New Chapters Coming up/what makes good fan fiction

The next chapter of "Their Final Crusade" is going to be published either this evening or tomorrow afternoon. Just adding the finishing touches. Shortly another one's going to come out. That's two in a fairly short time. Sha-weet

: : edit : : gunna be a bit later than expected. Can't help those last minute ideas ^^

It's the bit I was initially going to cut. I edited it and worked on it a little bit, and found it works as a separate chapter much better. It's also necessary -- I've been building this particular part up and I don't want a Chechov's Gun in my story (I think that's the correct spelling ^^). Anywho, these two chapters are more playful than the others I've posted, so it'll be a little less downbeat. At least for now ;)

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What makes a good MLP fan fiction? That's really subjective, but I've read a number of fan fics and observe the number of upvotes vs. downvotes they get. I notice a trend -- sometimes it has nothing to do with the MLP-themed ideas, but the story's content being disliked by the reader. I dig.

I tend to use the down-vote only if a story (or in the case of a commenter, person) has failed to do what they initially set out to do. I'm fairly flexible when it comes to content. There's one thing that can make for good MLP fan fiction and that's keeping in the theme of the series and having at least one part of the story involve characters becoming better ponies/people as a result of their friendships or what they've learned about friendship... or, if the writer's especially sadistic, having the friendship/lesson be a liability in some way, even though the character does everything right, inverting the themes of the series. Sometimes when we apply to situations that we've learned, it doesn't always pan out. Trust, for example, can screw you over; imagine if Rarity Takes Manehatten had ended with Rarity just cutting her losses and enjoying the trip with her friends instead of standing up to Suri Polomare (too bitter-sweet for MLP). That's reality -- relationships and events are dynamic. Another example: even though the main character in My Little Dashie learns about friendship, trust, and himself (and becomes a better person because of caring for Dash) his bonds ultimately turn on him when Dash has to leave. It's a predictable story, because that's mentioned fairly early on, but that element gets people "right in the feels," as they say. It's an emotional-reaction, and there's nothing wrong with having a story that caters to that aspect of humanity.

Another thing that helps make a good story is using the characters in the right way. MLP is a character-driven show, a lot of its comedy and conflict comes from interactions. If the plot of the story makes it so the characters are doing things they'd never do, then it might not be a good story. There are exceptions, and there also are ways to use the characters so they're doing things they normally wouldn't do, but it's based off the context of why they're doing it. Example off the top of my head would be a Rarjack ship fic where AJ and Rarity are fighting -- AJ dresses up in a seemingly frou-frou outfit which is actually Rarity's "Favorite dress" for her to wear in private time, but she's wearing it in front of their friends at a party just to make things really awkward for Rarity, using certain words and terms to arouse her mate. One can still extrapolate a lesson about friendship about that depending on why AJ's doing that -- maybe jealousy, spite, or wrath -- it could also be about respecting each other's boundries or how a spiteful action intended for one can ruin the fun for everypony ^^

Just a little muse on this idea. I don't get all the hate, but I don't bother trying to analyze it either. Write what's fun for ya, and try to do better each time.

Peace