Happy (almost) 2014! I am not dead! · 9:39pm Dec 29th, 2013
Hello, and an early happy New Year to all of you! If you drink this New Year's Eve, make sure you have a designated driver by your side or cash for a cab!
It's been a while since I've last logged in, but I think I'm all caught up on replying to comments and PMs. If I've somehow missed something you tried to bring to my attention, my sincere apologies--please do feel free to resend.
I've been watching and enjoying S4 so far, and there are one or two story ideas I've been futzing with. Not nearly as many as I've had bubbling in the past, though. I think I've just written so many stories that I've covered a lot of the things I've wanted to cover. Plus, I'm still a bit burnt-out from NaNoWriMo and trying to recover so I can plunge back into working on that novel, as I wasn't able to finish it in November.
So I guess I'm semi-retired from MLP fan fic writing, but that sounds rather dramatic. And I LIKE drama, admittedly, but that's a bit too dramatic even for me. I'll try to at least do some updates to my "Friends and Lovers" series of mini-fics, but I'm unsure if or when I'll do another multi-chaptered epic tale of epicness (or attempted epicness). Never say never, though, right?
Anyway, so that's been what's up with me, writing-wise. How are all of YOU? :)
My little sister does it every year and is one of the few of her friends who manages to finish it. Good to hear you're alive still.
Happy 2014! Glad you're not dead.
1661453
Me too, heh.
1661364
Good for your sister! It was good practice, I think, getting into the habit of writing at least a bit everyday. But it really does take energy, oof.
Drama! Intrigue!
Maybe the POS fic?
You can't retire, you've yet to write AppleDash
And more Twinkie
and more fics
Moar!!
Wow-a... you're still alive.
...
...
Hang on. Shock's wearing off. Give me seco--THERE we go! I admit, my eyes lit up when I saw a blog post from you. But it almost immediately fell when I read the 'retirement' note. Yes you said you'd (probably) update "Friends and Lovers", but c'mon!
Well, I can't complain too much; you DID leave us with an impressive collection in your library--most of which are deliciously re-readable. Am I staring at "Seeking Beauty" with a coy smile? Of course I am. If at any point you actually do "retire" from MLP fanfiction, just know that you've been both and inspiration, and a template for those hitting their stride, and those who needed guidance in writing.
All the same, your skills are far too rich to stop here. Surely some of us will see you around when you've bid your final farewell to Fimfiction. And like here, you're sure to inspire.
But ENOUGH brown-nosing!
My writing endeavors are more fruitful these days. Thanks to you, the mods at TMP--and various other writing groups--and fiction authors I miraculously stumbled upon, I'd like to think I've improved by leaps and bounds. Still don't have time or energy to crank out multi-chapter novelettes, but oneshots are manageable (and shamelessly fun). Many lessons I'd forgotten over a decade ago have not only returned in earnest, but brought a few friends.
And I just keep learning. Truly, it's an enriching experience, and I smile everyday at the imagination and what it produces.
Hah! Look at me ramble on like I have anything useful to say
! Be well this New Years, DB. And thank you.
Craine...
The snow and ice haven't claimed you yet, huh?
1661521
2000 words a day and you are set.
1663782
Y'know, objectively that's not a lot, but 2,000 words is actually a lot more than I usually write per day. There's a rare exception, mostly when I do a marathon session to write a one-shot all in one sitting, but usually my average is a lot closer to 1,000 words a day.
I am a SLACKER. For SHAME.
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NOT FOR LACK OF TRYING. We have been seeing negative temperatures recently, and what IS that even?
Today when I went out to run some errands, it was all of 14 F. My southern upbringing did not prepare me for this.
1662616
Aww, that's really nice of you to say, and I'm really pleased and humbled to hear that. I have tried to use my position as a TMP mod to try to give back to the fandom and help writers grow--and TMP's helped me do that, myself--and I'm glad to know I've been at least a bit successful there.
And while I don't know how much more writing I'll be doing myself, I'll still be around, reading fic, shipping ponies, etc., etc.
1661933
I am actually trying to wrangle a Twinkie fic into shape right now, actually. No promises, though--the story's being quite difficult. And y'know, S4 just might be the season that gets me to really ship and have FEELS for AppleDash. There have been a number of neat, shippy little moments between the two of them so far.
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It took me a while to figure out that POS stood for "Pony of Shadows," heh. I was sitting here, frowning, and wracking my brains for what your comment referred to. As usually I associate "POS" with, uh, a different phrase.
And yeah, if anything's gonna get posted in the future, the Pony of Shadows story probably has the highest likelihood of being that story. I haven't given up on it--I'm just thinking about where it should go, 'cause my momentum's fizzled a bit since I banged out the beginning.
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Just saying that that's her plan of action to finish on time.
1695263
Oh! Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha. Sorry, I misunderstood. And yeah, that's a solid plan. The NaNoWriMo website provides a word count tool for you, where it tracks some many words you've written, daily average, etc., and also tells you how many words a day you need to write in order to finish by the end of the month. Its suggested daily goal is somewhere between 1,600 and 1,700 words a day, so your sister's 2,000 words a day goal should give her a nice buffer.
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Let's you be done by Thanksgiving or take a few days off.
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Which is really smart. Thanksgiving killed my momentum, totally, 'cause I didn't wanna blow off spending time with my in-laws to barricade myself in the guest room to write.