Site Post » [Interview] Caerdwyn's A Shower of Stars · 6:03pm Jul 31st, 2012
Originally posted to the Vault on 2/24/12.
This week we have an author whose work I discovered by pure chance and immediately loved. I highly recommend you check out the rest of his work; one other story even includes a fully functional apple cake recipe woven seamlessly into the narrative. This story in particular caught my eye for its interesting take on Luna-as-Nightmare-Moon, and its more serious look at the Wonderbolts' existence.
[Adventure][Tragedy] • 10,700 words
What starts out as an ordinary afternoon for Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash quickly turns serious, as half-forgotten plots come to fruition.
Hit the break for a thoughtful interview from Caerdwyn, and links to A Shower of Stars out on the ponynet. Check the Vault's Downloads page for a copy in your preferred ebook format as well!
deviantArt • Pony Fiction Archive
Where do you live?
Silicon Valley, a.k.a. "Never-Never Land"
What kind of work do you do? (i.e. are you a student, do you have a career/day job, etc)
I'm a software engineer. If you've been on the Internet for more than thirty seconds, you've been touched by the stuff I work on. Heh heh... touch.
How did you discover My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic? When did you realize you were a fan of the show?
A friend whose opinion on animation I've learned to trust recommended it. I've never had a hangup about watching movies or TV shows that as a mucho macho man I wasn't supposed to enjoy, but I'd avoided MLP:FIM for a long while because of how unimaginably trite, insipid and downright awful the previous MLP shows were. After a while I gave in, just because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Okay, fine, show me what you've got.
I saw the shows in broadcast order (no cherry-picking, I just sat down with episode 1 and started through it). There were some good moments and very expressive character animation in the early shows, and I especially enjoyed the Benny Hill shout-out in Ticket Masters, but it wasn't until about Dragonshy that it really began to take hold. Winter Wrap-Up was when I decided that this was a show I wanted to stay with; the music and staging and storytelling were simply outstanding.
The characters snuck up on me. The voice-acting in this show is great. To be honest, sometimes I'm not so impressed with the dialog as-written, but the actors really carry it through. Going through the first season for a second time was the real treat; having gotten to know the characters, I could appreciate the earlier shows much more.
Do you have a favorite episode?
Suited for Success. I'm a big fan of Steven Sondheim's musicals, and also a big fan of character development. To be honest, Rarity really annoyed me up to that point; I saw her as a shallow drama-queen with little in the way of redeeming qualities. However, Suited for Success was, like Winter Wrap-Up, a musical treat, and Rarity's handling of customers and their irrational, contradictory demands is something I understand all too well. This episode added a great deal of depth to Rarity's character, explained why she was the way she was, and painted everything that had come before in a different light. I like Rarity now, where before I wouldn't give her the time of day. Episodes that can make that kind of change are special.
Runners-up are Winter Wrap-Up (another musical masterpiece with an endearing theme), Dragonshy (big adventure, lots of fun, and kick-ass Fluttershy), The Best Night Ever (a truly celebratory, uplifting episode that perfectly wraps up season one), and Green Isn't Your Color (more Flutter-Squee!).
The second season thus far (at the time of this writing, Hearts and Hooves Day) has had better character animation, but the stories have been less impactful. The editing hasn't been as tight, and there haven't yet been any stunning episodes like the ones mentioned earlier. Lesson Zero, Sisterhooves Social, and Family Appreciation Day have been very good, but nothing has reached the heights of Suited for Success or Winter Wrap-Up.
Who is your favorite character based purely on the canon of the show itself? Would your answer change if you considered the fandom in its entirety (i.e. art, fanfiction, memes, etc)?
Applejack. I grew up on a ranch, and her outlook, ethical code and stubbornness are something I can really identify with. Applejack is best pony, and I ain't a-gonna hear otherwise.
