow storms. This is the second time the writer's group meeting is cancelled due to winter weather advisory. Which is such a bummer, because I also missed the first ever meeting of the year due to work. It's depressing to know I've only been able to attend one meeting since 2019 started.

Stupid snow.

Also, interesting factoid: my unexplained preference for British spellings and vernacular continues with, oddly enough, the past tense version of 'cancel'. Yup, above you may have noticed that I spelled it as 'cancelled', which may have looked odd to most of you. There are times where I'll write the word with only one 'l', usually because I'm typing too fast, but there won't be a spell-check squiggle under it. So I looked it up, and both versions - one 'l' and two - are correct. Americans, thanks to the Webster's Dictionary spellings, tend to spell the word 'canceled' while Brits lean more on the 'cancelled' side of the fence. Personally, I think the word looks more "complete" with the second 'l', which is why I tend to default to that spelling. Regardless, it's just another word where I favor the British version, and I'm not entirely sure why I bounce between the two versions of English: British vs American.

It must drive readers crazy trying to figure out what side of The Pond I hail from....

Anyway, even without the prospect of a writer's group meeting, I'm trying to push through my completion of "One and the Same." I'm still struggling with that darn final chapter though. I think I have Marinette calmed down, Adrien relieved, everything that needs to be said at least planned out, and the makings of a satisfying ending.

However, I keep thinking of more things.....

One of them is a fairly crucial question Marinette asks Adrien, and, frankly? I didn't know the answer. I THOUGHT I did, but I couldn't remember the nitty-gritty details of "Peeping Tomcat" enough to be positive. So I spent the past couple of days reading/skimming through PT to make sure I have my continuity all in order. Thankfully, I didn't paint myself into a wall with PT, so I just have to make sure I avoid plot holes and/or contradictory scenes/statements throughout OatS.

It's been a bit exhausting to go back through my story instead of working on my new one, but at the same time, I find myself lost in my own writing during my re-read, causing me to read more than I needed to.

I'm loving how much I'm still enjoying my own story. Yay! Go me!

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Speaking of enjoying my work, this past week I received a pleasantly surprising review on “Woven Heartstrings”:

Wildfire's Flame: I really enjoyed this story and don't know that I would have found it if not for Taurus Pixies blog. I enjoyed the story immensely. I love reading things with warmth and caring and sweet gooieness. Makes me warm and fuzzy inside. The worry dolls were great but I loved the crocheting and the part where Adriens dad was actually a dad for once in his life. Thank you for a truly beautiful and thought out story. It's a great gift for your friend and to all of us that love the show.

First of all, this is just such a lovely review. I loved that Wildfire's Flame enjoyed my writing so much. Secondly, it's awesome to know that Wildfire found my story via the amazing Taurus Pixie's blog. She frequently promotes and/or reviews my stories on her blog, and the fact that she's apparently bringing me more traffic is awesome! Pixie, you are a beautiful human being!

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by Birdman, Inc

The rub, though, is that Wildfire's Flame has private messaging deactivated on Fanfiction.net. I can't reply to them to thank them for the review, or even for just reading my story. I have no way of them seeing how much I appreciate that they took some of their time and spent it with my work.

The kicker is that Wildfire is slowly making their way through my other writing, and leaving reviews there as well. Here's what they had to say about “Peeping Tomcat”:

Wildfire's Flame: Wow. Just wow. I have been slowly reading this over the past couple days. I loved it. Poor Adrien. I loved your akumas and I loved the way the characters all were. The battle scenes were well thought out and the festival was a great idea. Thank you for a wonderful story. I loved it.

Well, thank you, Wildfire, for your wonderful reviews. I love those as well!

Finally, here's their review of “Build Your Own Luck”:

Wildfire's Flame: So sweet. I loved it. Very nicely done and I can picture a 5 year old doing just that. Thank you for this brief moment in time.

GAAAAAH! Wildfire! Who are you!? Why won't you let me thank you for taking the time to read and review my works!?!?!

Wildfire's Flame, if you are reading this, know that your reviews are so appreciated. You are not shouting into the void. And thank you for letting me know I'm not doing the same. You, dear reader, are awesome sauce, and you are very welcome for the stories I put out for your consumption.

