About TVST and future projects · 2:57am Jan 20th, 2014
Hey guys. This is ... kind of an embarrassing thing to write especially after the well-received hype I received in the last post, but I felt it was best to be transparent with everybody since I owe it to everybody who enjoys TVST and was excited about it.
I have actually been trying to work on season 3 of TVST since I announced it, but unfortunately it's been proving rather difficult for a number of reasons. The most significant of them is the original idea I had for season 3's overarching plot. I kinda don't want to give it all away in case I ever do use plot elements, but I will say it introduced Lyra into the storyline (I was also thinking of working Symphony and Concerto in there also) and basically over time working it out, I realized the story was really ABOUT Lyra and not Vinyl and Octavia. Which isn't necessarily bad for a story at all (since I did have some fun ideas), but it IS a problem when you're billing it as a continuation of The Vinyl Scratch Tapes. Vinyl and Octavia were involved (Octavia more so than Vinyl), but eventually I realized the idea wouldn't work simply because ... really the driving force behind both seasons of the Vinyl Scratch Tapes were the development of Vinyl's character and how she changed over time. The idea I had for THIS season wasn't ... and in realizing that, I couldn't help but think if I went with this idea, it just wouldn't be a good idea. Again, the plot would have probably worked for a Lyra story (something I'm not ruling out since I DID think of a lot), but not as a Vinyl Scratch Tapes storyline.
Once I realized this, I kind of scrambled to think of a way to continue the story another way, but eventually I kind of settled on the realization that if I didn't have an idea for a plot in season 3 that topped what I already did in the first two seasons, I probably shouldn't do it. I would rather not have a season 3 than have a BAD season 3. If I ever get an idea that I think is good enough for season 3 that does something new with Vinyl and Octavia, I would definitely want to do it. After all, part of the reason why I latched on to the original idea for season 3 in the first place was because I missed writing for those characters. They're a lot of fun and nothing else I've written has resonated with people quite as much as TVST has. But really ... season 2 was a good grand finale to the story so I decided I would rather leave it like that for now unless I get an idea that I'm confident IS a worthy enough continuation of the first two seasons.
I know that's probably gonna disappoint a lot of people and I did want to sincerely say I'm sorry, especially since I had hyped it up. That was really a failing on my part, getting everyone excited before I had actually written enough of it in the first place. I think I announced it the way I did (and this is not an easy thing to admit), but I love seeing people excited about my work and since I hadn't done much of ... well, anything for so long, when I had that idea, I thought "Wow, a lot of people will be excited when this was written. Let me see how excited people are." Which ... may not sound like "I wanted my ego stroked" when I write it out like that, but that is basically what it boils down to when you get to the meat of it. And I'm very sorry for that. It was not fair to all of you to promise something that I could not deliver on like that. I hope everyone who is disappointed at this announcement can forgive me for that.
So, now that I'm not doing that, you may be asking what I AM working on.
Well, I want to avoid repeating the same mistake I did last time, so I won't go into too much detail, but I do have a few possible projects I'm working on. The one I think will likely be the next thing I release is a fic about A. K. Yearling (the alter-ego of Daring Do) and her life when she ISN'T adventuring (basically my headcanon is that she's fantastic at adventuring but much less able to deal with very mundane things). It's what I started writing today, so far it's working, so I hope that turns out well.
Acting Foalish I haven't forgotten about either. I would definitely like to continue that. I had trouble with chapter 2 quite some time ago so put it aside for a while, but I think I could probably come back to it soon. I had A LOT of ideas for it. Like ... A LOT. And I really like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's characters in it, so I would love to finish that.
I actually wrote some really silly non-nonsensical shorts involving the MLP Analysis ponies this past week. (Originally I wrote it to get a laugh out of Digibrony since he had kind of a cruddy day recently, but I ended up really having fun with it). It's kind of in transcript style like TVST and ... it's really bizarre. It's not something I'd put as a story on Fimfiction since mostly I wrote it to entertain just a few people (specifically the people who are characters in it). If you guys are interested in seeing it, I can post the links in another blog entry. It's not my best work, it's mainly me being silly with the MLP Analysis pony characters, but if any of you are interested, let me know.
