(This isn't directed at anyone in particular.)
(All examples were made up on the spot.)

So you've got an idea for a new Anon-a-Miss story and you're ready to share it with everyone on the forum and ask what everyone thinks. Great. Here's what I think.

A lot of people have an idea, go to share it, and then don't say what that idea actually is.

It sounds silly, but this is a huge problem that a lot of people have.

I know exactly where it comes from. People are describing their story idea they way that they've seen stories described. The problem is that most people encounter story descriptions primarily in the form of teasers, so they write teasers to describe their ideas.

Teasers are things like the blurb on the back of a book. Or, for a more immediate example, things like the "descriptions" (long and short alike) here on Fimfiction. They're used to entice people to do the thing. Read the story, watch the show, go to the movie, play the game, whatever.

Something exists (or definitely will exist) and the teaser tries to make you want to experience it. That's a very specific context. Outside of that context, teasers are bad ways to describe story ideas.

For example, if the story already exists, this is a fine thing to write:

An injured man stumbles out of the portal during the Anon-a-Miss incident; now he and Sunset must face an evil that threatens both Equestria and the human world.

The thing is, it's called a teaser because it teases rather than delivers. It entices you with hints of what the story is without actually saying much of anything.

Who is the man? Doesn't say. How is he injured? No idea. Why was he injured? Nothing. What is the evil? Ditto. How does it threaten the two worlds? Not a hint.

That works if the story already exists because most of those questions will be answered in the first chapter and wanting to know the rest of the answers can encourage people to read on.

In isolation, though, it's a terrible description. It's mostly vacuous and definitely does not give a clear idea of what the story actually is about.

If you want people to respond to your idea, you've got to let them know what your idea is. You can't hold back the way you would if you were trying to create suspense or maintain an air of mystery. You need to put what's in your head into your post.

This is even more true for crossovers, alternate versions, and "inspired by"s. If someone needs to understand another story to understand what your idea is, at the very least link to it. Better still is to describe the relevant bits (while still linking to it.)

For my own part, there's a specific story I plan to write that I originally thought of as an Anon-a-Miss story which isn't one any more. After careful consideration I realized that it worked better if I set it immediately after the first movie instead of during Anon-a-Miss. It could be that your idea is the same way.

It might be that even though the idea started as an Anon-a-Miss story, it needs to drop the Anon-a-Miss incident before it can really bloom.

I think you should really ask what the idea gains by being tied to Anon-a-Miss. If it could work as well or better by not being an Anon-a-Miss story, maybe this isn't the best place for that idea.

Even if it should be an Anon-a-Miss story, that doesn't mean that's where it should start.

Le Quattro Stagioni by Cirrus Sky is a story where Anon-a-Miss happens between the first and second chapters, and that's where it belongs for that story. The fic starts after the Fall Formal and runs passed Legend of Everfree, and that's what works for it as a story. Anon-a-Miss matters, but it doesn't take center stage.

Le Quattro Stagioni is a simple and subdued romance. What if you want something completely unlike that? The same thing still applies. Maybe it shouldn't be Anon-a-Miss at all, and even if it should that doesn't mean Anon-a-Miss is where it should start.

The "maybe it shouldn't start there" thing becomes a larger consideration the more your story diverges from the source material.

If your setting is a cyberpunk city (a la Bladerunner) then it's a pretty safe bet that Equestria Girls and Rainbow Rocks happened in vastly different ways there. Those stories need to be told (or at least thought out) before we can even approach how Anon-a-Mis goes down.

So you've got an idea where [event] is happening and [character] shows up and does stuff. Great!

Questions:

• Why is [event] happening?
• Why did [character] show up?
• How did [character] show up?
• Why is [character] doing the stuff that they're doing?
• Why do they care?
• So on, so forth

Why is everyone doing what they're doing and acting the way they are? Why are the people in the story even in the story? Why do the characters think what they think and do what the they do?

Why, why, why?

If something is a question you would ask about someone else's story or idea, answer it for your own. Think things through so that you definitely have more than 12% of an idea.

And place it in context, too. Sunset and the Rainbooms are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. The Sirens have been defeated. Sci-Twi has identified CHS as the source of the strange readings she's detected. Trixie was last seen swearing a vendetta against Sunset and the Rainbooms. Princess Twilight is somewhere in Season 5. CHS and Crystal prep have the Friendship Games next semester.

