Secrets, Silver Spoon, and Some Other Stuff · 5:35pm Apr 24th, 2014
Okay, as promised I'm going to answer a few questions as well as comment on some things from Tarnished Feelings. I'll also talk about upcoming writing projects I have in mind here, so let's get to it.
What's your secret?
Tabasco sauce on everything I eat and washing it down with scotch on the rocks. Yes, you heard it here, all of my writings are the children of drunken fever dreams. Now you too can be a slightly well-liked fic writer!
My secret is this: I write the stories that I want to write. Period. That's all. I get an idea in my head and go, "Okay, I want to see where I can take this concept." That's really all there is to it. Sometimes the ideas come from listening to music, sometimes they come from some artwork I see, sometimes they even just come to me out of the blue while I'm driving to or from work. But ultimately what I write and share with the world are stories I want to write. I don't take requests. I certainly don't take commissions. And as should be patently clear from Tarnished Feelings, I by and large do not bend to the pleas of my readers unless it's something that really needs re-working.
The sheer number of people who asked to have Diamond Tiara have the taste slapped out of her mouth honestly surprised me. And I get it, she's the kind of character in the show - and here as well - who seems devoid of any redeemable qualities. I don't disagree with that notion in the slightest. But the thing I hope you all understand by now is this story was never intended to be a revenge fantasy against her. Tarnished Feelings had two core themes to it: forgiveness and moving on. If Silver had just hauled off and knocked Diamond silly, would she have been justified for it after everything that happened? Probably, yeah. But that wouldn't have given her the closure she needed on her relationship with Diamond. All it would've meant was that Diamond once again managed to bring out the worst in her just like always. For Silver to move on, she had to let go of everything that has poisoned her personality for so long. Think about that the next time you think someone "deserves" to be slapped for their behavior. Is that really going to change anything for the better, or are you just giving in to the kind of negative feelings they want you to feel?
And to bring this tangent back to my point, this story played out exactly how I planned it to all along. That means yes, there is no comeuppance for Diamond Tiara here, but at the same time Silver Spoon got her clean slate and a new group of better friends who'll be there to help and support her going forward. Of course, just because Diamond didn't get what's coming to her here doesn't mean karma's giving her a free ride. More on that later. Next!
where you got your cover pic
Found it where I find 95% of my favorite pony artwork: Derpibooru! Here's the original Silver Spoon pic for you all.
If I had a way of contacting the artist behind that image, I would thank them for just a spectacular piece of art. Alas, there was no source given for the pic on the 'booru.
What made you want to focus on Silver Spoon for this story?
Season 2, Episode 12: Family Appreciation Day. That was the catalyst for all of this. Silver spontaneously burst into applause at the conclusion of Granny Smith's story about the foundation of Ponyville before anyone else in the class including Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. To me, this spoke volumes. Although it hasn't been touched on since then, this clearly showed that Silver has thoughts and feelings that are not dominated by Diamond Tiara. So I wanted to explore the idea that of the two of them, Silver was the one more likely to try and make amends with the CMC. To do that, she would need to be separate from Diamond. So I concocted a disaster scenario wherein Silver was more or less broken down and then would begin her healing process by at least trying to set things right between herself and the others.. The rest is there for the reading.
Will we get to see more of Silver Spoon's progress and Rarities and Art Deco's relationship or will you be diverting towards maybe other characters and plots?
Art & Rarity will probably show up again as a cameo somewhere down the line, and Silver will be involved in future story events as well, but there are other stories that need writing and other characters that need attention. Will I eventually cover the wedding? Maybe. I'll think about it, but it's not on my radar at the moment as far as other writing projects go.
So what's next for me? First, a lot of brainstorming and outlining. Right now I don't have much else actually written apart from the starts of a couple of stories, neither of which is related to the Raiders/Tarnished timeline. I prefer to have my stories outlined before I get started so I can make sure to stay on task while writing. I've tried to just make things up as I go before, and while I turned out some stories that people did enjoy I wasn't all that pleased with the end results. I'd rather have a plan set first and stick to it as best I can, altering it as I go if needed if some aspect of the story just isn't working out. As far as what kind of stories I have in mind, here's a few quick teaser notes.
- A more canon-faithful story focused on Applejack and a rather large and humorous misunderstanding.
- An Equestria Girls story looking at how Sunset Shimmer starts her reformation process with the help of the other girls. Could be a series, but only one story planned presently.
- The next story in the Raiders/Tarnished setting will indeed be about Diamond Tiara and the aforementioned karmic backlash that she is due. Not gonna lie, this one's going to be a challenge to write, but I look forward to it. Actual writing on this will start after one of the other two stories is done and posted, though.
That should cover everything for now. Again, my thanks to everyone who's supported me and I'm delighted you've all enjoyed my stories as much as you have. If you have any other questions, feel free to toss them my way. Take care, and watch for something new from me in the weeks to come!
Thanks for answering my question.
Maybe you shoulda tried Frank's Red Hot Sauce: I put that sauce on everything.
So, here we are, half a year and two stories later. Where's that karmic justice?
2501753
Working on it. Life happens, y'know? Also, writing isn't the only thing I do for recreation.