Site Post » How to: Adventure · 4:09am Nov 30th, 2013
Hey, WD! It’s still Black Friday, shouldn’t you know, be at work?
Dealing with you idiots is a full-time job already.
Testy, aren’t you?
Annoyed, is more like it. What is this story you sent me. “Sweetie Belle Discovers Ice Cream”.
An epic adventure of Sweetie Belle trying ice cream for the first time while visiting the town market with Rarity and her parents after briefly debating which flavor to get and meeting Scootaloo for the first time! Didn’t you read the description?
Well, there’s three problems with that story: First, your short description reads: “With a title like this, it’s Feature Box Guaranteed.” Second, that’s a Slice of Life story, not Adventure, and third… it’s way too cute not to be written by someone competent.
Okay, ouch. And why are you looking at the readers like you expect something from them?
Hmm? I don’t. Anyway, the issue here is that you have clearly confused Adventure and Slice of Life. It’s not that uncommon, so don’t feel too bad.
Me? Ha! I think you’re the one confused! This is clearly a small adventure of sorts! Therefore, it deserves the ‘Adventure’ tag.
Look, I know that it’s a bit confusing when Slice of Life can have a little, cute adventure in it…
See!?
Why are you questioning your exclamation?
What?
Nevermind. My point is, that sure, those are little home adventures that help the character discover something about themselves while NOT taking them out of their usual lives. However, that’s why we call it “Slice of Life” it’s part of their day-to-day living. It’s a noteworthy and peculiar moment, true, but they are not leaving on an epic journey fraught with peril during it.
Well then, Mr. Know-it-all, do you have any advice on writing adventure stories?
I have something better, two completely different authors with different approaches to Adventure writing.
Not this again…
Shaddup. It’ll at least give you some different perspectives, what you get out of it, is up to you. So, I give you SilentBelle, author of ‘The Scion of Chaos’ and Raugos, author of ‘Integration’. Unlike previous talk about Adventure Writing, their adventure stories don’t fall into grand epic wars.
SilentBelle
Ah, Adventure! It has always been my favourite genre, and a lot of people love good adventure stories. But why? What makes an adventure? What do people want out of adventures? What do you (as an author) want out of an adventure when you are writing it?
Adventure stories are, in essence, stories that have settings which explore the unknowns of their worlds, and leads (or sometimes forces) the protagonist(s) to face an overarching problem that they would only be able to conquer by developing as a character. Whether they succeed or not isn't too important, but what does matter is the journey, the struggles they face, and how they face them.
When you ask a reader why they like certain adventure stories they'll often say that they loved a specific element in particular. “I loved that magic system.” “I loved the way the world felt dynamic, like there was reason for everything even when the characters were just passing through a new location.” “I loved the political turmoil and the way the kingdom was pulled into war and strife and everything fell to pieces.” Often it is these elements that we point to when we think back to a story years after reading it. These memorable elements are the pinnacles of complex ideas forged from the process known as 'world-building'.
World-Building is the cornerstone to all adventure, and it is the biggest draw to readers of the adventure genre. World-building is essentially exploring any facet of a fictional world and it is entirely necessary in any work of fiction. Although you can get away with doing a lot less of it in fanfiction, simply because it supplies us with a pre-made world and (almost) everyone who will read your story will have an understanding of that base-world to start with.
But world-building covers many more things than you might initially expect: Geography and introducing new locations, new cultures, monsters and animals, plants, history, economics, politics and intrigue, religions, and even off-screen character actions (including gaps of time in between scenes, the bad-guy's unseen actions and the repercussions of such actions, and other off-screen characters' actions).
So why World-build? Simple: you want the readers to be immersed in your writing. You want them to be able to focus on the story you are telling and wonder what is going to be around the next corner—the next chapter.
For a reader to be immersed in a world with unbelievable and fantastical events, you need to craft a very believable world that explores believable consequences to those unbelievable events. In other words, if you are going to use magic, then understand how magic works. If you are going to make a town be over the next hill, know how that town was built, what it's made out of, who lives there, why they live there, what they do, why they do it, and whether or not they want to be doing that. Look at the new place (town) or concept (magic) and ask why? Why does it work like that? Why is it here? Why did the townsfolk act that way? Why did that spell blow up instead of working as it should have?