I also like Celestia. The fan handling of her in various incarnations (Trollestia, Molestia, the authority figure of the Solar Empire) do her a disservice. To be honest, I don't give much weight to "fanon" interpretations, as in most cases it's just projection that reveals more about the author/artist than about the character. While I enjoy fan material, and have produced a bit of it myself, I recognize that how fans interpret characters is often divorced from the show. Fans and fan-work don't change my opinion often, and for me there's only a couple of fan artists/writers whose material have truly elevated the show. That being said, the impact those fan-artists have had on my views of some of the characters and the show itself is profound.
My least-favorite character (aside from Spike, who suffers from Token Sidekickitis) is Luna. I don't care for the direction the show took her in Luna Eclipsed, and I certainly didn't buy into most of the fannish interpretations of Luna. I recognize the irony of saying this, as one of my stories is a Luna story.
How did you come up with your handle/penname?
The name comes from a role-playing game I ran back in the 80's (remember when Dungeons and Dragons was a satanic indoctrination method protested by fat church-ladies?). Caerdwyn was the local mysterious heavy whose motivations you never were quite sure of.
Have you written in other capacities (other fandoms, professionally, etc)? When did you first start writing?
I've been writing for a very long time; back in junior high school I was already cranking out stories. In college I double-majored: Computer Science and English (Creative Writing). Though my career has been in high tech, I've continued to write, and managed to get a few kudos for it along the way. I've won a few writing contests, been professionally published a couple of times, and wrote/edited/everything-except-drew a comic book series. I also have written song lyrics for musical friends.
MLP:FIM isn't my first entry into fan fiction. Though most of my writing has been original material, I've done fanfic tied into online role-playing games that has been well-received. No Kirk/Spock slash-fiction from me, though; Spock has higher standards than that, and Kirk has needs more often than every seven years.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I'm a private pilot, shooter, gaming addict, ham radio operator, feeder of dogs, stealthy PMV director/editor, and pinball machine restorer.
Who is your favorite author (published or fanfiction)? Do you have a favorite story or novel?
J.R.R. Tolkien. No author at any point in history before or since, in any genre, has done as good a job of world-building. The depth of his creations and the joy he took in the craft of writing are true inspirations. While he was not-so-great at character or dialog, that's not what I read and re-read The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion for. Perhaps this is because of my mumble-mumble years of running roleplaying games and creating gaming worlds, but what brings me back for a second or third reading is the setting.
For non-fantasy fiction, I'm a big fan of Larry Niven. He's another great universe-builder, and when he teams up with Jerry Pournelle (who understands how to create believable characters well, and whose strengths complement Larry's), they make for an unstoppable team. The Mote in God's Eye stands out as the best first-contact science fiction novel I've ever read.
Stephen King believes that every author has an "ideal reader" - the one person who they write for, the one person whose reactions they care about. Do you have one, and if so, who is it?
I write for myself. I really can't get into anyone else's head, and have found that if I target a specific individual, as often as not I get the opposite reaction I'd hoped for. There are people in my life whom I very much want to please with my writing, and whose opinions I greatly value. I don't write "for" them though.
Do you have any tips for aspiring writers, or writers who are struggling with their own stories?
1. Grammar and spelling matter. If you want to write, you really do need to master this. Language is the tool you're using; learn to use it. Know the difference between "too" and "to". Know "they're", "their" and "there". Don't use apostrophes like a grocery-store advertisement. Put yourself on a strict low-exclamation-point diet. Learn, where, commas, do, and, do, not, go.
2. Read your dialog out loud. If it sounds wrong, it is wrong.
3. Cool it with the "purple prose" (look it up). Her name is Rainbow Dash, not "the brightly-colored mare". Cutting down on the evocative text will make a story flow better and will let the story speak for itself; too much florid over-the-top verbiage will exhaust and irritate the reader. The longer the story, the less intense the word-choice needs to be. This is something I have trouble with from time to time.
4. When you finish your rough draft, for each character go through the story and read their dialog, skipping ahead from spoken line to spoken line. You're looking for consistency in voicing and delivery. You also need to ensure your characters don't all sound the same. It can help to pick one character at a time and make a complete editing pass for that character's dialog all at once.
