A post about non-pony related writing · 5:54pm Mar 15th, 2014
I've finished side B, to a point. I've sent it to the editors, but due to its length, and the amount of suckage I'll likely have to rework, it might still be a while until it's posted.
In the meantime, while taking a short break in planning pony prose, I thought I'd bounce a couple of non-pony related ideas off of you.
While I have a bevy of fiction related ideas, and several outlines/first chapters written, at the moment I'm mostly focused on two, possibly threeish. The first is one that I've been thinking about for a couple of years in one form or another. I'm still thinking it over, and am not entirely sure what I want to do with it. It will be a novel based in the future, though I've tried my hand at science fiction before and am not entirely pleased with the results. Nor were the publishers I submitted it to. Which, in retrospect, wasn't a bad thing. The world doesn't really need generic space marine book #n+1.
Anyway, the novel I'm thinking of would be set on a future Earth or Earth-like planet in a slightly dystopic setting. Somewhat Orwellian, the planet is almost entirely industrialized and split into several governments who are almost indistinguishable from one another in their methods, if not in their avowed ideologies. Society as a whole pays lip service to individualism, but its rather socialistic and heavily encourages conformity, idealizing the individuals who excel in the role allocated them to further society. The protagonist of the story is an idealist who's faith in the system is unshakable and unquestionable, mostly because he's never had cause to question it. In this far off future, familial bonds are negligible and ephemeral at best. As with the rest of his peers, he's had little contact with his biological parents, and has spent the majority of his life in various institutions which are state regulated boarding schools on a massive level. He's recently graduated his post-secondary education, and is working in a government office in a menial capacity, taking the first step on the future that had been laid out for him by the government.
He has a few friends who are still in post-secondary education, one of whom he is infatuated with. In some ways they are even more a product of the system than he is. While he's never questioned his faith, he has the capacity to do so, while they do not. Instead, while they depend upon and believe in the society they live in, they enjoy appearing counter to that culture, and have joined purportedly subversive groups who are made up of like minded individuals, an outlet that the society at large sees as a necessary evil.
Encouraged by his friends, the protagonist attends on of the rallies of subversives, and against all expectations, it grows violent. Because of this, the protagonist and all his friends, as well as many of the other individuals in the protest are jailed. Faced with the reality of the consequences to their actions, the protagonist's friends reveal their true selves, panicking in the knowledge that this arrest will dog them the rest of their lives and harm their chances at living a normal life. And so the protagonist, perceiving that he would likely be better able to weather such a black mark, perjures himself and informs the powers that be that he was the true subversive and had lured his friends to the rally, that they were innocent. Unfortunately, the powers that be, need to set an example that would discourage any future protests from becoming violent, and so they come down heavily on the protagonist.
The backdrop to this is that the first exoplanet colonization effort is approaching its departure date. Several planets have been identified as probably capable of supporting life, and the first wave of settlers, those that will build the infrastructure future colonists will need are about to be sent forth. These colonists are made up of true discontents, the blindly faithful, the industrious, the ones unable to make it in the real world, the best and the worst that humanity has to offer. Since the protagonist professes to be dissatisfied with society, he will be exiled from it, and is sent off on this one-way colonizing excursion.
The trip takes several years, during which, thanks to the people he meets and the experiences he has aboard ship, the protagonist finds himself questioning his loyalty, his faith in the society that they had left behind, and the remnants of which remained with them aboard ship. He begins a slow process of reevaluating his view of the universe while he grows as a person.
They arrive at the new planet while the protagonist is still unsure of his beliefs, and he becomes too busy to become very introspective as he joins in the painful and ceaseless activity of preparing the new planet for colonization. After a few months, a deadly plague sweeps through the colony, killing off large swaths of it, including most of the command and control structure. This loss is further exacerbated by a fracturing of the colony into those who are determined to remain, for one reason or another, and another group which feels it would be better to return to the home world via cannibalizing several of the ships they arrived in and out of them creating one that would be capable of sustaining the ravages of the journey back.
The protagonist elects to stay with a minority of the colonists, while most decide to try their chances and return. The protagonist and the ones who remain first live in a communal anarchy, but due to the actions of a few, find that there is need for a society, for a government.
At this point, I'm not entirely sure how the story ends. For a time I thought the protagonist could become a benign despot, but I think that he would have grown enough to recognize that form of government is unsustainable and too flawed. However, he would be intimately familiar with the downfalls of democracy, so I don't think he would be a proponent of that. Simply allowing him to become a misanthrope and withdraw from society completely would be a bit unsatisfying. So I'm still pondering over this.