As an author practicing world building, there is no greater power at your disposal than questioning your own world. If you can't give an answer to one of the questions, then think about it until it is answered. Eventually, after thousands and thousands of questions thrown at every element of your story as you introduce it, the world will start to feel like it could actually exist. If you do not ask these questions and consider their answers, readers are going to point out flaws in your world as they crop up—those jarring inconsistencies. Because they are going to be asking those same questions that you should be asking.
The best part of world-building (read facetiously) is that maybe only ten percent at most of those questions will ever be revealed to the readers themselves. So much effort and so little to show for it... right?
Wrong! If you do it right and clear out all the troublesome wrinkles and kinks in your story's world, then you are going to have some readers who are going to enter a whole new world as they read your story. They are going to see it as a place to explore with potentially exciting characters to meet. Think of the world-building as giving a reader a pair of glasses. Every question you answer makes the glasses have clearer lenses. They still might not like what they see, but at the very least, if they see something they do like, they won't have cracked glass and weird splotches marring the sight. Plus some readers like the look of swanky glasses.
Fun simile aside, we now have world-building out of the way. So let's look at Starting an Adventure. To start an adventure, you need one thing above all else: Reason. You need a reason for the character(s) to leave the confines of their safe and peaceful village and go on a grand adventure in the first place. It could be that the character makes the choice, or that some unavoidable event forces them to leave their hometown. What really matters is that the character has reasons that make sense and drives them into the adventure in the first place.
You don't want the readers thinking, “Why would she go on and adventure in the first place? Shouldn't she be more inclined to stay at home and let the X and Y characters handle it?” These are the sorts of thoughts that distract from the reading experience and will have the character seem flimsy and misused (read: out of character) in the eyes of the readers. And since characters are the ones that carry your story, you can't afford for them to be flimsy, or the whole thing will come crashing down partway through.
Another thing to look at when starting your adventure is the themes. What themes do you want to use? War? Magic? Love? Duty/responsibility? Destiny/Fate? Hatred? Good vs. Evil? There are tons of themes that adventure stories use, and knowing which ones you are going to pursue is always a good idea. You should try to establish some of those themes in the first chapter. If the story is going to have fight scenes with blood and gore, then let the readers know about that in the first chapter by showing them. Have a pony being murdered and give as much of the graphic details as you plan to use in the story. If you want the tone of near-hopelessness in the story, then have the protagonist's world fall around them and leave them nearly sunken into that pit of despair.
Sometimes it isn't quite possible to establish that tone and themes properly in the first chapter. As the transition from happy Ponyville, to Twilight Sparkle fighting an impossible evil while her friends are bleeding-out around her is quite the jump. Well, that's what prologues are for. Any particular themes and general tones can be tossed in the there, and thus the readers will know thematically what they are going to get themselves into, and some will be quite looking forward to it. It is unfair to the reader to drop these themes on them without a bit of warning.
Now, I've seen adventure stories written in two particular styles. One way is what I call the 'planned' way, and the other is what I call the 'organic' way. In a 'planned' adventure, the author plans out all the major events that are going to happen and finds a way to get the characters to end up on that planned path. The characters growth and reactions are planned for and build into future events. While the 'organic' adventure has the author make it up as they go. The characters drive the story onward with their actions and lead them to unexpected places. Most of the plans that the author might have made earlier on are scrapped as the characters make different choices, causing the story to be unpredictable to the authors themselves.
In the end, both writing styles are almost indiscernible from one another if they are done well enough, but I feel as though the 'planned' style lends itself to stronger overall cohesion of themes and narrative, while the 'organic' style lends itself to stronger characters. Both styles have their downfalls as well. With the 'planned' style, your characters can easily become two-dimensional in nature, as if their purpose were just to be the vehicle that dishes out themes and plot points of the story to the reader and their actions come across as contrived. While with the organic style, it's all too easy to have the characters take the story away from where you wanted it, and end up getting you into pointless situations that have no bearing on the overall story or they end up tackling themes that were not part of the original concept.