And the ideas that I DID think of for Lyra, Concerto, and Symphony could be stories in their own right. They'd need more work to stand on their own, but it's definitely not something I'd rule out in the future.
So that's basically the state of my writing plans for the moment. Again, I'm sorry about the TVST news, but I hope you can understand my reasoning for it. If any of the other ideas sound cool or you have anything else to say, let me know in the comments below.
All in all, I liked being this transparent with you guys. I think I will use this journal more since you all are my fans and I love you. I definitely prefer being up front with you guys rather than the whole reclusive author act I've probably come across as up until now.
Till next time, have a great day.
Blog post is tagged to "Acting Foalish"
Blog post has one paragraph about "Acting Foalish" and is mostly about some other story entirely.
Tagging system abuse. Untag or reporting.
1737778
No problem. Untagged it. Sorry about that.
1738027 Thanks. :)
Why don't you do this thing about Lyra as a spin off of the Vinyl Scratch Tapes? I'd like to see that. I'd also like to see this Analysis ponies thing. I enjoy many of them. They amuse me.
1738044
That is a possibility I've been thinking about also. That might be how I end up using the ideas I had for that storyline later.
I for one love silly stories and I hope it managed to bring a smile for Digi, hope he's doing alright now.
TVST: All I could think of was making a parody pic by cropping a few ponies like Octavia on Seinfeld as she opened the door to Lyra "Hello... LIE-ra." "Hello. . . OC-tavia" or a group shot of the gang parting ways with their boxes... but google has some really bad screenshots to choose from.
But essentially, yeah, I agree and think you can make like a side story as the obvious route or just something new altogether.
AF: Yes, hope you archived those ideas somewhere. You murdered with how well you captured a sense of individuality and character I've not seen, at least for Silver Spoon, and even Diamond Tiara that really teased a more serious interpretation of some sitcom level antics.
Apple Bloom being so playfully destructive and a total klutz while being very smart and crafty, somehow, with so many relatable flaws would only mix well with Diamond's more mature tastes. I've still been hoping you'd have time some day to take it all the way once your other story was done.
And sure, it might start to just being a sleepover at the farm, but you can go so far with characterizations like that. You hardly see anyone try to flesh out side characters or background ponies anymore like the old days, save for that one Frederik Horseshoepin story. But yeah, mane 6 all played out. Octi and Vinyl still popular but almost no one deviates from popular fanon concepts.
*shrug*
I guess I was a bit over excited and put too much expectations on Acting Foalish since it is supposed to be a lighthearted comedy. Right?
I just wish we had more epic length stories with characters like Diamond Tiara, and many others. Not that I have a shortage of stories to read, and Uniformity has given me plenty of Lyra and most of all some BonBon characterization, something that I haven't had as much fun in reading about since that one changeling fic where Lyra gets kidnapped.
Anyhow, I'd like to check out the silly story you made sometime. And I'll keep hoping for some Acting Foalish and that you manage to work out something all its own with Lyra and the gang.
Take care.
1738502
Thanks! I appreciate all the kind words about Acting Foalish. It definitely makes me want to go back to it. I had A LOT planned for that one, so I'm going to work hard to get that updated as well. After I finish the first chapter of the A. K. Yearling fic, I'll probably go back to Acting Foalish and see if I can do both concurrently. Or if the A. K. Yearling idea dies, I'll go back to Acting Foalish. I definately don't want that story going by the wayside now. Especially before I get a chance to write some scenes with Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara completely HATING eachother, which is something I was looking forward to in particular.
1738646 A hatred that goes into the deep seated rivalry? Stop teasing me!
Also, every time I read the words HAD along with A LOT, all I see is a sad Pinkie Pie clown.
Well, I'm not much for Daring Do fics, but being a fan of Whip and Wing along with Sister's Doo, I'll certainly give it a read! (but I'm sure you know which fic I'm rooting for!)
Here's hoping both see an EQD feature someday!