Fire, Fate, High Heels, Baseball Bats · 12:57pm Dec 5th, 2019
Did you know that there are a series of elements and themes that I like using in my stories so much that my friends (and many readers!) have picked up on it by now? Did you also know that they make fun of me because of it, too? I love having friends.
That said, it is true that I have certain literary fixations that I can't seem to let go. I like writing about fate in particular; partially because in real life I don't believe in it -- any world where destiny is a thing and history has been written from the start would see me dying at the age of six as I inevitably fall down the stairs for the third day in a row -- and it's just a very thematic way to explore the inevitable.
I like that a lot. "The inevitable." The idea of something that cannot and will not be stopped, and how characters react to it. Sometimes they fight against it, sometimes they reason with it, more often than not they just give up to it. Check my library! A lot of my stories deal with that. Partially because, as I just said, I am keenly aware that I'm going to fall down the stairs tomorrow as I did yesterday, so it's a random thought that goes through my head very often. So, that's a reason.
("Why baseball bats though" you might ask, to which I reply, look, I just like them a lot, okay? I just dig them. They look sweet. I like the image of someone hitting someone else with a baseball bat. Little known fact: I'm a huge slut for rapiers too, as much as I am one for baseball bats, I just happen to write about baseball bats more often.)
Also I know that you might think the stairs thing is a joke, but like. I looked at myself in the mirror yesterday and I went "Uh, sis? Why do I have a scar on my eyebrow", to which she replied "You headbutted a table when you were a kid, remember." To which I said, "Yes, but that's this scar. On my right eyebrow." And she went "Well you did headbutt the table twice" and I went "I know that but the second time I also used the right side of my head, right?"
And she went "...Yes."
And I went "Right so. What is this scar on the left eyebrow."
So yeah no I just. I just fall down the stairs and shit like that a lot. It's part of my aesthetic. Got a thing going over here, see?
Anyway, the purpose of this blog isn't as much to publish something (I am writing a lot whenever I get any kind of time off whatsoever, which isn't often, but I'm still making a progress) as much as to schedule my own shit.
In order: I'm a judge in Miller Minus' Young Six contest, which has pretty cool money prizes, so join that, thank you very much. If you do you might get your story reviewed by me, which is not a prize at all, but hey, some people might be masochistic enough, what the fuck do I know.
Second: Yes, I am indeed working on a book with printed versions of my blogs, which will include exclusive shit so the purchase has literally any value whatsoever. I want to include the Bronycon blogs? (Both this year's and the ones from 2018, though those would get revamped and I'd like, rewrite and clean them up a bit, and add shit to them) But that shit's so long that like. I can just make a book with those and that's it?
So that's a question for you cause if there's interest I'll actually have to start working, or thinking, about it: do you think it's a good idea to publish two books of blogs, and one of them is just the Bronycon Blogs in a single package? Again: expanded, extra stuff, intro and outro, yadda yadda. Wouldn't be JUST what you've already read on my profile. Would you be interested in that shit or not interested in the slightest? Let me know, thank you very much. Like in the comments or some shit. Maybe I'll get RBDash47 to do an actual poll even, who the fuck knows. Not me.
Third: I placed third in Oroboro's Endings contest! And all the other stories that placed didn't get nearly enough views so go check them out, they're all great. I want to do a blog highlighting them -- not a review blog, I don't do those, but more like a... Remember the romance blogs? How not to write romance? Something like that but positive. Every story that placed can be used as a case study of "how to do this thing very well" so I could just talk about that, and it will not be a review and it will have zero spoilers about anything, and you don't have to read the stories if you don't want. But it'll involve me sucking up the other contestants a bit cause let's be honest, they deserve it, and who doesn't want a good ol' Aragón tongue. And also go read those stories, criminally underrated all of them.
Fourth: Comics! I want to draw more comics. I will draw comics as soon as I'm done writing the story I'm writing, it's a commission. I'm guessing y'all liked those. There's no news here I'm just generally excited about the idea.
