Chapter 30: Acknowledgements, Plans for the Future, and Additional Resources
Thank you very much for making it to the conclusion of this project. For nearly four years, this story has been my baby, and the first time in my life, I have seen a novel through to its finale. Writing "the end" was just as bittersweet as I imagined it would be.
So much has happened to me in the time has taken to finish A Parade of Indignities, and I have had the great privilege of meeting countless people along the way. Some are people I know in my personal life, and others are people I will only ever know behind a keyboard. Some have stuck around since the very beginning; others have quietly faded away as new interests have caught their attention. Regardless of where they have come from or where they may have gone, I am thankful to everyone who gave this story a chance and touched my heart with their support. I am honored my writing has been able to be a part of so many lives.
I would like to thank every person who has played a positive role in my life and my writing endeavors.
Firstly, I would like to thank both my parents for their endless love and support. My mother and father both built their livelihoods in the writing/editing profession and saw to it that I and my brother grew up with an appreciation for the English language. I devoured countless books as a child and used to daydream about stories of my own. Eventually, I started writing these stories down. It stuck with me, and my love for creative writing was always met with enthusiasm and gentle guidance as the years went by.
My father, to whom this story is dedicated, went above and beyond in his support. Despite his unfamiliarity with the source material, he expressed a great interest in reading A Parade of Indignities when it was still in its early stages. Whenever I would try to explain that is was a transformative work, and that the story would be incredibly hard to follow without proper context, he brushed it aside. He would simply tell me that he wanted to read it because it was written with my unique style and encompassed my enthusiasm for something creative. He wanted to admire my work as a wordsmith first and foremost. He wanted to read it because it was mine.
That meant the world to me.
In mid 2019, my father passed away. I miss him every day. He was a man who expressed love and compassion in the purest and most admirable ways, with no ulterior motives whatsoever. He was the sort of person who asked for nothing more than one's company and who enjoyed nothing more than seeing his loved ones immersed in their own interests. In so many ways, my father taught me who I want to be as a person and as a writer—which was another wonderful trait he possessed. My father used the English language like a skilled surgeon uses a scalpel. He could plant the most vivid of images in one's head with only few words, and behind every word was a passion that only a true artist could display. Though he never got to see me finish Parade, his example continues to leave a lasting impression on me.
Thank you, Dad. I love you.
Alongside my mother and father, I have many amazing friends to thank. One irl friend, Chandler, deserves a special mention. He has repeatedly expressed enthusiasm for what makes me happy, despite not personally being involved in the Invader Zim community, or even the fanfiction community at large. Again, that is an incredibly special, rare thing and should always be treasured. He has a truly good heart and seeing that genuineness in a person is a beautiful thing. I even named and based a character off of him in this story. Skluf, in all his derpy glory, is a homage to you, Chandler. Thank you, dear friend.
Next, I would like to thank my beta reader, fauxpromises. One of my favorite authors, the revered "father of science fiction," H.G. Wells once said, "no passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else's draft." Faux gave me the ultimate compliment by enjoying Parade as a reader, and then subsequently offering to edit it for grammatical errors. Because of her second set of eyes, Parade is a far more polished story than it would have been otherwise. For that, I am endlessly appreciative.
Next, I want to thank the many wonderful individuals who drew art for this story. Some art was gifted to me by anonymous readers and friends of mine, and others were pieces that I commissioned by artists who were also fans of the story. I now have a beautiful collection of drawings from artists of all backgrounds, styles, and levels of experience. I love each and every piece of art I have received over the years.
Last but not least, I would be remiss if I didn't extend a special thank you to all of my amazing readers and reviewers.
Being part of a community like this is odd sometimes. We all connect to one another behind monikers and nicknames, sometimes completely obscuring our actual identities behind our online personas and remaining largely anonymous. And yet, at the same time, we share deep parts of ourselves through art, writing, and other input through social media. It has never been lost on me that I am communicating with real people behind my keyboard.
Every reader who has left reviews, both on Archive of Our Own and FFN, holds a special place in my heart. Every comment I have ever received has left me feeling all the more confident and filled with happiness. It's a powerful feeling that every reader wields, and even one-word responses or emojis have never failed in giving me a burst of joy that lasts the whole day through.
To every person who read Parade, but never commented, I thank you, too. With every fanfiction novel, there's a silent group of those who actively read and look forward to new chapters but keep themselves anonymous. I see you, and I appreciate you.
Now that A Parade of Indignities is finished, here is what I'm going to do:
1) I am going to go through the posted chapters with a fine-toothed comb with the intention of fixing grammatical errors, revising scenes that read awkwardly, and just tweaking little things here and there. This is just something I want to do and is almost entirely for my own benefit. Over the years I've spent writing this story, I've improved as a writer, and I can see that reflected in my work. While it's inspiriting to see hard proof that I've gotten better, it also bothers me that the story isn't as uniform as it could be. None of the content will change! This is simply for aspects of the story that feel off and can be easily fixed: copious amounts of purple prose, words and phrases that are repeated ad nauseam, etc.
As I do these edits, I will discreetly replace the old chapters with the new ones. If you wish to, you should still be able to reread the story with no interruption. At this time, I have already replaced the first couple chapters with the revised versions. My aim is to replace 2 chapters each week until I've gone through the entire book.
2) Next, I'd like to explain my whereabouts for the foreseeable future. Now that this story is finished, I'm going to be taking a bit of a break from writing for a little while. I am preparing to finish college and will be going on to study and work in the legal profession. That said, heh, law isn't exactly one of those things that has a reputation for being light in workload…
Don't worry, though! I will still be around, and I might take on a couple smaller projects as they come to me. I like doing writing prompts on Tumblr, and occasionally I'll post some of my art, too. I'm reachable through all my social media, but most active on Tumblr.
Whether you have stumbled across this story 10 minutes after I post this or 10 years, kudos and comments will forever be appreciated. Never hesitate to reach out to me, personally, either.
Thank you, everyone. I wouldn't be here without you.
Love,
Karissa "Rissy" Nicole