The other story I'm somewhat actively pursuing is a short story, perhaps a novella. It's set in today's world, somewhere in the eastern United States. It's about a young woman who's just graduated college and is unsure of her future. Primarily oscillating between joining the work force, or pursuing a graduate degree. This is the debate that occupies her mind as she takes a winter off to travel to the remote woods where her grandfather had built a cabin. Sadly he had died the year before, and none of the family were interested in keeping the cabin, so the protagonist has volunteered to spend the winter there, cleaning it, fixing it up, and preparing it to sell. During the winter, she spends days, perhaps weeks at a time alone with nature. During which she reflects over her past and her future, and what it means to simply be alive, to be human. By the time the snow begins to melt, she's come to appreciate nature as never before, and to realize that there is more to life, more to her future than simply a binary choice between continuing her education or joining the work force. So she decides to announce to her family that she doesn't want to sell the cabin, but would like to live in it and build a new life living there.
Finally, the third story that I'm playing with, which I've actually written a very detailed outline for, as well as a first chapter, is told in the style of a journal. It is fantasy based, in an Edwardian era. I'm not sure if I'll have magic or not. It's not exactly steam-punkish since it's pre-Victorian, and there won't be any unusual technology. The writer of the journal is a young woman who is part of a family of lesser nobles in a monarchical society. They're seen as eccentric, especially the protagonist's grandfather who is a renowned adventurer, traveling the world, having adventures, and doing science without the same system of ethics that other scientists in the monarchy share. The journal begins after the protagonist's grandfather has disappeared. No one is especially worried since he disappears often, however the protagonist feels that his absence is unusually long this time. So she sets out for the capital where her grandfather was usually based. There she tracks down clues which lead her to travel to a prussianesque neighboring country, one that is obviously in the midst of preparing for a war with someone, where her grandfather was doing research pertaining to an ancient culture. There she finds that her grandfather has died. It's unclear whether he had died of natural causes, or had been murdered by one of his many, many enemies.
Not entirely happy with the outcome of her journey, the protagonist returns home with her grandfather's body to find that her familial home has been burned to the foundation, with the rest of her immediate family lost in the conflagration. This causes the protagonist to go through a considerable bout of sorrow. One of the outcomes being that she swears to forever wear nothing but black, to show that she is forever in mourning. The other being that since she has no home to return to, she goes to live with her distant relatives who are rather pleasant, ho-hum sorts of individuals living in the capital. She tries to live with them, and finds that their minds are small and closed, content with their everyday lives. Nonetheless, she tries her hand at running a business to provide for herself, and fails miserably. Unsure of what to do, she learns of an expedition to the far off corners of the world led by an acquaintance of her grandfather. She sells off everything she can, and joins the expedition, realizing that she is only good at what she is interested in, which is exploration, discovery, adventure. That's where the first book/part ends. The next details her adventure, and follows as she makes logical decision after logical decision, and how she slowly slips into becoming what most people regard as a villain.
Anyway, those are the non-pony related stories that I've been thinking about for the past little while. Hopefully they turn out better than they sound, and who knows, maybe one of them will be good enough to be self-published on amazon or something.
So, what do you guys think? A good start, or burn it all down and try again?
Wow. The first and third stories sound fascinating. Especially the third one. I would so read that one, especially if it had magic. Edwardian-era books aren't all that common nowadays, but Edwardian-era magic? That's like hen's teeth. Especially since it has a female protagonist! That's like, jackalope rare. The only downside would be no steampunk, but that can be overlooked.
I'm with Wrabbit, I would definitely read the first and third stories. The first one especially, since I just started reading 1984.
Aside from Dresden Files, I basically only read F/F-romance these days. Not for lack of anything else, mind, but by choice. See it as a disclaimer and adjust your evaluation of the relevance and validity of my opinion accordingly. Also, while I would love to discuss this further, I don't want to hurt the English language too bad two weeks before Ireland, so I will have to keep this short.
I think the one I find most interesting is the third one. Whether you decide to include magic or not.