And that's all, so. Yeah. Bit of a boring blog, this one, but I'm writing it straight into Fimfiction and then fucking off to judge lessons, so cut me some slack, man. I'm a busy person nowadays. Busy busy busy. Look forward to more actual content soon, have fun, toodle-o.
I don't fucking know, man. Upvote this if you want the book, downvote if you... don't? Actually if you don't just, don't vote. Ain't that hard. I don't get why people participate in polls like these just to say "I don't read your stuff". Lotta effort to add absolutely nothing to the conversation.
Then again, those last nine words are my general philosophy whenever I join a group chat, so I guess I sorta get it. Look do you fucking what that book or not I can't keep playing these mind games with you. Life is a party and I'm the upstairs neighbor who has work tomorrow.
5164667
Do I still upvote if I want the book but have no money?
Having Aragónisms in dead tree form sounds delightful. Especially when I can physically highlight the bit about me.
Look, we're writing for little more return than Internet kudos. We all have some degree of egocentrism.
Also, I'd love to see those "how to not not write romance" blogs. As for the Young Six contest, we'll see. Need to address Jinglemas first at minimum.
Many of my stories have a running theme too.
5164670
Yes, because it won't be a limited-time print run and some day you might have money!
5164667
If you haven't noticed, a "lot of effort to add nothing to the conversation" is a very popular aesthetic these days.
If your going to do the book just do the one I especially think this years bronycon one works as a good bookend because of the way it ended
Well, there was that time you lost a fist fight with a lamp post...
Ooh, tempting.
The Bronycon blogs would be a fascinating piece of, like, journalism? I think it might count as amateur journalism idk. Anyways, I'd be down for literally as many blog books as you'd want to publish.
Also, can confirm that the Sunset Contest showing was very strong this year. I've read 3/5 of the winners and all of them are excellent, and I have no doubt that the other two are as well.
Oh, fate. I thought someone was going to point out your characters keep being a pair of ridiculously close friends with varying degrees of both gay subtext and gay text, with one possessing common sense and one not, and then look at Mr. Numbers significantly.
(Come to think of it, his last story did that too.)
Well, I suppose I couldn't have been the only child with a habit of headbutting TVs and generally almost dying. If it were a contest, though, you'd be winning.
Will you be able to:
Apply anything you're learning in judge school to judging the upcoming story contest? Sending authors who displease you to Devil's Island, for instance, or the Chateau d'If?
Mike
I think you should do one mega-book that's all the blogs including the bronycon stuff.
I don't read your stuff
5164829
I'm going to reference a Pinkie and the Brain conspiracy theory and jokingly ask you which of them is which. Because some of the more pants-on-head antisocialists would do so seriously.
You know, I was gonna comment that you forgot to mention fire in your literary fixations but then I noticed the title. Very accurate 7/5 would read again.
You really know the way to a girl's heart, don't you? God, if I was straight I might kiss you.
...Still might.
5164906
Aragon is never going to be accused of having common sense. He has some version of sense, but it sure as hell ain't common.
5164894
It will most definitely not? But I'll still bring it up every single time another judge disagrees with me on something. No real reason other than I enjoy annoying MIller. It's why I live for.
5164912
Oh yeah no. I am extremely fucking self-aware, I just do it anyway as long as nobody calls me on it. Fire is a good shorthand way to show chaos and signal 'something is wrong' or 'everything is as terrible as it could possibly be' in a very clear way, and it implies a certain tone to the reader, so I use it often.
But if people catch up, it loses its power, so I reel back on it a bit. Still, no, I am self-aware as fuck. Another ongoing theme I have in my stories: Rarity says the correct thing, and Applejack is always right. Sometimes this means they say the exact same thing, sometimes they say opposite things. depending entirely on the context surrounding the situation.
5164750
I'd say literally the same thing, but doing it this way adds the same amount of conversation, just with less effort on my part.