On the balance.

[alexandraerin]

I've received a lot of positive comments about the Veil Ball arc in Tales of MU, now ongoing. The same thing happened during the Two's Day story. At the same time, I think for some people these embody what's frustrating to them about my storytelling: the characters go somewhere and they do something and for the space of several updates, things are happening and conversations are taking place and sights are being beheld and characterization is on full display, but in the linear progression of plot not a lot is happening.

I think of this as a "webcomic arc"... not that you can't have a webcomic with a tight and linear progression of plot, because you can, but webcomics as a medium are where you're most likely to see them, because the medium of transmission and method of production puts fewer constraints on such sprawl.

I've read critics (speaking either of webcomics or of me) attributing these bouts of "filleritis" to the pressure of coming up with updates on a set schedule leading us to throw together stories where nothing is happening. I can't really speak for anyone else, but I can say that this is very much not the case with me and it's specifically not the case for this arc. I know what's happening next, and things are coming up that are very "plot heavy", for the value of "plot" that such critics would recognize. I end up doing multiple installments of things like the Veil Ball because it pleases me to write them and because it pleases others to read them.

By the way, mild spoiler: nothing much happens at the Veil Ball, at least for the definition of "much happening" that would look at the installments of it already and say "nothing much is happening here." The point of the excursion is: one, a chance to put characterization on display in a slightly different context, two, a chance to bring characters who don't normally interact all that much together--and there's going to be some more of that before the story night is over--and three, it is... as Mackenzie herself has stated... her last fun night before some fairly heavy shit goes down.

I could dispose of the party by having a few descriptive lines highlighting the more interesting costume choices and the unlikely sight of Sooni bonding with the littlest storm giant and then a wrap-up line from Mackenzie saying that there were some awkard moments but she had a good time. If MU were to be edited down to fit into a novel, the whole sequence would probably be cut down and compressed considerably, especially as it comes right before a more plot-relevant party.

But when some readers are sitting there going, "This is the best update ever.", I can't agree that it's a mistake to chronicle things like the Veil Ball or Two's Day in their entirety, at this level of resolution.

But... at the same time... there are stories I want to get to that don't take place within the first three months of school, and I do understand the frustration that some people have, and I also understand how a 400 installment backlog is daunting to new readers.

So what I'm really looking at now is the balance... interspersing "webcomic-esque" arcs between stretches of "novel-esque" arcs. It's something I've already done a bit, but I'm going to be a little more conscious of. I don't think doing this will do anything to combat the impression that things like party stories are "filler", but I don't actually care about combating that impression.

I talked about my memory in the last post... I've also made allusions in the past to my lack of sense of direction and sense of time. As hps_sterling has gotten me interested in cognition, I've started to think about how my lack of time sense affects other things. I've often observed that unlike most people, I don't get sick of hearing a song... if I like it, I can listen to it over and over again and never be put off it. I can eat the same food every day and not get tired of it. I can watch the same movies over and over again... not just one favorite movie, but any movie I like, and never get tired of it. In fact, in the past I've lost hours at a time to watching the same video clip from a movie over and over again on YouTube. (The "blind hermit" scene from Young Frankenstein.) Not sitting there clicking on links to see related videos. Watching one video.

It's not that my memory is so horrifically bad for everything that I don't remember having watched it... but each time feels like the first. It never gets old.

The same is true for books and comics. Or jokes. The fact that the same joke never gets old to me probably does a lot to explain how great I get along with my father.

So, anyway, what all this has to do with writing is that 1) I don't have anything more than intellectual/theoretical awareness of the fact that people who enjoy wathing Two be cute/irritating in a particular way today, yesterday, and the day before might enjoy it slightly less tomorrow... I know it happens but it's not really within my realm of instinctive understanding... and 2) no matter how long the story has been going on for, it always feels to me like I'm just starting.

I get staggered at a fairly regular interval when I look at the number of updates, when I estimate the number of words (over a million), or when I start counting back months and see how long I've been at it, or how long since I've been doing it full time.

Now, some people might look at all this and go, "This is interesting, AE, but what you're doing is obviously working so why change it?" And they're right. These imaginary people make an excellent pre-emptive hypothetical point. But I'm not interested in just coasting... I want to build and I want to grow and a little streamlining going forward will help that. I'm going to keep in mind the fact that what I'm doing is working and not go crazy with reinventing wheels and throwing babies out with bathwater and other suchlike metaphorical things.

So, anyway, all of this is about half of why updates are going to be spotty this week and next after I was so on-point the preceding weeks (but I expect to be even more so in the coming weeks, as I'm getting more skilled and more disciplined with my reminders to myself)... I'm taking advantage of the fact that my friends are in town and making me do stuff to re-evaluate things from a new perspective, and also to prep things for the coming streamlining. I'm working on some "Story thus far" summaries that will let people catch up (or refresh their memory) one book-worth at a time... this will also be helpful in breaking up the second half of MU into individual books, which will let me turn around and get them released in print as some people have been clamoring for.

