mahastory | February Update, Part 3 of 3: So Long, and Thanks for All the Butter

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February Update, Part 3 of 3: So Long, and Thanks for All the Butter

Exile 03: Rescue (draft version)

And with that, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to put this project on hiatus. Trust me when I say that I've struggled with this decision for a while, and there are a lot of reasons why I want to call it quits. I don't want to go into a big TMI spiel right here. But my decision is final, so here we are.

I have tens of thousands of words of draft material still sitting on my hard drive, and I might release bits and pieces of it on this livejournal account in the coming months. I might - might - also release the big Master Outline document that I have, which would reveal the big spoilery plotlines for the rest of Exile arc. I dunno. I'm still thinking about it.

Anywhoo, I want to thank everybody who's stuck with me this far, especially my superstar betas

goldenflames and

steelehearts, as well as all of you who have given me further concrit in comments and reviews.

Hugs to everyone,
nenena

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This is DEFINITELY a post that would make poor Ghatu cry.

That being said, my vote is definitely for the release of the big Master Outline. I dunno how you managed to do it, but you made the Mahabharata even MORE fascinating and holy-crap-I'm-on-the-edge-of-my-seat-and-I-really-want-more!... which, as we all know, is nearly impossible.

I'm working on tweaking the Master Outline to make it shareable this week. ;)

So Not Fair nenena! I've already ranted in the reviews section on fanfiction, but I'm going to re-post it here - for sake of completeness and in the hopes that you'll be guilted back into writing! :)

"No! Why the hiatus?? Of all the versions I've read so far, yours is the first truly remarkable work on the Mahabharat in the English language. I understand that the scope of the story gets crazy and that you must be tired of all the writing by now, but _your work is so good!_ Please don't give up now. I can also guarantee that if you ever get this work published, it'll sell like hot cakes! Please find time to complete this wonderful thing that you've started.

I've often wanted to write a version of the Mahabharat myself - because I love the story so much - and just as often I've wished I had even a tiny bit of the writing talent you have!"

Cheers!
vedang.

As always, thank you for your lovely comments and support, and for the ego-boosting. :) I want to keep working on this, I really do, but right now it's just not feasible.

BTW I am never, ever going to publish any of this. Absolutely not. It's fanfic, pure and simple - I'm just playing around with somebody else's story and characters, in this case another culture's story and characters - and there's no way that I can justify making money off of that. This whole project is purely for fun, and I want it to stay that way. I'm very flattered that some of y'all think this is publishable. But I'm never going to publish any of it, so. Just putting that out there.

So, I see the previous post and I was all happy, all smiles and then I see this one and my first reaction is - how could you do this to us?

But, I understand. I really, really do. The decision must have been hard for you as well since your work shows so much passion! Thank you for letting us know!

I'll miss looking forward to the updates to this story. As for your writing, I can not praise you enough. You make an epic even more awesome- you add to it by using a completely different spin on it. You have rekindled my interest in this great epic and I thank you so much for that. I have to commend your interesting way of storytelling, keeping it understandable while adding layer after layer to it and of course, your wonderful, deep characterizations. I adore the day I found this masterpiece.

It is completely publication quality and I understand you do it out of passion, but this story needs to be told =) I would definitely recommend it to everyone I know.

It has been a marvelous ride and thank you so much for that. I hope that someday when real life gives you a chance, you will continue this.

Thank you and best regards,
HT.

PS: Yes, please release your master outline... I will try to fill in the gaps with my imagination, though it won't be the same.

Thank you very much for your wonderful, wonderful words of support. Comments like this really do mean a lot to me. ^__^ And I am working on getting that master outline ready right now!

I cannot believe there will be no more posts from you. Reading your version of the Mahabharata was by far the best reading experince of the past year.

You are truly talented and imaginative. It is because of your posts that for the first time i can confidently say that i do know our greatest epic. I was ridiculed for not knowing the Mahabharata until your version motivated me to read. I even watched B.R.Chopra's TV series on DVD!

Thank you for your lovely interpretation. I understand how you feel about not publishing it , but if ever you do you have a loyal reader in me.

thank you!

Seema

Thank you so much for such a wonderful comment. Really, truly thank you. I feel humbled just reading praise like this. I'm also happy to hear that my writing inspired you to check out a more faithful versions of the epic, like B.R. Chopra's lovely film version. :)

And don't worry, this won't be the last post from me! I'm still working on finalizing the master outline, and I might release more bits of drafts or unfinished scenes in the future.

i look forward to it!

good luck!

Seema

this is really publish quality work and i am sad that this is going a break... publishing need not be just about making money.. a good story needs to be told.. the cost can be kept low and whatever little profit u get can be used for charity if that makes u more comfortable.
i wish you rethink about the hiatus though... really would love to see this completed.

First, I deeply apologize for taking so long to reply to this comment. Second, I thank you for your kind words, but trust me when I say that I am never going to publish this thing professionally. I'm flattered that you think my story is good enough to need to be told, but it already is being told, for free, on ff.net.

Anyway, thank you again for your kind words and support. It really does mean a lot to me.

Please put up the master outline as soon as possible. Thank you so much, its summer so I finally have time to pay attention to this epic tale!

I'm sorry! I really tried to get it finished before my summer courses started, but it just didn't happen. Right now I'm in the middle of my summer semester, which means that I'm taking 16 credits so I barely have any time to sleep or eat, much less work on that master outline. I will try to tackle it again in August-ish, when my life has settled down a bit more. ^^;; Thank you for your patience!

Thanks for replying =) Good luck with RL.

Hey, I am a very big fan of your work and this is the best version of mahabharat I have read.
I just wanted to know would you ever finish this story?

-Anky

Apologies for the delay in replying to this!

Anyway, thank you very much for the kind words, they really mean a lot to me. But I don't intend to ever finish this story. Sorry.

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February Update, Part 3 of 3: So Long, and Thanks for All the Butter

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So Not Fair!

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wow!

Re: wow!

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