Still on annual leave. Went for essential shopping for the first time in a long while since I ran out of Marmite (so delicious). Feel sad that I wanted to get more foam or matte boards for photography but the stationary section was closed off due to the lockdown and the sudden surge. Oh well...
So I was going through one of the manga groups that I am in, and someone moaned on how they wish the manga-ka would hurry up and finish a series, don't leave the ending hanging. For your curious minds, it is Togashi Yoshihiro (best known for Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter) After completing Yu Yu Hakusho, he had some health problems and is currently on hiatus for his Hunter x Hunter series... Another manga-ka whose work I enjoyed, Watase Yuu (best known for Fushigi Yuugi and Ayashi no Ceres) also had some health problems, hence why her latest series Fushigi Yuugi: Byakko Senki - The last series in the Fushigi Yuugi series, highly recommend you to read Genbu Kaiden, it's beautifully written, and if you have read the original Fushigi Yuugi, you know how the story is going to end - is on hiatus as well. This...is precisely the reason why I never liked creating a page or fandom, let alone Tumblr and such, because this reeks of entitlement. This is why George R.R. Martin always gets so much backlash. Yes, I understand The Winds of Winter should be out since God knows when, but George is old, and he's not just a novelist, he is also a famed screen writer, television producer and he runs Jean Cocteau Cinema based in Santa Fe (By the way, I tried reading A Game of Thrones, not my cup of tea. Same for Game of Thrones, but I know a little bit because my sister is a fan of his works, oh and because when the ending to Game of Thrones appeared, everyone was telling me don't watch it!!!). As Neil Gaiman has hammered it to everyone: "George R R Martin is not your bitch." You can read it here: Neil Gaiman's Journal: Entitlement issues... Let George finish writing at his own pace, and if he can't finish it, then so be it. (He has other books that you can read too)
Do you ever wondered why people like George and Sir Terry Pratchett asked to destroy their hard drives and files if they passed? Because they can't bear someone else to write their works for them. It's the same for me. Yes, I did take a long time to finish a book due to personal and mental health issues, but you see, we don't get to choose when we finish the book. We write as long as the story is flowing, we don't do half-hearted attempts. And yes, I already told my closed ones if something unfortunate should happen to me, destroy all my unfinished files and manuscripts (No, seriously, burn it, throw it into the ocean, flatten it with a steamroller if you have to. Don't let it fall into someone else's hands)
Another writer, who is a huge inspiration to me, it's L.J. Smith (best known for The Vampire Diaries series, The Night World series, and The Forbidden Game trilogy) She went on hiatus to take care of her family, and when she got back, she started creating new Vampire Diaries books, and before she could even finish the books the way she wanted, she was fired from her own works due to a contract she has signed*. Then, she had planned to focus on the Night World ending, and then, she nearly died due to getting diagnosed with granulomatosis with polyangiitis, a life-threatening disease (She originally posted about this on her website and Facebook but the link is dead). She was forced to go through physiotherapy to get her muscles working again, so stop hounding her to finish Strange Fate and The Last Lullaby. She has written other great books like The Forbidden Game trilogy (Still an absolute favourite), Dark Visions trilogy, or you can read the Night World series individually (They work well as standalones as well) you can read those while waiting. (I know it is due to a contract but I have never forgiven the publishers for firing LJ Smith - No need to boycott them, I just stopped reading the series once I found out she was no longer writing it. It also teaches me to be very careful of the contracts you plan to sign, especially for writers starting out)
If I'm going to be honest, the only writer who I witness who is pushing out consistent work is Meg Cabot (Amazing lady! Huge inspiration as well) because she never misses a deadline, and has written more than 80 books. Among all the authors I have read, she's a one-woman machine, constantly churning out books. JK Rowling (Can't really blame her, crime fiction is a tough genre), Anthony Horowitz and Stephen King are great too, but they have slowed down a little, but at least there's a large variety of books you can read from them. Speaking of Uncle Steve, I just ordered a few books of his. (Oh, I should put Sophie Kinsella here as well, because she also releases a book everytime, but I'm getting a little bored with her writing, mainly due to her saying at one point in an interview, she like doing the girl-meets-boy and they slowly fall in love in the most outlandish situations you can think of. She's a good plot writer, but when it comes to the situation, it's a little bit ridiculous, but that's what also makes her book a pure delight, because you're not supposed to take it seriously, but as I said, I found her a little boring lately, I didn't bother to read Surprise Me because looking at the snippet and plot, I found it to be unrealistic)
What I'm trying to say...in a gentle tone, that writers are not machines. They are humans as well. If you refer back to Entry 16, I mentioned entitlement. Some writers are great, they finish a series first before setting out on another project. Then you have some writers who will shuffle around different books before completing a series. That way you get a variety of books, but at the same, it can be frustrating if you have invested in one series. Unfortunately, I fall under the second category. I don't know, I got the ideas outlined for the books I'm writing, but for some reason, my brain love to shuffle around, and I used to tackle multiple projects at once. Currently, I'm unable to due to the last novel I wrote, which was taxing, and the latest manuscript which got corrupted. If you enjoy reading books or watching contents from your favourite creators, you can always hop on back and read or watch their earlier contents while waiting for something new from them, because art takes time to create.
At last, Sir Terry, we must walk together.
Terry took Death's arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night.
The End.
What a powerful parting statement...
*The author of the Vampire Diaries has been fired from her own book series, published in Gizmodo, written by Adam Whitehead - The Wert Zone, on 2/09/11 6:12PM
**'Vampire Diaries' Writer Bites Back, published in The Wall Street Journal, written by Alexandra Alter, on April 17, 2014 1:17 pm ET
***Today's case: 5,244 (I hope you all are getting your vaccination)