Another point that needs mentioning... Cliffhangers. The point of cliffhangers is making the reader ask 'what?' or 'why?' But make sure they aren't asking because it doesn't make sense; they have to be asking because they know it has to make sense, but they don't have the full story and they want to know. The way to get them to understand that it will all make sense is simply through using cliffhangers more than once. If you can make a cliffhanger and then answer the readers questions in a satisfactory manner that doesn't break the laws of your world in the following chapter, then your readers will know they can trust you as an author. As such, they'll accept your cliffhangers more readily.
There also has to be a good reason why the information isn't known to the readers other than: "It'll be revealed at the beginning of the next chapter". Often, you can have one of the characters struggling to answer the same question that one of the readers would have, which allows for an immersing cliffhanger. The questions that the reader has should be addressed, and the reader should know it will be answered in the coming chapter(s). That way, they don't have to worry about whether or not it will actually be answered, but they will instead look forward to how it will be answered and perhaps have some fun guessing at the possibilities.
Be careful with cliffhangers though. It's nice to have people looking forward to your next chapter—longing for it to come out so they can see how it all comes together. Adventure stories use them fairly often, but you don't want to write cliffhangers all the time. Consecutive cliffhangers can get really draining on readers and lessens the effect with every one that you use. You need to balance them with chapters where the characters end with getting some rest and having no huge lingering question over their heads. A calm chapter where characters put things together after a cliffhanger is a really great thing for a reader to come across from time to time.
So, I'll be the first to admit that writing adventures is fun. I love it. But what do you, as an author, want to get out of it? For me, writing an adventure is getting to explore a new world and to play around with and mold it however I want. I enjoy seeing the characters grow and change, and seeing how their actions affect the world. I love when the characters decide to take my own plans and disregard them. They move past and seek the adventure all on their own. Breathing life into these characters' actions and repercussions is awesome, and being immersed in my own writing is my favourite feeling when writing.
What are you getting out of an adventure as you write it? Only you can find an answer to that.
I see. But, what about those little adventures? The ones that are not grand and epic, but still are out-of-the-ordinary experiences?
Well, it gets a bit blurry at times, but usually the rule of thumb is that basically Slice of Life covers the more mundane and less exotic events. Here, you might like what Raugos has to say about it.
Raugos
I’ve recently discovered that being able to write a half decent adventure doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m going to have an easy time writing about writing a half decent adventure, nor would it necessarily be a good guide.
Well, here’s to hoping that I’ll be able to provide something helpful to those who are looking for differing points of view on the genre.
‘Adventure’ is defined as ‘an unusual or exciting experience’, and what’s great about that definition is that it can be applied to so many things.
Premise and Setting
Not every adventure needs to be like the Lord of the Rings. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with writing a grand, sweeping tale with war, love and a quest to conquer evil, there’s so much more that can be explored in this genre.
Sometimes, an adventure can be as simple as a bunch of kids getting lost in the woods and having to work together to make it back home. Along the way, they might meet strangers who help or hinder them, or they might encounter dangerous beasts that try to eat them. Whilst it may not be something grand or world-changing enough for bards to sing about, it can certainly feel like that for the characters. It’s about the experience. It’s about conveying to your readers how that experience is unusual and exciting to your characters.
Often, the setting and premise can be exotic enough that they alone are enough to propel the story into adventure territory. But sometimes, it is the character that makes the setting or premise adventurous, even if it may be something that readers are familiar with. An example of the first would be Daring Do exploring ancient ruins and discovering artefacts possessed by evil spirits or some such, whilst the latter may involve a young Twilight falling asleep in the Royal Canterlot Library and getting locked in after hours. Neither setup is inherently superior to the other; I simply wish to highlight that both are viable options for an adventure.
In either case, I believe that the most important thing is to show your readers how and why your character’s experience is special.