5. You don't have to write the story straight through. Rough out the key scenes, then connect them.
6. Show your story to others. If they say that something isn't clear or something bothers them or something is missing, the problem isn't with them. Ultimately you won't be there to answer a reader's questions or clarify something; the story has to stand without you.
7. Don't be afraid to set aside a story that's not working. Move on to something else, and come back to it later.
8. The art of a good story is making characters that people will like, then hurting them. That being said, don't be gratuitous. Too much emo will lose your readers every time.
9. If you write clopfics, fine, but remember that even in a clopfic what happens between the ears is far more important than what happens between the legs. The standards don't slip just because the bedsheets are rumpled, and how the characters act and react must be credible.
What is your typical writing process? (Do you work through multiple drafts, do you have any prereaders/editors, etc?)
I start with a premise and a couple of key scenes and work backwards from there. I will go through many drafts, changing words, messing with the pacing (cutting here, adding there). I'm one of those people who agonizes over every turn of phrase.
Writing for me is an exercise in connecting the dots. I write the pivotal scenes then fill between. Getting the good scenes down is very satisfying, and incentivises me to finish the story so those scenes don't go to waste. I'll take my incentive where I find it.
I have three friends whom I ask to review my stories. Two of them are skilled editors and professionally published authors; the third has probably read every MLP:FIM fanfic ever written. While I don't always enact their suggestions, I do take their concerns very seriously. As mentioned earlier, the story has to stand on its own.
What inspired you to write A Shower of Stars?
I wanted to write a multi-chapter story. My first attempt, still incomplete, was an examination of Celestia's mindset and what outliving all your friends can do to you. Boring! One of my friends lobbied heavily for a Rainbow Dash story, so I gave it a shot.
I've always viewed the Wonderbolts as a military demonstration team akin to the Blue Angels. In my view they're soldiers with particularly good duty, but are also the ones who are the first line of defense when the shit hits the fan. (I was happy to see this borne out in Secret of My Excess, though I wished they were depicted as something other than buffoons.) Given that I'm a military brat, son of a career fighter pilot and a pilot myself, it was a natural source of inspiration (write what you know). I also had a point to make about the military's role and the sacrifices that soldiers and sailors and airmen make for an often-unappreciative civilian population.
Did you run into any tough spots or challenges when writing A Shower of Stars?
The biggest issue was the action sequence in the last couple of chapters. The action was not something that would stretch out for too long, but it needed to have enough bulk in the story to sustain the pace and to drive home the point. I wrote it last because it was kicking my butt; I don't like stretching a scene just to fill an allocation.
It didn't help that I had a mental image of how it would play out if it were a comic or a movie. Comics and movies aren't literature; they have different needs and different pacing. You can't just describe a movie and expect it to become a book. Over-the-top emotional scenes are easy. Action sequences are hard.
When you set out to write A Shower of Stars, did you have any specific messages or themes in mind?
As mentioned earlier, I wanted to hit on the theme of appreciating veterans. The old saying of "soldiers die so that civilians can remain soft and ignorant" is very true.
I also believe that Rainbow Dash has the most "growing up" to do of the main cast, and is the least informed about what life is all about. People like Rainbow Dash don't grow up until life slaps them in the face and forces them to, and I wanted to write a story that did exactly that. She also needed to demonstrate the element she represents, and the show itself has been lacking in that theme.
Where can readers drop you a line?
I check my DeviantArt account daily.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Be good to each other. The MLP:FIM fan community is enormously creative and has a lot going for it, but it's fragile. I've seen how this plays out if the divisive elements are left unchallenged. I want this fandom to remain special for a long, long time, but that will require work from everyone involved.
Keep writing. Keep drawing. Love your ponies. Don't troll. Love and tolerate that which is lovable and tolerable and turn your back on the rest.
Support the show. Buy pony swag. Buy pony shows. Put some cash into Hasbro's pocket, because this show isn't free to make. It's YOUR job to make Hasbro glad they've made a good show and kept their mitts off of the fandom and out of the scripts.
