The Steadfast Sky : Final Thoughts · 2:22pm May 31st, 2014
Best.
Learning experience.
EVER.
I’m serious. Have you read my #writing and #writing_theory tags? I could go on for ages and ages about all the things I learned from just sitting down and making something, start to finish. I bemoan my lack of experience with endings. I talk about wanting to write a story instead of a structure. I learned how to properly edit, and that a solid outline guides my natural written flow.
I learned what to keep and what to toss from the Stringhalt and Canterlot arcs. I learned about dramatic and intense writing from my good friend Steve, TheManWithTwoNames. I learned how to take advice and harsh criticism from my boyfriend Steve, Eddelsteinesser. I learned that having both of your editors having the given name “Steve” is HILARIOUS and worth literal hours of jokes.
I learned how to scrap what wasn’t working, but not to throw the baby out with the bathtub. I learned how to work with deadlines in my early story, and I learned how to work without them in the end.
A part of me, a LARGE part, is so goddamn happy that it’s just freaking over with. I wasn’t quiet when I admitted that I was slowly losing interest, in both ponies and my own characters. I complained when it got hard. I dissected my issues, and kept going despite feeling done to death.
And yet, The Open Sky was some of the smoothest, most fun, and most easy writing I’ve done in months and months. It was like keyboard chocolate to me. And from the sounds of it, that’s exactly how it read.
After all that stress, all that struggle. All the times I wanted to quit, but pushed forward anyway. After weaving together plot threads, sometimes with elegant grace and sometimes with yanking force. Everything finally came together into something beautiful. Never perfect. But a coherent, wonderful whole.
I know this story will never be THE MAGNUM OPUS, BEST STORY EVER, I AM WEEPING SWEET TEARS OF JOY. But it was my first complete, extended work.
And I will always cherish it.
But it’s long past time that I move on.
So, what now?
I’m still going to release small one-shot stories here, mostly little fanfiction ideas I never got around to writing down. Maybe I’ll pick up a prompt site again, give myself something to practice on. If you have a request, I’ll actually have time to work on those, so feel free to send… whatever!
As always, I am working as Script Team Lead on the Fallout : Equestria Unity game. There are so many talented people working for that project. We are literally GETTING SHIT DONE. We are going to CONS with ACTUAL, COMPLETE GAMEPLAY! So you can keep an eye on that if you’d like.
And on a personal writing scale, I’m going to try and move towards writing an original novel. Something I can publish, be it through a company, or a serial release online. I’ve got a few ideas that I’m batting around, but I probably won’t talk much about them here. For one, selling them means not giving bits out for free. For two… I kind’ve like the prospect of working at my own pace, not having to work towards releasing bits online in a coherent matter. I’m wondering what freedoms come with that. It’ll be fun! Another learning experience!
Thank you all so, so much for reading, commenting, and enjoying my cutesy little story. It was fun. It was difficult. It was an experience I’ll never regret.
Hugs for each and every one of you ^-^
TheGreyPotter
*Massive hug*
I wish you good fortune for the future. Thanks for writing!
This whole thing was enormously awesome, and I am very impressed. I personally have never managed to finish writing such a lengthy work, so hats off to you.
As for ideas for short pieces... I do have to admit I'd like to see some sort of companion to this in the future. You presented us, in the last couple of chapters, with hope that the "true bearers of Harmony", the so-called perfect matches to the Elements, would be able to overcome the curse of the Nightmare... and Luna was freed from the Nightmare, and Discord is recovering, slowly. Was it the fact that Luna could be freed that made Celestia think that Fluttershy could heal Discord? Was it the fact that Fluttershy may be the "perfect match" for the first Element he bore? Can the three of them ever reconcile, and at least win back their friendship, even if Luna/Discord is a ship that's sailed away forever? (They seem to avoid each other in canon; the end of the season 4 finale was the first time we've ever seen Discord and Luna in the same place at the same time since she and Celestia sealed him in stone.)
I imagine that for a while you'd want to stay well away from this universe, since you probably feel kind of burned out, but if you ever do decide to revisit it and show us what impact your view of the backstory has on the events in canon, I would be thrilled. :-)
I'm just glad that, despite the fact that you said you're not much into ponies anymore, you still aren't quitting altogether like a lot of old timers.
I haven't read the last two chapters yet, but I will.
Eitherway, good luck with your future endeavours, and I'll keep an eye on you!