What are your characters feeling? Is it sadness when they are lost and alone? Is it fear when they are thrust into a hostile environment? Excitement at a chance to get away from a monotonous job? People are going to react differently to a given situation based on their past experience, and an adventure is a great chance for you to flesh out your characters through their actions in an unusual environment.
Experience vs. Category
Readers who’ve gone through the important but often neglected FAQ might’ve noticed that my definition of adventure doesn’t align very well with Fimfic’s rules for what comes under the ‘Adventure’ tag. Fimfic’s definition of adventure leans more towards the grand narrative type.
This is where I’d like to point out the difference between adventure as an experience and adventure as a story category. So far, I’ve been talking about adventure mostly as an experience, wherein it’s the characters that make the story feel like an adventure, even though it may or may not be in an everyday, slice-of-life kind of setting. Adventure as a category is taken to mean stories with certain qualities that people often associate with adventure, such as having epic quests and massive world-building.
Confused? Let’s try looking at it another way.
Story 1: Daring Do exploring a forgotten, ancient ruin.
Story 2: Twilight Sparkle as a filly getting locked in the Canterlot Library after hours because she fell asleep.There can be a sense of adventure in both of these stories because the characters are experiencing something new, something unusual and exciting or scary.
I’m pretty sure that Story 1 would indisputably be categorised as Adventure, whilst Story 2 would most likely be categorised as Slice of Life.
People like putting labels on stuff, and Adventure as a label in Fimfiction is taken to mean epic quests, long journeys, etc., which is what Story 1 has. Story 2 gets the Slice of Life label because it’s set in what could easily be a typical day gone wrong in Twilight’s childhood.
Why is all of this important? Because I write first and foremost for the experience, and not necessarily the category. If you share this sentiment and want your character to have an adventure, go ahead and write it out. If certain aspects of your story would make it fall under a different category based on Fimfic’s rules, then so be it; it’s not the end of the world. After all, labels help people find what they’re looking for, and having standardised labels increases the chance that the right people will discover and take an interest in your story.
Set-up and Pacing
Now, I’d like to talk a little about how you may begin your story, about when you choose to deliver on the experience of adventure that you promise to readers in your story’s description.
Some premises do require a little setting up before you can get to the juicy parts, so to speak. This is often done in the form of a prologue, where you give readers a quick introduction of your character(s) and/or the world that they live in. Alternatively, some authors just include this setup early on in the first chapter. The reason this is done is often to give readers some sense of the scope of your story and where your main character stands in all of it. It gives readers some context so that they can understand what’s going on.
This approach can be good for stories with a large scale adventure, but do bear in mind that this sort of introduction can feel like one is reading a textbook. If you bombard readers with too many facts that they are expected to remember in order to properly enjoy the story, it can get to the point where it feels like a chore. I’ve read quite a few stories with premises such as X gets transported to Equestria or X gets turned into a pony/changeling/opposite sex, etc. that have long introductions showing character X’s life before the ‘call to adventure’. And in many cases, unless the author is exceedingly good at keeping things interesting before getting to the part of the story that drew me in in the first place, I’ll simply skip straight to the part where it begins even at the risk of missing out on information that might be important later on.
I feel guilty whenever I do that, but there are only so many backstories of humans living their mundane/awesome daily lives that I can slog through before they start to sound the same to me and I jump straight to the part where they suddenly discover somepony’s cutie mark on their butt. Note: this applies to all genres, not just human to pony transformations. Personally, I feel that an introduction should not exceed two thousand words, but it can be flexible depending on how interesting you can make it.
Alternatively, some authors choose to jump straight into the action. You may start with your character smack in the middle of a battle, or just recovering from a concussion after having fallen into the bottomless pit of an ancient ruin. I think this approach is better at drawing in readers because it gives them the ‘juicy bits’ straight away, but it does come with its own set of challenges.
Jumping straight to the action can mean that your readers are going in blind, armed with only the information from your story’s description. That’s usually enough to satisfy them whilst your character tries to get out of the fix that he/she’s in, but you’ll eventually have to provide readers with more context for the world that your character inhabits to show them why they should care about your story.