And remember who's Best Pony, y'all.
Darn right Apple Jack is best pony. He also gave out great tips too.
I always make sure to hit these interviews, even if the story doesn't interest me, because of how solid the advice is. These guys are all experienced writers, so following from their experience, rather than having to make the mistakes and learn from them myself, is an awesome advantage. I'm psyched to put these tips to work and get better.
Love these interviews
and Applejack is indeed best pony
Ah, memories. "A Shower of Stars" was the very first fanfic that I read, and it was definitely an amazing introduction to MLP fanfiction. Although it was a fairly short fic, the story was very strong, and I especially loved the unique view on the differences between Nightmare Moon and Luna. And without saying too much, the story had one of the strongest, most beautiful, most inspirational endings I've ever read. Out of the literally hundreds of fanfics that I've read, this is one of only two which I consistently recommend whenever someone asks for suggestions.
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What's the other?
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The other fic I always recommend is "Fluttershy's Poem" by Aquarian Poet (first three chapters of The Pony Poetry Series). It's a continuation of Fluttershy's cutie mark story from "The Cutie Mark Chronicles", telling what happened to her in the day after she fell from Cloudsdale and got her cutie mark. I've always found it to be adorable and heartwarming, plus it offers some good character development and really offers an unique perspective on some things that were never explained in the show.
These are the best writing tips I've come across thus far. While I've stood by some of them since before joining the fandom, others are new to me. Regardless, thank you for sharing!
That aside about fanon interpretations of characters caught my eye and reminded me of a personal rant, which I won't exercise here as it could take up a couple of pages and would be boring. Summary version is: sometimes fanon gets stupid.
Rainbow Dash is a hard character to write. She always struck me as a bit of a slacker who was content to coast on the back of early success but had extreme performance anxiety about future achievement. Her story arc (if MLP has suh a thing) has seemed, to me at least, to be one of learning to trust herself and learning to be loyal to something higher than simply being awesome.
But like I said, fanon gets stupid.
And applejack is indeed best pony today.
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Fanon is a very powerful builder in MLP:FIM which has made the show far more than just 22 minutes 26 times a year. It's the role that J.R.R. Tolkien described as "subcreators" which adds the richness and depth that make something like MLP:FIM special. Without fan-created material like Egophiliac's serious-story comics, for example, Celestia would not have the incredible reach which she has achieved. DHX/Studio B and Hasbro Studios did great things and created the brilliant light-source; it is the fans who have taken it over the top and refracted it into a million different colors.
Fanon also wanders off into strange places. John Joseco's take on "Molestia", for instance, is an absolute riot, and I eagerly look forward to each update. I also don't confuse it with the show itself, OR with the fanon which is a logical extrapolation of the show. Molestia is not Celestia, and I'm smart enough to know that. I adore Egophiliac's work and JJ's work; I recognize that the two are different beasts. It's when people start taking the weird stuff that doesn't make any sense whatsoever seriously (Tyrant Celestia? You've got to be kidding...), both as authors/artists and as readers/viewers, that make me wonder about some of the stranger "edges" of the fandom. How bored must people be to need to seek out artificial outrage? This odd pharisaic quest to inflict self-defined "purity" is doomed to failure and only serves to cast a harsh light for ignorant critics to follow.
TL;DR ... "sometimes fanon gets stupid".
But that's the nice thing about fanon, though. You can take what you want and simply ignore the rest, and doing so is completely valid. I deeply loathe and detest Cupcakes, for example, but I don't want it erased from history. That's not for me to do, and it no more defines my sense of fanon than my work should define anyone else's. Freedom of speech occurs both in the writing and the reading, and it doesn't count until things get uncomfortable.
