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I'm Done
Posted by
Cederak
,
Oct 24 2012
·
148 views
I don't find a lot of legitimate reasons to use my blog that don't sound like rants or whining. I recognize that a lot of people use social network tools (blogs included) for those purposes, often times very unabashedly, but that's not how I typically operate.
Anyway, this entry is in regards to the fact that I posted the final chapter of my epic/mini-series Cenotaphs today, and I've got mixed feelings on the matter. On the one hand, I accomplished everything with that story I wanted to, and it turned out wonderfully. On the other hand, ending an epic, while leaving me with a sense of satisfaction that I saw my work through to the end, also reminds me that there will be a vacancy in my life coming up. I've been invested in these characters for the better part of a year and they've grown on me. Wrapping up their tale is a bittersweet taste, but I enjoyed the time I spent writing their adventures.
Regarding my epic career, I've been saying "this is the last one" every time I finish an epic for the past few years. Finishing an epic, for me, has become more of a "well, I've done everything I wanted to do with the Bionicle universe on a large scale" since 2008 or so. But then another project pops into my head that I wind up pursuing for several months. At the moment, the above quote sums up my feelings pretty nicely - like I've seen through everything I want to do with Bionicle epics. For now, I'm stepping away from all that to focus on short stories, while continuing to work with the ECC and crank out a charity review every couple weeks.
Writing an epic takes so much out of me that, after all is said and done, I feel drained. I've placed so much of my creative efforts into this epic over the course of 2012, and now I just feel like taking a break from big stories like that. Unlike previous years though, I'm not going to say that this is the last epic from me, because I don't know how I'll feel next year or the year after that. For now, I'm planning to take a break from epics and don't plan on starting another until 2014, if at all. Maybe it'll be a sequel to Cenotaphs, maybe not. Don't get me wrong, I love writing epics and I love the creativity it draws from me. But my mood from start to finish changes drastically. The start is like the first day of 1st grade, so much energy, so excited to confront something new. By the end, it feels like the end of 12th grade, just wanting to get out and be done with it. I usually feel exhausted when I wrap one up, and with this one topping out in excess of 70,000 words, I think the feeling is justified.
I have some smaller ideas that should be making their way to the short stories section of the library later this year, while contributing reviews when I can. If you're a patron of our fine library, I recommend checking out Cenotaphs if you have the time. It's a 15 episode story that I spent a lot of time using BS01 to work into the canon and it was an amazing experience to work on.
Long story short, I'm done…for now. Someday, I might click the "Start New Topic" button in epics again. Anything can happen, I suppose.
-Ced
Anyway, this entry is in regards to the fact that I posted the final chapter of my epic/mini-series Cenotaphs today, and I've got mixed feelings on the matter. On the one hand, I accomplished everything with that story I wanted to, and it turned out wonderfully. On the other hand, ending an epic, while leaving me with a sense of satisfaction that I saw my work through to the end, also reminds me that there will be a vacancy in my life coming up. I've been invested in these characters for the better part of a year and they've grown on me. Wrapping up their tale is a bittersweet taste, but I enjoyed the time I spent writing their adventures.
Regarding my epic career, I've been saying "this is the last one" every time I finish an epic for the past few years. Finishing an epic, for me, has become more of a "well, I've done everything I wanted to do with the Bionicle universe on a large scale" since 2008 or so. But then another project pops into my head that I wind up pursuing for several months. At the moment, the above quote sums up my feelings pretty nicely - like I've seen through everything I want to do with Bionicle epics. For now, I'm stepping away from all that to focus on short stories, while continuing to work with the ECC and crank out a charity review every couple weeks.
Writing an epic takes so much out of me that, after all is said and done, I feel drained. I've placed so much of my creative efforts into this epic over the course of 2012, and now I just feel like taking a break from big stories like that. Unlike previous years though, I'm not going to say that this is the last epic from me, because I don't know how I'll feel next year or the year after that. For now, I'm planning to take a break from epics and don't plan on starting another until 2014, if at all. Maybe it'll be a sequel to Cenotaphs, maybe not. Don't get me wrong, I love writing epics and I love the creativity it draws from me. But my mood from start to finish changes drastically. The start is like the first day of 1st grade, so much energy, so excited to confront something new. By the end, it feels like the end of 12th grade, just wanting to get out and be done with it. I usually feel exhausted when I wrap one up, and with this one topping out in excess of 70,000 words, I think the feeling is justified.
I have some smaller ideas that should be making their way to the short stories section of the library later this year, while contributing reviews when I can. If you're a patron of our fine library, I recommend checking out Cenotaphs if you have the time. It's a 15 episode story that I spent a lot of time using BS01 to work into the canon and it was an amazing experience to work on.
Long story short, I'm done…for now. Someday, I might click the "Start New Topic" button in epics again. Anything can happen, I suppose.
-Ced
This is how I feel after I finish an epic, too. So I completely understand how you feel.
Also, Cenotaphs was a pretty good story. I enjoyed reading it, but I apologize for not always replying. Got a bit lazy, unfortunately, although I suppose that's no excuse for not replying.
I'd definitely read another epic of yours, assuming you ever choose to write another one. Cenotaphs was great and I'm interested in other ideas you might have.
-TNTOS-