"Tale of the Author - Part One - Beginning"

" ... The hero could not hesitate. The villain has confronted him at last, and without a word, aimed his poison crossbow at him. And the hero, blind in his pride, thought he could deflect his enemy's shots with his ancient sword, which he did as he ran towards the villain, hacking down several guards. But a few arrows penetrated through his armor, which he thought could always protect him: just a few inches towards his arch-enemy, the hero gasped and held his chest. The hero knelt down in his pain, allowing the villain a chance to quickly grab a knife, and 'finish' him. Later, another guard hurriedly arrived, saluted the villain, and reported that 'the treacherous princess has escaped, and now she is abducting our prisoners to be her slaves!' Without much ado, the surviving guards, the messenger-guard, and the villain himself then scattered to look for them ... "

Meanwhile, in the real world, the middle-aged author was writing his second book, where the hero, Sir Juste, is killed by the cunning and subtle Duke Wolfgang.

His young fanbase consisted of a few hundred enthusiasts and a band of writers, who were just plain interested to support an experimental author as him.

~~~o~~~~

But he was also an avid lurker: in his younger days, he saw much fandom drama in his free time, how they were upset by various conflicting things:

"Gangs" holding vigils on a park or near a TV station, just because Gillery X was murdered/disappeared-and-ne'er returned, or some other character disappearance.

(In the marketplaces) People being upset over Gulleria V., who, despite her superior talent, was despised for being an inferior replacement that panders to the audience.

Unpredictable changes.

Canny storylines for the sake of money.

Too many references to "filthy humor"/pop culture/cliches/guest stars/3~4~5D/etc.

Superiors meddling with the storylines.

" Moral guardians" being influential enough to alter the storyline, usually "for the worse".

Happy endings.

Sad endings.

Shows that have been "consumed" by its "loudest" fans.

Appeasement to certain audiences and factions, fanning hatred from fans to the creators.

Unpredictablity that drives viewers perplexed - but no one has enough time for that!

"Fitting" the story for local audiences in Inneall/Torri y Farchnad/Tagliera/I-Hope-This-Works/some other region.

Forced festival specials: Christmas, New Year, local new year celebrations, National Day, Liberation Day, you name it.

Characters, especially minor or unrelated ones, appearing here and there, and getting more attention and significance.

~~o~~o~~o~

So, in response to all of this, he thought in his mind a personal commitment to create a story, somewhat different than the more popular ones: like many others before him who mostly failed, he wanted one where the readers can contribute to the plot, while "he alters it when he wills". He wants to keep it away from any company, that the story (and all others after it) will be his and his children's alone.

Something where he can dump his ideas, and with the help of some editors and fans, improve them.

Far from the quality of an expected TV program or meme.

Or something. Like that.

Where he can shove his ideas into the mainstream media's face.

~~o~~o~~o~~o~

Will it become a massive failure?