Worst Patient Ever - Update Complete & Parting Thoughts · 4:08am Feb 27th, 2018
A year to the day since I published the first chapter of Worst Patient Ever, and as of now the story is at last complete. It’s almost a misnomer to only think of this story as a year-long process. In reality, it’s taken well over that, nearing on two years since I first started to brainstorm, outline, and sketch out how the story would take place.
I’m not going to lie. This isn’t a perfect story, and I’m delighted to see people coming back to read it with the infrequent and haphazard update schedule it’s had. Despite that, this is a major accomplishment and milestone for me. I finally finished a longer, multi-chaptered story. Though I have ideas aplenty for others, this was the first.
See below for thoughts, comments, plans for the future, and other rambling things talking about a punky stunt flying pegasus and a spunky nurse ground-pounder earth pony.
OH AND NEEDLESS TO SAY BUT SHOULD BE SAID ANYWAYS SPOILERS BELOW. TALLY-HO!
Sitting at just shy of 120,000 words, Worst Patient Ever is at last done. While I have taken breaks from the story to pursue other, smaller projects over the last year, this story has been a constant presence in my mind. How was I going to write the next scene? Is what these characters did believable? How do I wrap something this big up? I may have stopped writing it here and there, but I promise you I never stopped thinking about it. It’s weird that it’s done, and weirder that I won’t be thinking about these things for this story anymore.
Roughly around April/May 2016, I was talking to a friend of mine, and the idea for this story was sparked by a single piece of fan art.
I started the story as an ongoing birthday present to that same friend for all of the support they had given me in writing, so now that it’s done, I guess I’ll need to find you something else this year, won’t I, auramane?
Why did I start writing such an obscure, unheard of crack-ship? Well, partially because Nurse Redheart is auramane’s favourite character, partially because I’d been wanting to write something with Spitfire, partially because I was ready to try something entirely new, and also because tbh that art is so goddamn cute how could I not?
I was eager at the time to stretch my legs and try something new. One-shots and short, chaptered stories I knew I could do. A longer, multiple-chaptered story, though? I’d never done one of those before. Part of me figured that this would be a safe start into figuring out how to write a long story. Who was going to read a story about Spitfire and Redheart getting together? They’re both background/side characters, they’ve never interacted or been on screen together, and it’s not like it was a popular ship by any means.
Now I look at the 200 upvotes on the story and am still surprised so many people were interested in such an unpopular concept.
As the comments of the story will show, WPE is by no means a perfect story. It’s got flaws, some issues with pacing at the beginning, and a characterization of Spitfire that turned some people off of the story (btw, I won’t apologize for my character choices with Spitfire. They were made with a specific intention and rationale in mind. Crystal Wishes' comment does an excellent job of capturing my thought process).
That being said, I’ve taken this story to be a learning experience. I’ve learned more about the planning and execution of a longer story, about writing and establishing personalities for characters that don’t get much attention outside of canon, and for trying to write believable relationships between those characters. I’m not sure what I’d do differently next time. I might spend greater attention to character and pacing and consider the overall story over an individual chapter.
Looking back at some of the earlier chapter comments ... yeesh. There’s a bit of a minefield in there, and that’s indicative of a lot, including what I need to work on in future long story projects.
There is also so much that I adored about writing this, though, and I want to spend JUST A MINUTE to gush over that.
Spitfire and Redheart are an utter delight for me to write. I love their dynamic as its developed. I love writing them playing off of each other, flirting with each other, and sharing those intimate little moments when all walls and presuppositions come down. They almost feel genuine to me as a couple existing in a relationship, and even though I’ve reached the end of this story it doesn’t feel as if I’ve reached the end of them. I’m sure there will be more of them to come in the future. When? I don’t know. Talk to graduate school about that, and maybe see if you can help me get enough of a breather to write more kissy-pony fanfiction.
These two have had some of my personal favourite scenes that I’ve written to date. Spitfire’s confession when they danced in her room, Stormy Flare’s appearance and embarrassment of Spitfire, and Spitfire’s discharge come to mind.
That brings me to Stormy Flare. I wasn’t planning on writing her into this story originally, at least not in the way she came about, but I had so much fun writing her and her relationship with her children that the odds are good that she’ll return in whatever else I write for this continuity. Her, and the WONDERBOLTS.
Blaze is a brat. Rapidfire’s a babbu. Soarin’s a bro. Fleetfoot helps drive the migraine home. I love them all so much.
Someone abduct me from grad school so I can write all of these things.
Anyways, now that this is done, it’s time for me to move on to other projects and new horizons. I’ve got a few ideas rattling around, and a couple that have been started here and there.
I’m afraid I can’t promise what will come out or when, but I am chipping away at things when I have a chance to breathe. Though, knowing me, I’m probably going to address a MIGHTY NEED that no one else has addressed yet.
WHERE ARE MY SOMNAMBULA FICS AT? GUESS I’LL HAVE TO DO IT MYSELF.
ALL ABOARD THE S. S. RARINAMBULA. OR MAYBE THE DARINGNAMBULA.
I’ma need to build a fleet.
Right here, but I'm just going to watch the newest admiral at work~
Oooooo do rarinambula. That would be many different kinds of interesting.
Assuming you actually return since it's been a year since you wrote anything.