Additional Plans and Projections · 11:18am Sep 28th, 2013
Well, I haven't made a blog post in a while now, have I? Things I'll be talking about below might get a little spoilery as I discuss my writing plans. Be warned.
On Reckoning - Yeah, readers may have noticed that it seems to be heading to some sort of showdown. However, it's a showdown I've come to realize that will alter some of my previous plans. I had originally planned for only one more Upheaval after Reckoning to round out a trilogy. I don't think that's possible if I conclude Reckoning with whatever happens within the Old Kingdom which is what I am indeed planning to do. Before dealing with Oceanus, I have to wrap up some other things that an encounter in the sunken remains of a dead realm can't really deal with. There will be a conclusion of sorts, but there will still be things unresolved. Which is why I'm planning one more fic before Upheaval: Abyss, which is the finale's current working title.
Now, will there be another Spike chapter in Reckoning? Yes, there will be one more. I'm on the fence, actually, as to how I have handled Spike in this fic. Someone suggested that his story may have been better off as a separate fic. Part of me is starting to see the point and kind of agree. It seems to be more a foray into dragon culture more than Spike's journey. I haven't been able to weave in as much dynamic between him and Seethe Scale as I would have liked.
This intermediary fic between Reckoning and Abyss will be called Upheaval: Journeys. It will deal with things that have been introduced in Reckoning that aren't quite tied up with the Black Rose situation: the true story and legacy of Apple Slice, Hassyth and what he plans to do next, the True Earth Ponies...and a bunch of other stuff, including just what the hell is Terrato truly getting Spike into. This will be some serious wrapping up. I can't have these niggling details be dealt with in Abyss which should be almost entirely about the fight against Oceanus. Journeys will also let me explore the Barrier Lands as a whole as Reckoning created a shift back into the Heartland. It will let me get to build the world up some more before I shake it up with Oceanus.
There are some other factors that I have to consider. My writing pace has slowed down a bit. In addition to RL stuff, I'm also working on original works as well. Original stuff is...difficult. Much more difficult than fanfic stuff. If I hope to get published some day, I need to put in some serious, serious effort into it and that cuts into fanfic writing and planning time. I also think that if Season 4 turns out to be shit, it might seriously affect my writing pace. I don't really know why, it's just a strange gut feeling. I know that I was writing pretty well during Season 2 and I think I suffered a bit during Season 3. Who knows?
You could always consider the path of the Harry Potter fans when you watch season 4. Write your own canon when you don't like the author's.
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Well, canonicity is not really the issue for me, more along the lines of motivation. When I'm coming off watching a great episode, I get pumped up to produce fan content. When I'm coming off watching a bad episode, I find it difficult to write.
Yeah, I've found writing fanfiction is a lot easier than making your own stuff. My thought on that is because with fanfiction there are certain rules that you have to stick by which helps give you focus. One thing that has helped me with my own personal writings is getting a basic bible and some basic rules. Like how do the different races view each other? Who's in control? What countries are there? Doing that really helps me real in my mind and helps me narrow things down.
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All in all:
You have so much rich content available to you via upheval, id love to see you hammer it out but preferably not in any way that delays Upheaval itself.
As to your original work, sign me down for a copy! ( At any rate, please do say more when you can )
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I understand not adding in the extra canon (though what you did with seasons one and two was brilliant considering you were adding as the canon came along). I was thinking more along the line of using your disappointment to feed the creativity, as difficult as it may be. I'm sure whatever comes you will be brilliant though, your story is great.
Would you be open to sharing your original stuff with people willing to read?
So there will be another Upheaval story...AWESOME! And it'll be more fleshing out of the Barrier Lands...DOUBLE AWESOME! From what you're saying it'll be a shorter connecting story, so how long would you say it might be? five chapters? ten? 20? As long as Breaking Point? (Not expecting any kind of definite answer here)
As for Spike's story, it works as is, a part of Reckoning, but as you said its more of a foray into/worldbuilding dragon culture, rather than on Spike himself. If you wanted to break it off and make it it's own story that would be great, but like I said, it works as is.
I'd really like to read some of your original work and would gladly buy it when you do get published (there is no doubt in my mind that it will get published), so feel free to link to it or promote it here.
Yeah, your writing speed did suffer during season 3, but that was like one chapter every one or two weeks at most, which isn't bad considering the wait between chapters for some fics...(though that was nothing compared to your height of two chapters a week of the latter half of Breaking Point during season two). Don't worry about your writing speed, its been said many times, but its true: quality is more important than speed, so take as much time as you need. Just keep us informed. ;)
Especially looking forward to Journey. I hope you can tie them all together into a more or less coherent story. Maybe follow the life of a few of the ponies recruited from Ponyville to see how they are handling things while they learn about some of these secrets, if that is an option.
Thanks for keeping the fans informed. I can't speak for everyone, but I think there is something beneficial to be said when content creators are upfront with their audience.
Regardless should you ever get a publishing deal in RL, make sure to let us know so we can support your awesome work. I mean hell, I feel like we owe you back taxes or something for everything you have shared with us so far
If you want my opinion, I say focus all your attention on the fanfiction before going to your original book. I say this because good writers like you tend to write more than originally intended due to the 'flow' of the story. It will plague your mind for a long time until it is finished especially something of this magnitude.
P.S. The 'flow' is something I came up with to describe the common phenomenon writers like you get yourself in. When good writer's make a story they unknowingly put life into it causing it steer the writer in the direction that will ward off writer's blocks, and allow the writer to write more easily. Problem is, following the flow frequently leads the writer to write more than he/she wants to. Of course, going against the flow will lead to writer's block and, in the eyes of the writer, very shitty writing which creates a unhealthy amount of stress.
I had always thought of Spike's arc as being somewhat extraneous. I wonder if it would be better to remove it entirely? I'm not an editor, but it seems that removing it could take 10,000s of words out without detracting from the story at all.
Unless it's plot-critical, I don't think you should be worried about tying up every possible lose end before the main plot is over. It would only make the story excessively cluttered, especially if it is taken to the point that you need an entire extra volume to fit it all in! If these are all stories you want to tell for their own sake, you could write them as their own stories set in the same universe.
more world building story? Gee, you know how to spoil me. I think that's one of the reasons you got me hooked in the first place, the rich story. Fleshing out things like the True Earth Ponies and Apple Slice would certainly add a bit of added flavor to the world. Looking forward to Journeys, and certainly can't wait for Abyss.
Is any of your original works available on the internet yet?
Where is it? 
Give it too me! 