This is very true, and over the past two years the notion has been firmly cemented in my head. Usually I first noticed that I was not enjoying the end product, and I asked myself what I could have done better. But that was backwards thinking. Because I wasn't having fun with the project, whatever the end product turned out to be, it was destined to feel wrong. This holds true for more than just writing, like drawings or movies. A reader can tell when the creator is having fun with their creation, because the creation comes to life.
And so I've embarked on a few summer projects to satisfy my desire for fun. First I hastily decided to put together a visual novel interpretation of a closed room tournament held on /gameboard/, which can be found recorded on my stream. I'll release a downloadable version when I have time to polish up a few missing links. I'm still proud because I did the whole thing in a mere week -- and because I had fun with it.
The other project of mine is a roleplaying experiment also on /gameboard/, aptly named Seacat Ronpa. It's based on a VN called Dangan Ronpa which will have an anime this summer. I would highly recommend watching and/or reading it for any mystery fans (although the mysteries are rather easy, the characters truly make the series entertaining).
Between these two it may be seem to be a challenge to finish up Detective Butler. Yeah, well, that's how I tend to go about doing things. No matter the difficulty, I'll find a way to overcome it. Nothing worth doing is ever easy, so the only things worth doing are challenges. Hence loading myself up with projects is worth doing. Twisted logic!
Anyway, there's really not much left. I will end this post by saying that I am probably doing the most challenging thing out there. The components of a visual novel include: writing, programming, art, music, and optionally, video animation. Art and music aren't my forte so I commissioned them or made do with what I had; I've taken a liking to a so-called outdated VN engine called ONscripter, and of all the stories I could choose it had to be a murder mystery -- far from the easiest thing to write. To do so as a first project was far more ambitious than I originally realized. What started out as fun soon became an obsession with work, and I believe my lack of enthusiasm showed in the final product.
But now that I've learned how to write better in general, I've made my next goal to learn how to write murder mysteries. And the best way to do that is by studying the classics -- and by that I mean reading them. For fun. And also to realize the art of writing a murder mystery. I love creating puzzles for other people to solve, so learning how to master the craft is something I look forward to. I have a bookshelf full of locked room mysteries on my to do list, and I can already say they're helping. Also Phoenix Wright. It's really awesome. Did you know it had a live action movie? That was pretty good too.
-Kinjo