This can be done through your character’s interaction with the world, interaction with other characters, or through flashbacks and the like. But this sort of in-story world-building does require a more careful planning and execution so that your readers don’t feel like your characters are spouting facts just for their benefit. It can feel like they’re breaking the fourth wall. At this point, you may see the advantage of the previously mentioned exposition style of introduction, where you can have all the necessary facts provided quickly and efficiently before going into the story.
With the quick action approach, you also have to be careful not to go overboard with what’s going on, otherwise readers might get confused and lose interest before they begin caring about your characters.
Of course, these are just two examples from opposite ends of the spectrum. There are others that fall anywhere in between pre-story exposition and in-story world-building. Experiment and find out what you’re good at!
Consequences
This may not be necessary for all stories, but I personally prefer stories wherein the character(s) gain or lose something after the adventure. There should be something that changes by the end of the tale, whether it’s something as simple as the character taking home a souvenir or learning a lesson, or something heavier like a permanent injury or finding a partner for life.
These things serve as acknowledgement of the adventure and the character’s involvement in it. And if your readers were engaged, it also acknowledges their involvement in reading the story, perhaps to the point where it feels like they have taken something home from the adventure too. It’s about giving readers a sense of closure and completeness.
Though, do bear in mind that not every story needs to have an ending that ties everything up nicely. It depends on what you want your readers to feel at the end of the tale. Sometimes stories are left with unclear, open endings that are meant to be thought-provoking.
Anyways, that’s enough rambling from me. I hope that you found it interesting or helpful for developing your stories. Have fun!
So… my little story, which you said was cute and should totally be written by someone capable, falls a bit more into Slice of Life, whereas my other, unpublished, story “THE RETURN OF KING AFRONICORN” is, by definition a Romantic Adventure, and not a Slice of Life. I always thought Slice of Life was for stories about serial killers.
I… okay. I’m done here.
Adventure Time! Come on, tell your friends!
We'll go to very
distant stories.
Wait what
OOOO.
More good tips from a master of the craft!
~Skeeter The Lurker
1555678
Damnit Obs, you disappointed everyone AGAIN!
What's this? A blog post about adventure and slice of life that doesn't talk about their intersection and how, when found together, one must serve the other? I'm disappointed in you, D!
Still, very good reads from SilentBelle and Raugos
Oh! So I've actually managed to write a proper adventure story on my first attempt? Thanks, Wanderer!
Edit:
Upheaval: Breaking Point does this amazingly well.
So ... Cupcakes is a Slice of Life story now? The things I learn.
Also, am I the only one who's now tempted to write the epic, world-spanning journey of Sweetie Belle out to discover the best ice cream in all of existence?
Above all, you should remember to make it feel as much like the show as possible. If we wanted to read a story inspired by Game of Thrones, we'd go read a Joe Abercrombie book. We read fanfiction because we like the show as it is, not as you think it should be. Ideally, the worldbuilding that you do should be believable as something that could actually happen on the show, at least tonally.
1555766
Nope.
derpicdn.net/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMTMvMDIvMjYvMTVfNDJfMDlfNzU2XzI1NjEwM19fVU5PUFRfX3NhZmVfc3dlZXRpZV9iZWxsZV9pY2VfY3JlYW1fdGFpbC5wbmcucG5nIl0sWyJwIiwidGh1bWIiLCIyNTB4MjUwIl1d/256103__safe_sweetie-belle_ice-cream_tail.png.png
1555772
FLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMES!
Are you happy now, Azusa? ARE YOU?!
seriously, stop spamming, this isnt even something "official" , at least have some respect, you even call us idiots....not even blocking you can i get you out of my feed
.
1555772 I dunno about that - there's no way Fallout: Equestria, End of Ponies, or Immortal Game could happen in the show - but they're all awesome and well-written and have become popular and widely read because they expand beyond what we can see in the show. There are other adventure fics that could easily take place on the show itself (Letters from a Friend at the Edge of the World comes to mind) that are also good, but writers shouldn't feel like they have to limit themselves to just what could be done in the show.