Things are happening and they don't all grind to a halt because you've had an idea. Your idea interacts with them. It changes events, and events change it. Nothing is in isolation and everything has the potential to influence everything else.

But what if I don't want to develop the idea and just want other people's reactions to the bare bones of it?

Maybe not as much, but a least a bit. In this case the thinking is more about effective communication than developing the idea.

I'll give an example:

What happens if we drop Gordon Freeman into Anon-a-Miss?

I don't know. What does happen?

For one thing, it makes a huge difference when and how he got there. Is this pre-Half-Life Freeman (who has never touched a gun or crowbar in his life) working as the CHS science teacher? Or is this a heavily armed Freeman who showed up because the teleport to Xen crossed with the portal to Equestria and as a result of his arrival the population of CHS is fleeing headcrabs (and no one really cares about an internet profile)?

I don't know what you're asking because what you said could mean different things. What's going to happen depends on details you haven't shared, and as a result I can't answer the question. (Also, I might not know who Gordon Freeman is.)

Even if you don't want to think through the implications of your premise before unleashing it upon the world, you should at least think through what your premise actually is so that you can make sure other people don't get the wrong idea.

If you've got six ideas in one post then that might be kind of hard (but good on you for grouping them together instead of spamming the forum with six threads) if you've got one or two ideas, put what they are in the title of the thread.

Not only will it give people a reason to read the thread, it will help them find it later on.

Sure, your idea might be very complicated, but you can at least give some sense of what it is in the title of the thread.

I debated about including this because it's more about not doing something wrong than actively doing something right, but the situation has come up a few times and keeping it in mind is relevant to how to share your idea.

When an idea is spread out over multiple threads it becomes very difficult both to follow in the moment and to find things after the fact. Unless a thread is becoming bloated to the point it's a problem, keep ideas in a single thread.

You want other people to see what you have to say, and that's a lot easier when it's conveniently located in a single venue.

Are you using an idea, character, setting, plot device, or whatnot originally thought up or noticed by someone else? Then say so. Give credit and show your work.

Anon-a-Miss stories have a lot of cross fertilization and that's led to some good things, but it can become toxic when people don't acknowledge that. If you thought up something because of a story, thread, or blog post then, let everyone know.

For example, if your idea is a branch of Dainn's story, say it. Say it and link to Dainn's story (the one actually called Anon-a-Miss) so they know what you're talking about.

Sure, most everyone is familiar with it and can probably see the signs, but it's a good practice, it's polite, and you shouldn't forget about the people who don't fall under the "most everyone" umbrella.

Given some of the themes involved, Anon-a-Miss resonates with a lot of people who have depression and the like. With that in mind, always remember to put your well being before what happens on a fanfiction site. Keep safe, enjoy yourself, and so forth.

Thanks for the advice. You get a follow.

Very important post. Thank you🙂

6697859
Good points sir.

This thread needs to be pinned.

6697871
I'm a "Miss", not a "Sir", and thank you.

6697875
Oopsie!

6697874
you mean "sticky" it

6697859
I think you should add a point about resolving the Anon-A-Miss story. I mean, there is no point in using it as a launchpad and just ignoring it for the rest of the story. Because, if Sunset comes back to CHS, is everyone still mad at her or did the culprits confess or someone found out? Also if the truth is out, does Sunset forgive everyone or does she lose all trust in the Human 5.

7191646
Once upon a time long ago and far away, I pointed out that there's an incredibly obvious storyline I haven't seen anyone try to use is

Sunset goes away.* Everyone at CHS still thinks she's guilty.
Eventually Sunset comes back. That hasn't changed.

* To the point of being completely out of contact with CHS students. This isn't a question of distance, it's a question of interaction. For example, going to Crystal prep wouldn't count if she's still running into the Rainbooms (or, to a lesser extent, other students) around town, but it would count if, say, she interacted with the CHS student body as much as Sci-Twi did prior to the Friendship Games.

I've seen a fair amount of "Sunset leaves the school but not the situation " often leaving via a transfer to Crystal Prep, but not always. And I've seen a fair share of "Sunset drops off the face of the world (figuratively or literally); people suddenly realize she's innocent."

What I haven't seen is Sunset leaving entirely, so that her life goes on without CHS and the lives of the students at CHS go on without her, and everyone still thinks she's guilty. There are so many ways one could take such a story, and all of them are different from what's been done so far.

For the record, I just looked it up and "long ago and far away" was October of last year.