10 KiB
It has been 48 days since r!Animorphs chapter 44 came out. I'm beginning to crack.
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Author: u/Quibbloboy *
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URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/7v232u/it_has_been_48_days_since_ranimorphs_chapter_44/
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Score: 50
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Created: 2018-02-03T21:04:36
Post:
We all know /u/TK17Studios is busy with rationalist bootcamp and other writing projects, but I think flakes of my soul are starting to crack and fall off waiting for the next update. No word from the author and no update in sight. Help me. Help me.
I guess what I'm trying to say is...
༼ つ ◕◕ ༽つ GIVE /U/TK17Studios YOUR ENERGY ༼ つ ◕◕ ༽つ
Comments:
u/None [+32] (an hour later)
[removed]
u/cthulhuraejepsen [+47] Fruit flies like a banana (2 hours later)
You know, I was getting kind of antsy because I'd gone more than a week without updating Worth the Candle, but that sort of puts it in perspective.
(The last A Song of Ice and Fire book came out 2399 days ago, and it's been 1769 days since the second book in the Kingkiller Chronicles series was released, if that helps further put wait times in perspective.)
u/nytelios [+12] (4 hours later)
Different strokes and all. On one end, you have GRRM and Rothfuss, and on the other you have writing machine like Sanderson.
P.S. I remember you mentioning an onset of SAD. Is that still the culprit behind the update schedule change?
u/cthulhuraejepsen [+25] Fruit flies like a banana (4 hours later)
Mostly. It's more that two of the things that help most with SAD, sleeping proper hours and exercising, eat up so much of my writing time. I've been sort of cutting into my sleeping time once again, which I think has paid dividends in terms of output but definitely also starts to show up in my mood; I'll be more comfortable doing that as the days start to get longer. I wouldn't say that I'm suffering from SAD now, more that I'm chafing under the treatments.
But the other thing is that I've just been writing longer chapters, and grouping those chapters together, which makes it seem like less writing. I wrote 12,000 words in the last 8 days, which is 1,500 words per day, and (IMO) would look more impressive as 3,000 word chapters every other day than what it's going to be, which is probably three +5,000 word chapters a few days from now.
As for why that's been happening, it's partly that I like to group things by their plot beats, and those plot beats have gotten longer, and it's partly that added complexity means that I want to have more time to think about (and edit) things after they're written. Might change after the current book is done and there's a different subject that gets a different treatment?
(Stephen King has said that you should never spend longer than a season writing a book, because your writing will naturally change with the seasons and the things you wanted to capture will shift in your head, and there might be some of that going on too.)
u/sparkc [+8] (4 hours later)
As a reader I’ve really appreciated how you group the plot beats together and find it well worth the wait.
u/None [+6] (12 hours later)
That explains why all his books have such weird endings lol
u/WalterTFD [+3] (9 hours later)
I'm very glad to hear that 12k words of Worth The Candle is coming. Will look forward to that!
u/AurelianoTampa [+2] (12 hours later)
Don't have much to say, other than that I enjoy and appreciate your work. Been anxiously awaiting the next chapter, but I'm all for waiting if it makes it even better. Kudos to you, /u/cthulhuraejepson.
... Still the best nom de plume ever, IMO. Or at least the best this month ;-)
u/rabotat [+1] (21 hours later)
I like reading your work, and I would always choose to wait rather than risk your burning out, or becoming bored with your work.
There will always be time to read, take your time.
u/wren42 [+3] (a day later)
GRRM IS NOT AN EXCUSE
u/nytelios [+7] (3 hours later)
But then you might never experience some great stories because the fact is many of them will never be finished (fanfiction and other online stories especially). I think the best way to read them is to just enjoy each chapter for what it's worth. Or being a bit more sardonic: adapt ratfic tenet #1 to "neatly wrapped endings don't happen solely because the plot requires it."
u/None [+4] (6 hours later)
[removed]
u/TK17Studios [+4] Author of r!Animorphs: The Reckoning (a day later)
Pretty much every chapter of r!Animorphs is cliffhangered, and the most recent ones worse than most.
u/kleind305 [+1] (3 days later)
Plus then you'd never read Game of Champions.
u/wren42 [+2] (a day later)
yuuup
u/EliezerYudkowsky [+71] Godric Gryffindor (3 hours later)
Being a beloved author is like being a heroin dealer, except that you have to knit all of your product out of your own eyelash hairs.
u/skadefryd [+4] (5 hours later)
How poetic. The eyelash hairs are palpable.
u/Sailor_Vulcan [+11] Champion of Justice and Reason (5 hours later)
For every literary masterpiece that gets completed, I'm guessing there are probably more which don't. It's just that it's only people who read serial novels who are aware of this fact. For everyone else, they only read works that are already completed.
u/TK17Studios [+15] Author of r!Animorphs: The Reckoning (a day later)
r!Animorphs will be completed within the next 15 months unless I die or have a drastically disastrous change in circumstances.
u/CouteauBleu [+2] We are the Empire. (3 months later)
(only 12 months left)
u/trekie140 [+4] (a day later)
You forgot about people like me who read webcomics. At least you get whole chapters from updates instead of single pages.
u/TK17Studios [+2] Author of r!Animorphs: The Reckoning (2 days later)
Drive comic is killing me.
u/skadefryd [+7] (5 hours later)
The last two chapters took a lot out of me. I'm holding out hope that somehow everyone is magically okay.
u/Frommerman [+7] (12 hours later)
Well we don't know how many or even who is going to die because it's more or less random who everyone morphs into as they die. On the plus side, as long as even one of them survives everyone is going to make it assuming they ever get some method of creating additional bodies from morph forms.
u/TK17Studios [+5] Author of r!Animorphs: The Reckoning (a day later)
They took a lot out of me, as well. <3
u/PM_me_couchsurfing [+5] (an hour later)
Energy energy energy. Sending good vibes your way.
(Of course a caveat that we know that, like cheese, bananas, and viewers of Michael Bay films, a good story needs time to mature, and we don't want to rush you if you are not ready.)
u/None [+6] (a day later)
[deleted]
u/TK17Studios [+6] Author of r!Animorphs: The Reckoning (a day later)
Reporting in. Uh. ... AMA?
u/royishere [+5] (2 days later)
Would you rather fight 100 visser three-sized ducks, or one duck-sized visser three?
Assume that Visser Three is controlling the body of a duck that is not currently morph-capable. He is not allowed to leave the duck, nor is he allowed time to plan.
The ducks are the size of the visser's andalite body. They are also hungry.
u/TK17Studios [+1] Author of r!Animorphs: The Reckoning (2 days later)
If it's a direct melee brawl (i.e. no time for V3 to have made plans and set up outside help) then I hella kill V3 while he's duck-sized. If I'm unsure about that, though, then I'll take 100 hungry V3-sized ducks over expecting to survive direct contact with a duck-sized V3.
u/Quibbloboy [+1] (4 days later)
melee brawl... that was an intentional Smash reference, right?
Which do you prefer, Melee or Brawl?
u/TK17Studios [+3] Author of r!Animorphs: The Reckoning (4 days later)
Melee. =)
u/Quibbloboy [+2] (5 days later)
let’s get married
u/Mowtom_ [+4] (2 days later)
Assuming the AMA is serious:
Can you give a date by which you are 50% confident the next chapter will be published?
u/TK17Studios [+6] Author of r!Animorphs: The Reckoning (2 days later)
50% confident by Feb 11 (late PM PST) 80% confident by Feb 14
A lot of this has to do with the fact that I've done a sprint of work and have specifically slotted some time "off" in the next 14 days.
u/Brain_Blasted [+5] (11 days later)
80% confident by Feb 14
*clears throat*
u/TK17Studios [+3] Author of r!Animorphs: The Reckoning (11 days later)
Have been writing today. Will be doing some writing tomorrow and Friday. Somewhat hesitant to make another formal prediction? But I have as an accountability goal in other contexts (e.g. work, house) to finish the chapter by Tuesday.
u/Trips-Over-Tail [-5] Death of Crabs (2 hours later)
You are not owed content.
u/Quibbloboy [+30] (2 hours later)
Absolutely not, but that doesn't mean I can't want content really bad
u/DCarrier [+12] (2 hours later)
No, but the author might be happier to work on it if he knows there's people who can't wait for the next chapter.
u/TK17Studios [+7] Author of r!Animorphs: The Reckoning (a day later)
I appreciate the defense, but in this case I have actually promised to finish it, and often promised (or overpromised) specific updates.
u/Trips-Over-Tail [+3] Death of Crabs (a day later)
That's fine, and I love your work too. But I seen what happens when fans go from celebrating their favourite work to merely expecting it. That entitlement rubs me the wrong way.
That planning fallacy tho, right? Damn.