Writing Reflections: Part 2 · 2:05am Jun 28th, 2016
Hello, everyone! Here is the second part of my reflections on most of my stories. However, before I delve into that...
Will-Owl-the-Wisp has finished Night Terrors!
Nightmares are coming alive all across the dreamscape, entrapping unsuspecting dreamers in the perilous world where imagination reigns and memory haunts. Even dreamwalkers—the masters of dream and nightmare—find themselves confronted by the monsters of their own minds and fears. Dreamwalkers and dreamers alike must tread carefully, lest they lose themselves to the very real nightmares of the Never.
Wisp has been working on this story for two years now! From the first draft to this last one, the story has always amazed and delighted me, but believe me when I say that this version is the best. It really, really deserves more love. There's tons of action, character exploration, and a lot of deep moments. Wisp has put her heart and soul into this. Please go check it out!
Now, to continue with the reflections!
Magical Melodies
Let me start off by saying that while I do not think this is a bad story, I do think that it is my weakest. Unison and her tribe were not as carefully developed as some of my other protagonists in Lyric's tales, and I feel that this story's logic is not as well developed. I only made Unison a unicorn because I had not had a unicorn protagonist yet, and I am not really sure if that was the best reason to make her a unicorn. After all, she hardly ever uses her magic, and the moments that she does were shoved in there to remind myself of the fact that she was, indeed, a unicorn. And even though this tale may or may not be true when it comes to the history of Equestria that Lyric relates, I sincerely doubt that a lake reed could actually be made into a viable flute. Still, it does make me smile when I read it, and that is good enough for me.
Interestingly, this is also the second version of the story. This was the third story that I told to my very special somepony, but the original was lost when I tried to delete some texts from my phone and it subsequently deleted ALL of them. In the original version, it was Dashing Hoof who was the main protagonist, and he stumbled upon a zebra tribe who were dancing and stamping their hooves, creating a rhythm. It was they that showed him the wonder of music. I remember not being satisfied with the tale I told then, which is why I wrote the tale we have now. But writing this reflection blog, I wonder what I could have done with the original idea.
Cirque du Poney
Cirque du Poney was first conceived of during a Six Flags trip my friends and I took last summer. I wanted to write it as thanks to Wisp for including Lyric in Night Terrors - which I hope you have read or will read. 
While I had originally intended for it to be told from Lyric's point of view rather than Misty Moonrise's, once I thought of the story as a whole, I knew that the story would only be half-told if it was not from Misty's point of view. There are some places that I feel are rushed or repetitive, and I have wanted to do some revisions to it for a while now. Nothing too drastic, of course. But now that Night Terrors is finished, I shall have my chance. This final version is more intense than the previous ones, and so Cirque du Poney shall be revised to reflect the changes made.
Flight
Flight is certainly a story I am proud of, and one I look back on with a lot of fondness. I conceived of this story when, wanting to write a Lyric tale but was out of ideas, I asked a group of my brony friends for an idea. (This was before I joined FIMFiction.) My friend DangerCloseArt suggested I do a story about batponies. I had no ideas at first, but then as I thought of it, I recalled how Sauron's forces tortured elves in The Lord of the Rings to create the Uruk-hai, and so that served as inspiration for Sombra to turn the crystal ponies into batponies. The title comes from the fact that batponies can fly, and the fact that the word "flight" can be another word for "escape". And, as with Music of the Heart, the influence may have been from another story, but I still found ways to make the story my own. Yet, for some reason, this story sat on my computer for months before I turned to it once more and decided to clean it up for publishing. But even with this, I recently went back and fixed some small things that bothered me about it, some dialogue that didn't sound quite right. I feel that these parts flow much more smoothly now.
I usually write in close third person, so it was fun to try and write in first person for Dashing Hoof's journal entries. It was also a nice surprise to myself that it came to me so naturally. I think it helps that I had an idea for what I wanted Dashing Hoof to sound like. Onyx and Obsidian's voices came to me as I wrote, and I really like the dialect I came up with for Obsidian. To me, his voice always sounded a bit gruff in my head when I read his dialogue. I am also proud of how I was able to give each character a unique voice in the way they speak.
What surprised me the most, though, was the ending with Luna and Lyric. As I stated in a previous blog, I never intended for them to have a bonding moment. I simply intended to have Lyric return Dashing Hoof's journal, and then to leave. However, the story was not done with me, and what you see now is the end result. And it is a beautiful thing indeed.
Okay, that's all for this round! I hope you all enjoyed! Cheers!
Yay for more writing reflections!
Just like last time, fun read Lyric, awesome work!
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Thanks so much!
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I thank you, comrade. Is most good to hear.
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Continue working on Shards of Shadow?
Glad you're enjoying these, Wisp! Can't wait to share the next one!
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Yes, completely understandable.
It is nice to hear your thought bard
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Thank you! It's nice to know that you're enjoying these reflections.
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I was a bit late on the second and third, I need to check my feed more often
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Haha, happens to me all the time. No need to worry.
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You have a lot of accomplishments bard
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Though there's still much more to learn. But the journey has certainly been a fun and interesting one.
Thank you, mate.
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The journey is the destination :)
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It is indeed.
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How have things been all and all.
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Very well, thank you! How about yourself?
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That's good to hear
I'm pretty good.
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Glad to hear it.
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Thank you my friend :)
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You are most welcome, my friend.
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You've been a good friend...that really means a lot.
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*hugs* And the same to you, my friend. Thank you.
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*hugs* A good friend is something I cherish bard
and your welcome
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By the way, what name should I call you by?
Same here.
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Some people call me Final, others FFF. Take your pick.
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Final it is!
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Thank you Bard.
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Not a problem, Final.
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Ah, that does have a nice ring to it
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It does indeed!
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Thank you my dear friend
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You are most welcome, my dear friend.
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This site will always be a place of sanctuary for me.
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Same. It really is something special.
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Even if there is drama there is plenty of joy.
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Agreed.
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I'm glad it is
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As am I. It feels like home here.
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A place where other understand me and I can talk to people without feeling nervous
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A place where others are generally accepted.
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A place where others can both read and write.