The Unexpected Journey

My friends,

I know it has been quite some time since I last wrote to you, and I sincerely hope that this post finds you all well and happy! I am terribly sorry for my sudden disappearance, especially to those of you who were following my work. The last six months have been the most arduous of my life, but also the most eye-opening, and it is my hope that what I've come to know about myself and about the incredible world around us will bring joy to your lives through the stories which, for the first time, I honestly feel fully prepared to write.

More than two years have elapsed since I first had the dream that inspired me to begin writing, "The Thorn of Equestria", and though I labored through draft after draft, I never felt the satisfaction I always thought should come with the completion of a tale well told. Something was missing, but I couldn't put a hoof on it. Since that moment, I realized I wasn't prepared to write even a poem, much less an anthology in the style of literature's greatest epics, and so, I decided I needed to get in deeper touch with both myself, my characters, and the world around me.

In the tens of thousands of miles I've travelled since I last wrote, I've come to realize that the seemingly chronic dissatisfaction with my compositions didn't revolve around one specific thing, but rather several different aspects which I'll outline below in hopes that it might assist other writers in their quests for more engaging works of literature.

Characters
“When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.” - Ernest Hemingway
When I first began to write, I was focused so heavily on the plot of my books that I left little time or energy for the other elements of the story. I overlooked what was perhaps the tale's most crucial element: The characters.

A good character should be some sort of derivation of the soul of the author. After all, who do you know better than yourself? While this may seem narrow-sighted to some, a period of introspection will almost always reveal someone far more complex and intriguing. From one or more facets you can relate to personally, you can create the structure of a character. After that, take some time to flesh out the skeleton you've derived from your own traits with other aspects of character.

When looking at yourself, don't be afraid to explore your weaknesses, loves, hates, and even embarrassing facets of your life. Make your characters real.

Plot
“When all the details fit in perfectly, something is probably wrong with the story.” - Charles Baxter
As it turns out, I spent far too much time obsessing over the plot of the stories than I should have and so I'll keep this lesson appropriately brief...
As you write, don't spend TOO much time preparing a plot. While it's an important element of a good story, complex characters and a solid conflict will allow the rest of a story's elements to simply fall into place.

Setting
“Places are never just places in a piece of writing. If they are, the author has failed. Setting is not inert. It is activated by point of view.” - Carmen Maria Machado
Have you ever crossed the vast meadow between Ponyville and Canterlot? I have. Have you stood in the Bone Dry Desert and felt the sun beating down on you, feeling the oven-like heat as the sand reflects it back up at you? I have. Have you felt the thrill and adrenaline of flying through Ghastly Gorge? I've done that too. All I can say on setting is this: Travel when and where you can. My lackluster and repetitive descriptions of the places, times, and seasons around Equestria was one of my greater mistakes. I was trying to write about things I didn't understand, and so I couldn't bring my readers with me on magical journeys through a fragrant meadow or up a windswept mountainside.

Get to know your world if you can!

A Word on Patience
"Patience is passion tamed." - Lyman Abbott
Hands down, my worst folly was my impatience. When I woke from my dream, I as inflamed with the desire to capture what I'd seen in words and share it with the world without any more consideration than what I'd give a falling leaf. Take your time with your stories. Get to know your characters as though they were real...make them real. Whenever possible, travel to the place you want to write about so you can effectively communicate the sights, sounds, and smells that are unique to those places. Outline your plots, but don't take too much time fussing over the details. Those will fall into place as you write.

So, I'll end on this note: I'm happy to say that I've learned so much, but part of learning is the wisdom of knowing that the process of learning will never EVER end. I can content myself with that, knowing that while these books may never be perfect, they'll be something I can be proud of. I'll be posting updates regularly on my progress if for no other reason than to stay active here on FiMFiction. I'm glad to be back and hope to talk to you all soon!

May the wind always rise under your wings,
- Wind Song