As a person currently trying to write an adventure story, I find this relevant, and I thank all three of you—Wanderer D, SilentBelle, and Raugos—for the information. The bit about planned and organic styles is particularly relevant to me.
Why is Wanderer D so angry all the time? Doesn't he know he's scaring the children?
This has got me to thinking if maybe I should've put the SOL tag on my own adventure fic. Then again, I doubt robots running amok is something one typically encounters in their day to day life.
Best line. Just saiyan.
After reading through that the only thing that stuck in my mind was filly Twilight getting locked in the library after hours... That would be an amazing and adorable story!!!!
Someone write this. Now.
1555885
Those would be conflicting story tags, which isn't allowed.
Wanderer D... I am NOT jealous of your job... But I don't think you get paid enough.
Nope. Writers and stories define genres, not mods.
i.imgur.com/35qwb.gif
1555928
Except D is an author. And the two guys he quoted are also authors. So...
This is relevant to tonight's task at hand. I write fairly decent Adventure, all things considered. I will continue to refine it though.
1555936
Writers as a whole, not individual writers. And this is an Official Site Blog Post, so he's speaking as a mod here and not as a writer.
1555953
Ok, how about this? This is how the Mod's define the use of the Adventure and Slice of life tags. The actual genre is up to the writer.
Is this a fair compromise?
1555970
I'm not sure what the point of the tags is, then, if they don't tell you anything about a story's genres.
1555772
Gotta say, I disagree on this pretty much one hundred percent. I mean, you're pretty much discounting any story rated teen, let alone mature. For every Sunny Skies All Day Long, there's a dozen like The Empty Room, Synchronicity, and yes, even suggestive or outright raunchy stuff like, The Life and Times of a Winning Pony or The Dark Apprentice that are worthy of being appreciated.
Honestly, I'd even go as far as to say that one of the very draws of fanfiction is that it can go where the series can't. Fanfiction can tell the story of the elements of harmony as a bunch of prickly teenagers, a royal set of alicorns... or stallions, if that's what you're into.
To say that all fanfiction must match the mood and direction of the show... I can't even imagine such a thing.
1555993
The tags help define the story for the reader. If a story is about...I dunno, Apple Bloom searching Ponyville for something she lost, the author can define it as an adventure all he wants, but the story will be like a slice-of-life for the reader. And that's where not having a definition for the tags would confuse the reader. If the author wants it to be an adventure, fine. The tags are just there to make sure the reader gets the right story.
1555928
Wrong. This is not even a subjective topic, if you write a romance that takes place entirely in Ponyville spanning an epic 40+ chapters stock full of guys flirting with librarians in the library it's objectively not an adventure.
Even if Twilight suddenly takes a trip to Canterlot it's still not an adventure. Twilight has spent thousands of days growing up in Canterlot, making a trip back to her home NOT an adventure.
However, if the story has characters departing to a new location such as the 'Unicorn Range', then that would be an adventure - exploring the world.
1556069
I'm not arguing otherwise? When I say 'writers define genres', I don't mean that an author can go 'this is an adventure story lol' and boom, it's [Adventure]; I mean that genres arise via a process of community consensus, not via decree from a mod.
1555953
Slice of Life is not even a genre. The tags on this site suck only slightly less then on EqD. But this is decent story and categorical advice which of course is not universally aplicable. No advice or guide is universally aplicable.
1555905 I would say challenge accepted, but I'm kinda busy atm. I'll pre-read for anyone who does attempt it, however.
1556017
I take it that you haven't seen any of Season four yet or read the comics at all.
Beyond that, there's a difference between writing something like Winning Pony, which feel near identical to the overall tone of the show*, and writing something that has absolutely no appeal to someone who watches MLP. I'd argue that there are many stories on this site that simply aren't as good because of their connection to MLP.
It's really the same as keeping the show cast in character while writing. If I read a story where the world and society is nothing like that of the show, then it isn't going to feel right.
*Well, Dense Mind does. Only read a little of the sequel.
