Friendship is Worth It Update: Post-Mortems and Updates · 10:33pm Apr 6th, 2023
Hey folks! It's been a while since I last did this and a certain Winter-inspired tale got finished not too long ago, so now is a good time that I give you all an update on what's going on with the Friendship is Worth It series!
"When Life Gives You Snow..." Post-Mortem
What began as a fun idea for a story featuring characters that are rarely put together quickly snowballed into an interesting take on what could happen when two different groups of people, each having their own reasons for not liking the other, are brought together under extreme circumstances. Picking The Dazzlings and the folks I had them encounter, of all people, to be the key characters in this story was a choice I had made before I had really sunken my teeth into writing it out. I won't go too far into the details as to why I made that choice, as that goes deep into spoiler territory. However, I will say this much:
The Dazzlings, each in their own way, truly believe that they have Humanity as a whole figured out.
What happens when that belief is challenged?
Anyway, I truly appreciate how much folks are enjoying "When Life Gives You Snow..."! Writing for the characters involved was a treat for me and I look forward to seeing how people react to...
Well, let's just say that actions have consequences. 
"What's in a Writer's Mind" Post-Mortem
The first story I've posted here to have ever been featured (and the one that inspired me to open up story commissions) ought to get a post-mortem too! I know, I did something like that already in the story's Author's Notes, but I figured I'd share more of my thoughts on it in here too.
Putting aside what's already been said about it, I can say that, frankly, I had a heck of a time deciding whether or not this story should be in the "Friendship is Worth It" timeline! On the one hand, it can work pretty well by itself (references to other stories in the series aside) and if I had decided on making it a standalone tale, I would have removed those references. On the other hand, and this is part of my standard procedure for working on the series as a whole: every story I add to the series has a good reason for being a part of it. In the case of this story, it's not just to remind folks that Sunset has a creative mind and I'll leave it at that for now!
I saw some interesting reactions to the tale in the comments and I'm glad that it got some readers to really think about the topics it tackled. When a story makes you think about and/or feel something, then you know it's doing something right.
"The Hearth-Warmers of Canterlot High" Post-Mortem
It's been a long time since I last touched on this little tale! So, let's talk about it!
Originally, the story of the Hearth-Warmers was made to be a standalone feel-good holiday tale made to warm readers' hearts (get it?!). But, as I worked on it, I slowly started to realize that while it works really well on its own, it can also double as a fun prequel to "Spring Surprises" for a few good reasons, two of which I'll note here:
It shows the Wondercolts being awesome and allows the goodness in the hearts of a certain beloved trio to shine through. 
I don't think we get to see the good sides of the Human CMCs as much as we should in Equestria Girls fanfics these days. I could be wrong though! 
"Spring Surprises" Update
Now that that I have no side stories to work on at the moment, I'll be focusing entirely on working on "Spring Surprises" for a good while. That next chapter has been in the oven for how long now?! Rest assured, I'll have that chapter posted soon!
Note that I'll have at least two more side-stories posted before this main story is finished. Hints concerning them have already been left (one of them is in a previous blog post), see if you can find them! 
