State of the Author, June 2023 · 4:22am Jun 28th, 2023
I don't really do a lot of these "state of the author" posts, and I probably should do them more. They do help with keeping in touch with the community at large, don't they? At least, the self-selected subset of it that follows me, so you know, probably the ones who actually want to read these kinds of things.
So for no particular reason, here's what I have going on lately:
Let's start with events, 'cause that's the big thing coming up: I'm gonna be at EFNW! August 11-13, Hyatt Regency, in Bellevue WA. Be there or be square. Or be whatever shape you want, idk, no judgment. If you'll be around, hit me up, meet me in person, come to the panels I'm doing (The Hero's Journey and How to be a Dungeon Master), make me autograph things for you in M.A. Larsen style, whatever.
On the job front: those of you who've been following along might remember I'm a computer scientist now. It's pretty much the perfect job for me, because I'm such a massive dork (can't deny it, so I'm just gonna own it 
) and honestly, now that I'm like eight months in... I've been loving it. I might love it more if it wasn't out here on the wrong side of the Cascades, and I miss the Puget Sound, but hey, I'll get back to the west someday. Until then, the arid shrub-steppes are at least a little bit exciting as an ecosystem. Rattlesnake and black widow country! I've always had a weird thing for venomous creatures, so. Yeah. Make the most of wherever you find yourself, right?
Stories: Still working on the alt. universe Luna / Sunset Shimmer thing, but it's been slow to get off the ground; I'm realizing that there's a lot of things that I may need to change about what I've written so far. It's turning out be one of those stories I really should plan out rather than jump into.
I'm also thinking about (just thinking about, to be clear, not having decided and certainly not announcing anything) doing a complete remake of Seashell. It's an idea I've had for a while because, well, I like what it is as a story. I really like it. There's a lot in there that's really special and important to me. But the actual writing... well, it's one of the stories I wrote while I was still learning to write. There's things I think I could do better now. Still, I don't know if "I could do better" justifies going back and re-opening something long finished, especially when it was a story that I feel was almost universally loved by the people who read and commented on it at the time and it's one of the things that I think really put me on the FimFiction map. Maybe it's better to just leave it alone - which I guess I would anyway, because I couldn't even consider removing the original. A remake would be just that, a new piece of work remade again, not a replacement for the classic. There's no turning back the clock, and I know that. But there may be more to say and other ways to explore saying it, so who knows. Or... maybe it's a product of its time, and I should just move on.
And finally, there's a project I'm working on that's been several years in the making, and I think is closing in on being ready to go, but I'm still not ready to spill a lot of details about yet, because of the unique circumstances of how it came about. It's sort of fallen together from various pieces over time, from other smaller things that I realized fit into a synergistic whole that I like better than the individual parts alone. But it still needs finishing up, and I don't know when I'll be done.
Plush-making: yeah. Been dry for a while, but I want to get back in and I just got a new machine that can do absolutely HUGE embroidering areas. So look for that.
And on one final note: I hope everyone had a happy Celestia Day (summer solstice) a little while ago! Mine was pretty good. Remember to save her a slice of cake. 
Have a great time at EFNW! If it were one month later I'd actually be in the area for it, but alas.
And I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying the new job! The last time you posted it was still fairly new (along with the area) and you didn't seem sure. And, uh, I guess every arid ecosystem has a venomous lining?
As for you rewriting Seashell, I have strong feelings on that, but unfortunately they can't be of help because they're the same as yours. On the one hoof, though I still think your writing back then was good, you probably have learned a lot since. But on the other, Seashell is so, so lovely as it is. It's interesting, engaging, poignant, evocative, touching, and still one of my favorite stories here. So part of me wants to say no, don't change a thing, but as a non-writer I admit to the possibility that it could be told even better, somehow?
Please do leave the original as it is, but whether you decide to let it stand or retell it with greater experience, either is valid.
Aww, too bad you can't go to Trot Con.
I wanna go to a convention...
Glad to hear you love your job! It's not really work if you enjoy doing it, amiright? But we still have to complain, because that's an obligatory part of all jobs.
A remake of Seashell, eh? Might be worthwhile. I did the remake thing myself once a long time ago, and I was vastly happier with said remake. But that's just my experience. If you do decide to go with it, I definitely encourage keeping the old version up. I like to think of it as seeing how far we've come. Besides, some people might want to enjoy the original all over again.
Probably not going to make EFNW this year, unfortunately, too many difficult things happening in my life.
My wife was from Wenatchee, and I spent a fair amount of time in Yakima when I was in the military. She missed living on the dry side a bit, but I much prefer being on the wet side of the mountains.
As for re-writing, I generally say not to bother, and concentrate on newer stuff. Otherwise you can easily get sucked into a loop of just doing the same thing over and over; and the older writing was a product of a time and skillset, it's a good reminder of just how far you've come, and there are always new ideas waiting to be turned into stories. The only story of mine that I've considered re-writing was the product of a writing contest, so I didn't have the time to spend on it that I normally do, and I'd like to expand on it a bit, dig into the story more.
Congratulations on the new job! I look forward to seeing you at EFNW.watch out for the spiders and snakes! The eastern side of Washington is a different place but has such a unique beauty all its own.
Happy Belated Celestia Day!