1555772
1556017
Actually it is not that important to make your story like the show. But it is very important to acknowledge the show in canon, characterization, setting, and spirit, as the source of the world you are telling a story in. While you may write a GoT-esque brutal adventure it is important to rmrmber that it is stemming from FiM, no matter how much harder that makes it to sell the story.
Also the Winningverse, including Dense Mind, is cancer and character assassination. Almost made me hate Dash and Pinks in a fic that did not contain one torturing the other.
1556117
As I said before, it's all in tone. If you're not sure what I mean, just ask yourself: "How are Fallout: Equestria and Background Pony similar to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic?" Figuring this out is the key to getting people to read your story.
Would have liked to have seen a section on how to write a good, exciting action scene included in this. Something a bit less macro.
1556069
Not necessarily. Adventure is more about what happens than where it happens. Twilight involved in a Bond-like series of events in Canterlot, Ponyville, and the capital of the Crystal Empire (all places she's been plenty now), which includes an exciting race to beat the enemies to Canterlot, having to find ways past multiple obstacles, would be an adventure. Twilight traveling to the Unicorn Range, where she handles some diplomatic talks with the griffons, and nothing exciting happens, but she does fall in love with her diplomatic aide, is not an adventure. It's a romance.
Alright, that pun at the end took me a second. Very well done.
1556133
Fallout Equestria is a video game adaptation about a post apocalyptic Equestria. It could have been good if the author could keep their rape and grimdark fetishes in check, which they could not.
Background Pony was purely from the perspective of one individual going through extraordinary circumstances, and in a version of Equestria with a very unorthodox fundamental base nature. Otherwise it was very show-like.
My point is I also feel that canon must absolutely be honored. But I feel this is most important in the relativity between the story and canon. If there is too kuch disassociation between a fanfic and what it is a fanfic of, then there is a problem. However I believe that, like all good stories, where we start is not where we end up. It is OK to change the world, just not to act like the way it originally was never existed.
1556098
I don't read the comics, no, but I have watched the season four premiere, and I've also read a lot of worthwhile stories that could never be aired in a saturday morning timeslot.
I'm not sure I see your point, you say that stories different from the feel of the show are bad, and then point out how the feel of the show can change. Did a bunch of stories that were bad suddenly become okay when the media you're talking about was released?
Regardless, trying to encompass my examples as "like the show" is really kind of futile. The show will never have overt shipping, societal issues, ponies with disabilities or any of a number of more mature themes that make for valid stories that can be told in the world.
Advising someone to not write something like This Platinum Crown because the politics differ from those exposed in a show aimed at a younger audience just isn't something I can agree with
1555762 Well, with Breaking Point there's 10 previous chapters of exposure to the Barrier Lands, so it's not exactly out of nowhere. I'd like to see a story that could pull off a jump that large with no exposure to the new place.
1555915 I've seen the Sad and Comedy tags used together; are those not conflicting?
1556117
I'm not really a Dash×Pinkie fan myself, but I enjoy the (essentially) original characters of the Winningverse well enough in a soap opera way. Besides, almost everyone is terrible at doing Pinkie Pie well
1556177
Hmm, it seems that every time that I tell someone that fanfics should be show-like in tone, they seem to mistake it for having the same age rating as the show.
All I can say is, with a few exceptions the authors on this site that have high viewcounts on their stories are the ones that get it. They have a strong understanding of the overall tone of the show, and they know how to write in a way that is not out of character for the magical land of Equestria.
1556117
Fixed.
1556095
Sure! Except TPTB are trying to make it universally applicable.
I read this stuff, and was surprised to know I already knew it.
I FEEL SMART!
1555885
Depends on the perspective:
Robots running amok sounds like slice of life for the ponies of ponyville, depending on how they handle it.
Luna running around trying to gather forces and defeat the threat before it becomes too powerful counts as an adventure.
1556095
Slice of Life
images.sodahead.com/polls/000185363/polls_family_guy_i_disagree_1_2308_497565_answer_101_xlarge.jpeg
1556231
Just because I say not universally aplicable... Well I still consider it 99% applicable.
1556247
Haha, funny.
No, my fic doesn't take place in Ponyville.