). I want to tell you all about where I've been, what I've been up to, and share my journey with you guys. You were all around for some of the best times, and I felt it's only right to open back up again andAllow Me To Explain Myself · 3:29am Sep 19th, 2014
I'm sorry, everyone. I'm sorry for disappearing for a time without any news or updates. I'm sorry I haven't gotten any new chapters of Retribution out when I promised more frequent updates for it.
For the past few weeks, I've been struggling with my writing. Not only did school start again, I also sort of hit a rough patch of depression, feeling like I wasn't good enough of a writer, why bother doing this, I'm never going to get popular or liked, and so on and so forth. I mean, seriously, what are the chances of anyone "making it" in the fandom to the point where you get thousands of followers, go on panels, people know your name and your work, et cetera? Most people are content with that, and so was I. It sounds petty and jaded, and I know it, but I've always worked better when I have a reward in mind. When I realized I'll probably never get anywhere near that, I guess I began to give up on myself and my writing, and it's silly of me to think in such a way, but it really got me down to the point where I couldn't even open the file to keep writing.
So what have I been doing lately? I stepped away from everything for a bit. I just walked away, did other things, completely removed myself from ponies for a bit. And when I came back a couple weeks later, I decided to finally conquer a goal I had set for myself: read Fallout: Equestria cover-to-cover I want to apologize to Kkat for abdicating the story as adamantly as I have for all this time. It's actually a pretty good read, and I might have accidentally fallen in love with Littlepip because of reasons. Please send help.
So where do I stand today? For one, I am slowing down my writing for FiMFiction. This is so I can go back, rework some of my old stories, change or retcon elements I feel are weak points or superfluous, and really strengthen my story's foundations for the future and eventual end so no loose ends are left untied. I will still try to update Retribution as much as I can, but it will probably be less frequent than I originally promised, and I am sorry. The reason I am doing this is not because I'm burned out on pony fiction—this is to keep me from burning myself out. I will still be around on the site if people want to chat, need things looked over, and whatnot, and I will be doing some writing for myself and side projects with friends just to keep myself fresh in the game. Hopefully, I'll be back up and running at full capacity again soon.
Thanks for understanding.
— DQ
Personally I have rather enjoyed reading your work so far, including your Skyfall works, and I am picky when it comes to my reading materials. (But it takes a special kind of fail to earn a thumbs down/dislike)
I also agree with your decision to slow yourself down to prevent a burnout, those are never enjoyable nor desirable for anyone whatsoever, pacing yourself is exactly what should happen, you will go much further as a result.
When I think of Fallout: Equestria, I have to remind myself of one important thing....the first time I read it I wasn't a site member, now that I have the physical book, I am reading it again, albeit much slower.
In conclusion, I would have to say that taking your time to do a better job, instead of rushing things and half-assing them will hopefully make things just that much better for you in the long-run, and hopefully, get you the kind of recognition that you deserve.
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This is true. :| I had so many issues with Fallout: Equestria and I hated Littlepip, but I still find myself saving every picture of her I come across. D:
This accurately reflects my current stance on FO:E and I'm halfway through it. Like every story, it has its problems. I don't know if it'll change the deeper I go down the rabbit hole, but dammit, I just wanna cuddle Littlepip and I don't know why!
2466816 Because she's such a damaged soul. She exudes this need to be helped and cared for. So much so that you can't resist wanting to snuggle her.
As for writing, I agree with what's been said. You don't need to be churning stuff out if it won't make you happy. focus on doing it because you love it. Having a goal is awesome but don't let it dominate you.
No, certainly take your time on everything. I just hope that is enough to get you back on track. We've lost enough writers here to burning out and getting sick of ponies and the fandom.
You should know that we still love you Dusk -even if you haven't killed off Shining yet- and we're always here for you if you need someone to rant at. <3.6
(<3.6 is 20% more love than <3)
*pulls his head out from his kindle* wait...wut?
...Oh yeah...ponies...I write about them don't I? (Well griffins technically, but it's the world.)
* * *
In all seriousness though I can't blame you for taking some time off from ponies (or from feeling down and jaded about your writing and whatnot. I've gone through the same thing once or twice myself, so I can sympathize with taking a step back.)
I'm in total support of you doing other stuff and other works. I have 4 stories that I'm currently writing (including A House Divided ) helping me stay engaged with writing and a 5th one brewing. I've also been doing a lot of reading of late, and that's really helped me remain engaged with my work. Keep at it and keep up the awesome work! Oh-and if you ever write some other stuff (beyond ponies I mean) I'd love to read it.
Oh-and if you need a place where you can post your original work I've got a website that might be able to be an answer. It's a website that a few of my friends and myself have made. It's a combination of a blogging website and a place for us to place our work.
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The side projects I have going with friends in my brony group are still pony related, including a Fallout: Equestria spinoff for funsies (funsies meaning I'll probably end up writing 100,000+ words in it and never doing anything with it, but I've done more in it in a week than Retribution in a month). I can't foresee myself phasing out of MLP fiction anytime soon, so I wouldn't worry about that.
As for the writing for myself... well now, it wouldn't be for myself if I told everyone what it was.
2478703 Writing for funsies is awesome. It's helped me get somewhere on my stories that I want to tell. I know the feeling of "doing more in a week than X." It's both exhilarating and (at least for me) somewhat depressing. Though in the end I think it's very helpful. Keeps me wanting to do more.
...you know I'm pretty sure had I lived 1,000 years ago I'd still be doing this...well not the writing on the internet and about ponies part, but the talking with people about crafting stories and the like...I'd be a bard. Pretty sure.