TThe Changeling
MLP: FiM
Slice of Life
Smolder is not a changeling. But sometimes she feels like one.
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Miller Minus · 3.1k words · 193 8 · 3k views

slaps roof of blog post You can fit so many announcements in this bad boy (The Changeling, The Bronycon, and A Writing Panel I'm On!) · 8:45pm Jul 28th, 2019

Hello!

I have a lot of announcements to make, and you are a busy, busy person for whom time is ever-fleeting, so I've organized all my announcements under Big Headers for you to peruse and read at your preference. That said, I also translated those headers into different languages because I don't think I should coddle you.

¡El Changeling!

When I first released the Changeling, and through its first appearance in the fimfiction spotlight, I neglected to give special thanks to three people who helped me immensely in putting together the final version. Why? Because I'm a forgetful jackass, of course!

Luckily, through the power vested in this blog post, I can shout them out proper-like. So thank you to:

The Magnanimous Meridian Prime!
The Irresistible Ice Star!
And Pascoite!

This story, in its final form, has become very special to me. Partly because the topic of the story (in a general sense) is something that has resonated with me for a long time, and partly because rewriting the same scenes from scratch over and over again is a great way to learn about what's holding back your writing. As much as it hurt smashing my head against that brick wall, with every re-write something I didn't like about the story fell away, and by the end of it I was very happy with the result. Try it sometime! Just find the nearest solid wall, press both palms against it, and get to headbutting. We'll all be pros in no time!

It's also a great lesson in discipline—a lesson in fighting that urge to publish something just to be goddamn rid of it. I lose to that urge all the time (and in truth, sometimes you really do need to move on), but I'm glad for the extra work into The Changeling. It's undoubtedly my favourite of my three Young Six stories.

Wait, three? Does that mean I've officially written a trilogy? Hot damn!

Die Junge Sechs Trilogie

This is a short section, but I just wanted to thank everyone who read at least one of the three Young Six stories I put out in the past three months (1, 2, 3). These characters were a joy to write, and I'm sure I'll be digging through their lives again for more laughs and more drama in the future.

Il Futuro
I know better than to tease my upcoming stories, or talk about when they will be released, because I always end up releasing something different, at a later time. But I'm still a great big tease, so I'll tell you the four main ideas on my mind right now, which I will label as follows:

My Sister's Siesta of Sadness,
Cheerilee Travels the World,
Fluttershy Saves the World, and
BIRDS GONE WILD (BEAKS WILL TOUCH)

I estimate that they will all be 15k+ stories, which means they will easily breach 30k. And I have no intention of divulging which of these ideas I'll be working on first, because I haven't decided.

The reason this counts as news is because, when I first started writing five years ago, I was far too long-winded, and my stories were longer than they should have been. The Writeoff taught me how to stick to what's important, and my stories have gotten much shorter and punchier ever since. But I feel I'm ready to push long again.

This isn't to say that I'm going dark, though. I'll still be working on writeoff entries (there's a pony minific event coming up in a month! Come join the ~~agony~~ fun!) and I'll be posting them to fimfiction periodically, as always.

But mark my words: Before the year is up, I will be releasing one of those four longer stories. And I'm going to make sure it's special.

That said... I'm not going to start writing them until after I get back from Bronycon.

Je vais à Bronycon
I have never been to a convention in my life, and well, what better way to pop that proverbial cherry than by going to the biggest pony convention the world will ever see?

In the business we call that a 'trick question', see, because there is no better way. And my comfort zone can absolutely suck it.

So if you spot my nametag and want to say hi, then feel perfectly free, because I love a good chat. I asked for Miller Minus on my badge instead of my real name, which I'm hoping is a normal thing people do and not something that will make me a target for savage, savage banter. I look forward to meeting as many of you guys as I'm able to over the course of the weekend.

(No surprise physical contact, though. I'm known to spontaneously combust if startled.)

Oh, and one last thing:

Come See Our Perspective Panel! Friday at 9:15 PM, ONLY AT BRONYCON

I've been invited on a perspective panel—that is, a panel where we discuss the different types of narration (first, third, et al), how to use them effectively, and their advantages and disadvantages, all whilst sitting on an elevated podium to give us a false sense of authority on the subject—and it promises to be a good time. See this page for details!

I'll be on said panel with: