Hello. This is an announcement to those who have either followed and favorited either my stories or me, and to explain why none of them have been updated since March.
So to start off, I'll be honest on the main reason I haven't posted a new chapter. It's easy, it's one of the seven sins that we commit either intentional or not. Sloth.
I've been very lazy for the following months, simply because I lost the motivation to bother typing away. I don't care if that's a terrible excuse, it's my life, and I can choose if I want to type or not. And for all the days that I've wasted that I could've used to type, I've been instead, repeatedly telling myself the same phrase over and over every morning:
"Eh, you know, maybe I'll do it tomorrow. I've still got a lot of time."
And do you know what happened to the time spent on nothing but video games and sleeping in while being in the comfort of my bed? It all went flying by without ever realizing it. Now I have to make up for it by doing by best to make sure the next chapter becomes enjoyable to read, and because I feel that If I don't post something,
That's not the only issue that's become a major obstacle. During September, I re-read the chapters of all my stories, and have realized how terrible I made them at the time. Not only that, but there were certain parts where I genuinely cringed from how bad they were. I couldn't believe how abysmal they were when I looked back on it. It doesn't help that it took me about six months to realize it. If any of you say otherwise, like they're not bad, then please don't.
I also came upon a realization from a question that I still can't get a grasp on, and from a sudden influx of people following and favoriting this story during the previous month:
Why do people still like it if it's mediocre, but real close to being "I can't read this anymore"?
I think I know what the answer is, but it varies. Maybe it's because readers have different tastes on what they deem "good' and "bad". I may sound modest from what I explained, but that nagging feeling just won't go away.
But just because I put in the bad sides of it all however, doesn't mean there isn't good news. For the past months, I did read other authors' stories, and noticed how much variety they had, so I have been taking notes on the typing style of different authors, improving my own way of typing. Therefore, none of the time that passed has been wasted.
Not only that, but the criticism I've received from tsukishima7, WaffaGuy, and chemiczen, who didn't hold back their thoughts and really tore me a new one, made me realize how terribly mediocre this story is. So, for that, I want to give a very big thank you to you three, for pointing out the flaws the story had, and for not holding back the honest truth.
It's also because of it that I've decided to revise and re-edit all the chapters for all my stories. I'll be lucky to get it all done before the New Year starts. Which means that it''ll take longer to post new chapters. Now I wish I got started early on.
Speaking of criticism, that's actually what I want to discuss right now, since I feel that it factors in on the new changes I'm making.
Every once in a while, a reviewer will point out one of the many flaws a story has. But it's the ones that don't sugarcoat it and really lay it onto the authors that can get the point across. Then the effect varies after it. Some authors will take it in stride and use it to improve, others will come to the assumption that it's a flame or a hater, take it as an insult and most likely delete what could have been the key to make the story better.
A flame is by no means, related to a bit of criticism, unless they're putting all their honest genuine thoughts and feelings in. I don't get why some people confuse the two together. A flame is when someone types a message or an email attacking and abusing either you or the story itself, if they find what they truly loath in either you or the story. Criticism is just showing disapproval to someone or something based on perceived faults.
They may seem like the same, but just because they sound the same doesn't mean they are. If you think otherwise, that's perfectly fine.
It will hurt, there's no doubt about it. Later on, you'll be glad the flaws have been pointed out and addressed. I don't know what could have happened to the story if no one criticized me.
In my opinion, praise, and nothing but praise, will only get you so far. And be rewarded with an inflated ego.
I've also came to the realization that my time ought to be used more proficiently, instead of snoozing it all away from the assumption that my time is infinite. So, I now do my best to devote my time to type out these chapters for the enjoyment for myself and my readers.
That's gonna do it for now. I bid you all farewell, and if this announcement sounds like it's out of order or doesn't make a lick of sense, then that means I still need to improve my writing, which is good. For those who like this story, and who follow me as well, I just want to say thank you for sticking with the story, and probably my other works, even if it's not that good. I'm not saying it out of modesty, I'm being truthful right here.
The sincere "thank you's" have been overdone from other authors, but it still doesn't change how much of an impact they can make. For that, I'm truly grateful for all your support, and I hope you remain patient a bit more.
As usual, I'm outski.
(Note: Do not post a review, because I will delete this, and the previous announcement as soon as the actual chapter starts. Don't worry, I have a solution to keep the chapters at six, then eventually change it to seven when I upload the new chapter, that way you can post a review at the seventh. If you want to share your thoughts on this announcement, then you can do so by PM' ing, private messaging, me. That's if you have an account. If you post a guest review, that's a better alternative since you can post as many of those here.)