When The Story Is Just Not Working, But You Keep Writing Anyway

when the story is just not working, but you keep writing anyway

writing tip #3190:

NO write. ONLY think

this is so mean but sometimes i see published writing and suddenly no longer feel insecure about my own writing ability. like well okay that got published so im guessing i dont have much to worry about

I suppose it’s a testament to Tolkien’s economy of language that the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy – interminable preamble and endless appendices and all – has a smaller total page count than the individual books of your average modern doorstopper fantasy series, yet manages to pack in such a high density of worldbuilding detail that reading it feels like it takes about a thousand years.

You know, “canon is fake” and “reducing every vaguely sympathetic character in every piece of media to one of the same three generic archetypes for ease of shipping is a poor foundation for critical engagement” can both be true at the same time.