I haven't found Rainbow Dash to be difficult to write for, simply because her behavior and bravado are internally consistent. Dash brags for fear of the Worst Thing Ever: obscurity. Dash shows off because applause pushes back the feelings of "am I some sort of imposter" and the fear that she truly IS the shallow braggart she occasionally is accused of being. A reprimand from her friends would strike Dash more profoundly than others because she is more likely to believe the reprimand. In retrospect Griffin the Brush-Off is a stronger episode once you understand that Gilda is precisely what Dash fears to become.
And Applejack is indeed Best Pony. That's just natural law, y'all.
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RD worried that she's a fake? Hm... you know, I really like that idea. There are plenty of examples of people who seem to believe they don't deserve their success or accolades for it an are apparently just waiting for someone to see through their "disguise". Sort of the opposite of Trixie?
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Not so much "opposite" as "tangential". The way I see it, and as demonstrated in Sonic Rainboom, Dash has a very deep fear of failure... such a deep fear that she will do almost anything to not lose (as demonstrated in Fall Weather Friends). Though she has the swagger of "I'm too cool to care what others think of me", the exact opposite is true... performance anxiety (Sonic Rainboom) and public image (May the Best Pet Win, Read It and Weep, and most especially The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well) all point to self-image issues. Trixie has the same concerns, though hers come from a position of entitlement rather than a self-inflicted fear of being revealed a fraud. They both are performers, with Dash caring about building herself up to win and Trixie caring about tearing down others for her victories; the "real deal" versus mere mockery.
Dash sometimes surprises herself by succeeding where she expected to fail; Trixie was surprised that she could fail at all. Though they both travel the same road, they do so in different directions. My reading of Boast Busters with twenty-twenty hindsight is that ultimately Dash understood very quickly what Trixie was all about; she just didn't have the right method to deal with it. Taking down a braggart requires that you not play on the braggart's home turf (in this case, public performance).
Fear of being revealed as a fraud drives Dash to excellence, while it drove Trixie to disgrace.
It will be interesting to see how it plays out if the rumored "Return of Trixie" episode is the real deal. The low-hanging fruit is, of course, Trixie's rivalry with Twilight (as many a fanfic of varying levels of "oh, my" have explored). I will be looking for a subtext between Dash and Trixie, an "I know you for what you are" moment. Trixie will want legitimacy in Twilight's eyes, but her harshest judge could very well be Dash.
How does the saying go... "Don't bullshit a bullshitter".
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Ahhhh... you've got a better handle of the characters than most.
I hope they don't go the cliché route with Trixie. I'm planning on having her in a future fic, replacing Rarity as the element of generosity (for, er, reasons) so any insight into her character beyond simply being, well, Trixie will be useful.
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The following is mostly speculation, overanalysis and second-guessing, and is worth exactly what you paid for it. Caveat empetor.
Braggarts like Trixie are usually responding to a humiliation early in their life, and their desire to appear to have all the awesomesauce in the world (and none for you) goes back to that. Imagine something like failing an entry exam to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns not because of lack of raw talent, but for lack of self-confidence or self-discipline. Take it to the next level with an expulsion or something of the sort... but the reason would be for something inherent in Trixie herself, not an accident or "Little League parents". I see Trixie's problems as self-created.
You'll notice that her talents seem to be about shallow glitz and mockery. She's certainly good with the fireworks, but that didn't seem to impress many ponies (just the hormonally challenged); it's just an attention-getting tool for the main event. Trixie isn't there to put on a show, she's there to challenge the best the locals have to offer. And she does it not by meeting power with greater power, or skill with greater skill. She does it with mockery, deflection, and showmanship. The first Ponies: The Anthology video with "Razzle Dazzle" (3:40 in) was spot-on. And when push came to shove, she failed hard... twice.
She failed to demonstrate the skill and power she claimed.
She failed to "man up", instead choosing to run away and cling to the BS act.
Of course, all the fanfics revolve around what happens next. Redemption, round two, treason, more ships than the Panama Canal, revenge. I'm not going to speculate on what Hasbro Studios might do beyond "consider the target audience"; it will be a redemption story because anything else would be unacceptable to the core demographic and their keepers. Confidence is high, go to DEFCON 2, launch on warning.