Also, one last shout-out to Pixie for leading Wildfire my way in the first place. Thank you so much for taking the time to promote my work on your blog! Also also, if any of my readers like some Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction with some Lukanette goodness and/or jealous Chat Noir, you HAVE to check out Pixie's latest fic Chat Vert. Her Luka is perfectly true-to-show, and her other depictions of the characters are so in-character I could hear their voices during all the dialogue. There's a nice balance of angst and fluff and goofiness. Just.... go! Read it!

Finally, if you want to know more about Pixie's writing schedule for her four WIPs, or her thoughts on Miraculous Ladybug - via episode reviews and mini-essays - you should head on over to her blog. Again, the link is here.

And since I'm talking about reading anyway, I might as well note that I've FINALLY started really reading "Armada." I'm only about 3 or 4 chapters in, so I still have most of the book to read this month. It's an interesting concept, but so far the story isn't really pulling me in like "Ready Player One" did. The whole story seems to be built around a conspiracy theory that was supposed to sound crazy at first, but presumably will be 100% true. So, said theory needs to be first established. Alright, but I kind of know that everything is going to be true, so the "mysterious" build up just seems to drag on. I dunno. Ernest Cline did a better job at world building - literally, since there were different "worlds" you could go to in The OASIS - for his first book.

As of right now? Only a few chapters into "Armada"? It just feels like a rehash of "Ender's Game". The book even notes that as one of the center-points of the conspiracy: the first time Sci-Fi depicted children playing video games to train as soldiers, specifically for a war against aliens. Everything is focused on that concept: playing war-themed video games where aliens are the enemy, and how said games might be disguised training of the unknowing soldiers. A way to recruit the best of the best based on high ranking scores....

I like the concept. I just hope Cline picks up the pacing a bit. Especially since we aren't given much by way of character development for anyone, so I'm not particularly attached to any of them. Not even the main character. Not yet, anyway.

I just hope I can do better with "One and the Same." I don't want it to be like "Ready Player One" and "Armada." Granted, Cline's stories are separate entities - although they feel REALLY similar; same themes and everything thus far - but RPO was engaging from the first few pages, and I instantly fell in love with Wade, Aech, and Art3mis. Meanwhile, "Armada" seems to meander, and I'm not invested in any of the characters. I couldn't even tell you the difference between the main character Zack's two best friends Cruz and Diehl. They're just always a unit; even given the same first name: Michael. I can't even remember who voted for Mjolner vs Sting in their debate about best fantasy weapon.

I'm struggling with OatS, whereas PT felt like it flowed through me. It was a story that grabbed hold and wouldn't let me go. Whereas OatS has scenes that I'm itching for the world to read, but the over-all story just doesn't seem to want to form. I'm trying. I really am, but I fear that it's going to be like "Armada": a lack-luster second story from an author who had a promising first novel. Granted, for me the "first novel" is a free-to-read, published-online fanfic. But still....

I just need to study "Armada" and note the pitfalls Cline tripped into, and try to avoid doing the same thing for OatS. Hopefully that, plus some careful planning and decent editing, will help me keep OatS as intriguing as PT was.

I can also take what went wrong with "Armada", add in the critiques I had for "Ready Player One" - such as the obvious Plot Armor on Wade - and learn what to avoid when I'm writing my own original works. Whenever THAT will be....

I also need to remind myself that, while I should strive to write the best I can for my faithful readers, I AM still writing free-to-read, website-published fanfiction. No one is expecting it to be professional quality. It is always a pleasant surprise to find fanfiction that is so finely polished, but no one is EXPECTING it.

I can experiment with fanfiction. I can grow with fanfiction. I can get reader feedback as I'm posting my chapters in order to know where I'm going wrong and what I'm doing right. I can practice, fail, and recover within fanfiction.

I need to take some pressure off. But not TOO much pressure... otherwise I may never finish writing this sequel. Speaking of, I should get back to working on that ending so I know where I'm headed for the rest of the story....

Stay warm out there!

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