There are a million ways to feel bad about a story. Sometimes, it’s fun to point out all those ways. Some people make a job out of it. Some people don’t even get paid, yet will make a life out of it.
Which is perfectly fine. Not fine is when I’m trying to build a story instead of tearing it down, yet find myself in “find something wrong with the story” mode. It’s impossible to build anything in that state.
At first I thought this state was the same as “can’t finish a story” state. The result is indeed the same: can’t finish a story. But it’s possible to purely very literally be unable to finish a story without hating a story. It’s possible to just stop a story even though it’s fine. Now I’m finding that that state (simply being unable to finish the story) is preferable to thinking something is wrong with the story.
I know in my head that there is nothing wrong with the story. I don’t mean it in a “it’s perfect” way, I don’t care for perfection. I’m saying some people will like it, others will dislike it, and that’s that. The story works. Even so, I keep thinking “Oh but I should’ve done this differently, let me go back, then change this, re-read that, blah blah blah blah.”
It is nonsensical. If there is no standard that dictates that things must be a certain way, then there is no reason things should be different. Yet here I am, thinking nonsensical stuff.
This is very bad if the goal is to finish the story instead of forever dissecting it. I’ve never been in this state before; this is different from “being stuck.” It’s possible to be stuck without finding fault with a story, in the same way you can take the wrong left turn without somehow making it about everything going wrong in your life.