For fanfics, the biggest challenge for the author will be to set their own biases aside. By this, I mean the tendency of adolescents to engage in revenge-fantasies, or some of the shipping folks to force a relationship merely to get to the squishy bits. In other words, beware having a story that isn't true to the character, then bending the character to the point of breaking to fit the story. There's a lot of that about, and stories like that reveal much more about the authors than the characters. In the story you describe, there had to be three major events, all of which have to be internally consistent: Trixie's redemption, acceptance (at least on some level) by the rest of the girls, and the transfer of the Element. All of this sets the stage for "and then Trixie uses the Element and proves herself worthy through sacrifice because that's what generosity is, yo." Rarity will also have to be handled delicately.
All of the above will be driven by what has come before. In your fanon, why is Trixie such a bitch? (Really, no other word fits as well.) What events and pressures turned her that way, both from within herself and from others? We know the middle, you'll be handling the beginning and the end. Your task is to "throw" from the beginning, tie in some moments in the middle, and "catch" at the end. My own take on the matter is that the core questions are:
Why does it require that for Trixie to win, everybody else must lose?
What will it take for Trixie to realize that the greatest victories are shared, and sometimes not even noticed or credited? "Greater love hath none than this: That one lays down life for one's friends."
Answer those questions, and everything else will fall into place. The Great and Powerful Trixie will write the story for you. If you can portray with sincerity Trixie's fall from grace and the forge in which she is reshaped, and it rings true for her, the other characters will react properly. Remember, each of your important secondary characters will have to have their own mini-arc within the story; they have to change too, in reaction to Trixie.
Oh man, I know I'm overthinking things now. I need some sleep.
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I have to admit, that is much more than I expected. Thanks!
Argh, I guess I should learn to read instead of judging things by color, I confused the Tragedy with Romance
Still a nice work of fiction.
This is definitely the best set of writing pointers I have read so far among the interviewed writers. But with experience like yours it's hardly surprising.
Thanks for sharing them.
Also:
That's the first time I saw Fluttershy so misspelled.
Sorry, couldn't resist. Don't take it seriously.
RBD, you might want to fix the link under the Downloads word - it's html, htm doesn't work.
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Applejack is Best Pony.
Big Mac is Best Background Pony.
Fluttershy is Cutest Pony.
But Celestia is Pony I Most Want To Meet.
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As for "experience"... comes from being old and decrepit. "Dang kids GIT OFFA MY LAWN don't they realize people EAT that?"
Download? It's at my DeviantArt account. I'd post here but fimfiction.net does not have any sort of copyright/assignment of rights policy anywhere, i.e. am I granting rights, can I edit or delete at my will, are they going to use it in any other way without clearing it with me first, and I'm kinda a stickler about that. I don't believe word-of-mouth "Oh, they'd NEVER do that" stuff any more, because I've found out the hard way that as often as not, websites with no such formal policy can't be trusted. Remember the "Big Book of Brony" fiasco? Ask poor RD47 what hoops I made him jump through before I trusted the Vault...
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I already downloaded the epub of your story from The Vault. Now I only have to find some to actually read it. 
The comment about the Download link was directed at RBDash. RBD missed one letter and linked 'Downloads' word to http://www.ponyfictionvault.net/p/downloads.htm instead of http://www.ponyfictionvault.net/p/downloads.html. Notice the 'l' at the end of the link. Hence my comment.
As for the copyrights, I sadly cannot help you in any way. I know for sure (from my own experience
) that you can edit/delete stories at will, but when it comes to copyrighting, I guess not many of us care about the rights to our stories. But not many of us have the writing skills on your level, so that's probably why. 
Actually I don't know a thing about the "Big Book of Brony" fiasco. Could you perhaps elaborate?
EDIT: I just browsed the topic on the net and came across this post on deviantart. Was this what you referred to?
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Oh, gross. Fixed. Thanks.
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>Ask poor RD47 what hoops I made him jump through before I trusted the Vault...
Worth it!