A fantasy adventure story with a capable adventuring female protagonist sounds nice for a change. Someone who can face drastic decisions instead of letting the world batter them around. But the most intriguing part is probably the descent into, as you said, sort of a villain. I have seen a few attempts at a villain protagonist in a not-mainly comedy setting, and most of them fell short of what I wanted them to be. If you can write a believable, intelligent "villainous" main character, and more importantly, how they became villainous, I am totally on board with that.
Oh, and nice to hear good news on the
westernpony front.this tickle my fancies Sir, if you get around writing them be assured that you'll at least have this one reader!
1927927
To be honest, I'm still debating on whether it will be Edwardian or Georgian. I was originally leaning toward Georgian, but with all the traveling involved, Edwardian might be better. That being said, I'll have to rethink a scene that's been stuck in my head from the Georgian version. Since guns are still in the flintlock era and are a pain to maintain/reload, not all that accurate, and don't always go off, most of the soldiers/adventurers in the story would be excellent swordsmen. However, the main character never saw the point of spending years and years studying swordsmanship when any idiot can just shoot you. So she carries a few pistols with her wherever she goes, and is often good naturally ribbed by her traveling companions for not wanting to learn how to use a blade.
So during one of the infrequent battles she somehow finds herself in, the protagonist has just discharged her last shot when an assailant charges her with a sword/pike. So she turns around and starts to run while trying to reload her pistol. Needless to say, she soon gets frustrated with fumbling with it, and turns to throw it at her attacker, gaining enough time to pick up the gun off a dead man and turn around to shoot the guy. Afterwards, while she's covered in sweat, blood, and powder, trying to catch her breath, her companion makes some joke about her maybe picking up a sword and she tells him to get stuffed. Politely of course.
As far as her becoming a villain, it's not so much that she's evil, but that the longer she lives, the more humanity comes up with ways to disappoint her. She's disillusioned with her own government, as well as most of the other governments she visits, including the Prussian based one. She doesn't appreciated having a moral code forced upon her, and tries to live life her way.
1927938
It's been a while since I've read 1984, but parts of it will remain with you for the rest of your life. If you enjoy it, I recommend checking out the movie Brazil. Also, many people recommend Brave New World as a counterpoint to 1984. Both being dystopic explorations of the logical conclusion of our modern life, but with 1984 being a future which we choose out of fear, and Brave New World being one which we choose out of a pursuit of pleasure.
1927963
I'll try my best. I can't promise to write her as a sympathetic villain, but at least as an understandable one. I used to be of the opinion that all the best heroes were anti-heroes, and the best villains were sympathetic, but I'm not so sure of that anymore. Not every evil person acts out of some sort of altruism, or an exaggerated swell of emotions which we can relate to. Some become the way they are because they've made hard decisions and must live with them. I guess I see some villains, perhaps some of the best, as Byronic heroes. As Byron puts it in Manfred:
"There is a power upon me which withholds, and makes it my fatality to live; If it be life to wear within myself this barrenness of spirit, and to be my own soul's sepulchre, for I have ceased to justify my deeds unto myslelf -- the last infirmity of evil."
And so, like Manfred, I think some villains are vilified because they faced a problem, perhaps one with no good solution, and they made a decision, knowing full well the consequences and ramifications of their actions, and must live with them. At least, that's the kind of villain I see the protagonist of this story being.
1928479
Excellent. Hopefully I'll be able to write these stories, and more, as well as I see them in my mind's eye.
Let me preface that I'd probably give all those stories a read. Maybe depending on the blurb
I'll just throw some hopefully not overly random thoughts at you.
The first story sounds a bit lonely. Maybe you just didn't see need to mention it, but the protagonist seems too busy with colonizing and introspection after leaving his former friends behind to form new personal relationships of sorts (not necessarily love interest).
As for him becoming a leader of sorts - he could be reluctantly made a leader by his peers because of his leadership skills / level of self-reflection and resulting general insightfulness etc? They could set up some sort of leading circle, like hereditary senators or something, as a compromise between flawed democracy and flawed dictatorship? I agree that making him misanthropically withdraw from society would be unsatisfactory. Also, I'm sensing vaguely Heinlein-ian undertones, and I like that.
I like the central conflict / development of ideas of the second story (ever since joining the workforce these questions do seem to play a bigger role). Not much to say other than it probably lives from your ability to have something to say when your cast consists of one (1) person and one (1) wordless nature.