(Next week I'm going to have guest spots running in MU... I didn't have sufficient warning to get them ready for both weeks. Next time I'll need to take a week off will be in September. I'm going to be mentioning that on my blog as an ongoing reminder to myself, so I can handle things a lot more cleanly.)

Comments

[stormcaller3801.livejournal.com]

Allow me to be the first to say, there's a plot?

Which doesn't accurately describe what I mean, but I wanted to be the first to say it.

To my mind, there's no plot arc that's pushing things here, either in Jamie's case or in Mackenzie's case. Other stories, sure- there's plots and subplots, and each one has its own little arc that it follows merrily along. When I click the link for SHN or Void Dogs or Tribe, I expect everyone to spend basically every moment advancing a plot. Maybe not the plot, but a plot, certainly. They're on rails, and that's just fine and dandy.

MU is less plot-y to my mind. Instead it's focused on the characters, and those characters interests. You find out about people and about events based on how notable they are to the protagonists. Eating lunch (or a particular sexual act) is notable the first time at school, or with specific people, or for events that happen at it. But we don't go into specific eating habits after a while. It's just food. Or just another blowjob in the bedroom, or whatever. If there's a cohesive plot, then that plot is 'this is this person's life, from their perspective.' No real heroes or villains, no overarching storyline that details great deeds or historical events. It's just day to day life.

And maybe that counts as a plot. But to me it's not so much a plot as just an existence that happens to be interesting enough you want to pay attention and see what's going on every day. Not too terribly unlike following someone on Twitter or Livejournal. Rails not included.

[alexandraerin.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, there's a plot. MU is secretly quite epic, but only around the edges. :P

[stormcaller3801.livejournal.com]

Ah, that explains it. I was one of those kids who always left the crusts.

Also, with the name thing? I do that myself. You're one of the few I won't mess up with simply because of your user name. I'll remember to call you Alexandra should we ever meet. But I've actually found a way around forgetting peoples' names- I just never ask for one. Nothing to forget that way.

[alexandraerin.livejournal.com]

I'm actually very skillful at having conversations without names, for a variety of reasons beyond memory problems (my life has been very complicated at various points). It boggles my mind when I suggest that someone who isn't sure how to address someone just not use a name (in casual/passing interactions) and they give me a blank stare like, "What do you mean?"

But then if you watch them, nine times out of ten they end up not saying the person's name, because you rarely do when you're speaking directly to someone face to face. It just feels weird to them to not have a handle to hang on someone.

[stormcaller3801.livejournal.com]

I can't say I've ever hung a handle, so that probably explains a few things.

Lost Names...

[digitalxero.livejournal.com]

Names and I dont get along. I never forget a person, but if I dont talk to them and hear their name at least twice a week for a month I wont remember their name 10 min after hearing it.

I too lack any sense of time, and am affected in similar ways. Though I cannot watch / read the same thing over and over. Once I have watched / read it I remember enough to be annoyed when I go to read / watch it again. I have picked up books 4 years after having read it, not remembering that I read it and 5 lines into the book put it away since that was enough to bring back the plot. I can however listen to the same music over and over again and eat the same meal every day and enjoy it fully.

[jira-rd.livejournal.com]

MUST READ FASTER TO GET TO THE VEIL BALL

Re: Interest in Cognition

[ferwe.livejournal.com]

I've always had an interest in the way different people think because I don't think like anyone else. To be very brief, in my case things form "patterns" in my mind. Things outside those patterns (like individual names and appointment times) are difficult to remember. In a large family group I have no problem remembering who is related to who and how, but I still can't remember people's names.

I never thought about repetition and boredom being related to that, but it's true that once I know a particular "pattern" I'm not much interested in repeating an experience.

I'm also enjoying thing MU because things aren't repetitive. They keep developing, but they're related to what's gone before.

[garnetlocks.livejournal.com]

It's not that my memory is so horrifically bad for everything that I don't remember having watched it... but each time feels like the first. It never gets old.

Y'know, as someone who usually can't stand the same thing twice in recent memory, I have to say, there are advantages. It would be nice to re-read things and not get bored, or re-listen to things and not get bored, or eat the same meal two days in a row. I'm not saying you don't experience a downside, but having things be constantly fresh seems like pretty green grass to me.

[alexandraerin.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm not complaining. I've watched my favorite movies so many times that I could listen to their soundtracks at work (at my old job, obviously) and not be bothered by the lack of visuals.