The journey into villainity (villainness?) of the third story sounds interesting as well. I have to admit that the loss of her family right at the beginning does sound a wee bit clichéd to me. Then again, you seem to have it planned out to be the first part of the journey, not just some character background to justify her transformation. You can also play with that should your villain-protagonist ever gain fame, with people discussing her tragic background and misinterpreting her motives (albeit that would probably be a one-off joke).
If wikipedia didn't just fool me and Edwardian means in fact "the decade before WWI ish" (not very firm on British history) then I'm all the more interested in the setting!
And here I thought I knew what story ideas you were going to talk about xD
The first:
I'm pretty sure I've never read any dystopian future books, so I don't have a reference point with this one, but two things really stood out to me. 1) The protagonist taking the fall for his friends, and getting far more than he expected, having his life completely flipped upside down, and 2) the colony struggling to create a system of government or society that works.
I like the first one for its promise of a nice dramatic twist and a good character moment or set up or point/start of major change for him. It makes me ask what's his reaction, how does he handle it? Does he get angry at the government that's been his "friend" all his life? It has great potential for internal conflict.
I like the second one for it's more philosophical or thematic promises. As soon as I read the colony didn't know what kind of system to enact, it seemed to me like you were setting the story up to say something about governments or social systems and how we rule ourselves or each other. You have a very state-dominant, socialistic type government back on earth, you have the colonists attempt anarchy, realize it won't work, and then move on (you also mention democracy). So just like how in an essay on governments I would cover all the major ones, the story seems to be doing the same, and the comments or judgements the story (or author) makes on each would be represented in how each of them end up working out. Clearly you don't believe anarchy is viable, otherwise you would have made it so in the story.
Mix in with this the character driven story of the protagonist's journey and you have the potential to make something very significant, I think, as long as you unify it all. The protagonist is able to do something no dissertation on governments is able to do: make it relatable and personal. This is a character we get attached to and invested in, and live vicariously through. His relationship with each of these governmental systems becomes ours. For most of your summary it didn't really seem like any of this was a focus, since you never really mention his reactions to any of it, until the end, where you talk about possibly making him become a despot. Whatever he becomes, we get to see what each of these systems has done to him, how they've changed him, for better or for worse. It's a great way I think to explore the consequences of these philosophies and what they mean to us and how they effect us. Say he does become a despot--what does that say about all the systems that he's encountered, that have tampered with his life? Does it mean that maybe it's impossible to govern others and stay good or virtuous? Say he and the colonists find the right system; what does that say about that system as well as all the others? Is it all possible to escape the reality of the system, whichever form it takes--maybe by becoming a hermit? Has he really escaped even then? Whatever happens to them, it seems to me that these systems have had an irrevocable change on his life, suggesting that not one of us is untouched by the philosophy of government we live under. We may think we are, since we don't physically encounter it everyday (though perhaps we do and just don't realize it), but we aren't. It has irreversable effects on us, for good or bad.
So yeah, overall a great potential for a philosophical work that could be very meaningful and powerful, especially the more you flesh out the protagonist and make us invest in him. But this is just my interpretation of it.
The second:
This one reminds me of Walden written about Henry David Thoreau, and likewise seems to me to have the potential to be more purely philosophical than the others, as well as more character focused. After all, the bulk of the story is centered on a single character who spends most of her time alone, and over the course of the story she has a significant change in her outlook on life. So I imagine there's going to be lots of internal reflection, and whatever happens externally, especially with in her interaction with the environment and nature, will have emphasized significance.
The third:
This may sound really stupid, but I've never heard of an Edwardian era, at least not from what I can remember, though it's pretty easy to figure it out. I just can't picture it like I can the Victorian era. Anyway, I'm sure this one could go anywhere with its tone, but either way it can be a really enjoyable fantasy adventure story, among other things. It sounds like it has some suspense elements to it, but I think the driving factor in how good it ends up being is the main character and how interesting and likeable you make her. Though I guess the response to that would be "duh". But I say that because it's obviously not all adventure, since we spend a lot of quiet and slow periods of time with her (trying to start up her own business, for example). So the more we like her, the more willing we'll be to follow her anywhere, instead of getting bored once the adventuring stops or something. In any event, you're certainly up to the task. I also, obviously, really like the idea of her becoming a villain, and in that regard I'd say this could turn into something of a tragedy. And again, it allows you to get all philosophical--if you want--in showing how and why she ends up becoming a villain.
Overall I definitely like all three ideas, and think you could really do them justice and turn them into something unique and special. So I'd say go for all three of them dude.