Life is short, write ponies · 1:16am February 16th
Sigh... I feel like a complete failure.
It was about four and a half years ago I said I was going to get back into writing, the next chapters of With Rainbow Hair and My Little Destiny were on the way, and I was going to finally finish Sibling Rivalry and get started on its sequel, Tales of Faust, which focuses mainly on Scootaloo and her new vocation.
But... clearly, that didn't happen. I don't know why, exactly. Maybe it's because, around this time, I started spending a lot of time on Discord. I even met a girl on there, and we started dating (online sure, but still dating)... for about a month before my worst qualities became too much for her... we stayed friends though. At this point, she's actually my best friend.
But I digress.
That was a distraction. Then there was the fact that I went to university, got a Bachelor of Computer Science, and between that and the unexpected financial issues that popped up... then my issues seeking treatment for my mental health issues... Every time I wanted to start again, it just got shoved to the back burner.
Some other things happened, my ex started a DnD game that she wanted me to join. We organized it together, it was a lot of fun until she kicked me out for bad behaviour. That was a stress point I did not fucking need! Though some good came out of it. That little fiasco was the only reason I made some mods for Tabletop Simulator. So, if you ever wanted to play Tails of Equestria (the official MLP TTRPG) or use character sheets from the Pathfinder ruleset on there, you can. Then there's the tutorial I wrote to import pony figures into TTS. But my point is: the excess stress just makes things harder.
But more recently, other things happened. To start, earlier last year, I got a new girlfriend, and that started really hot and heavy, but eventually faded until she broke up with me in November... shortly after my grandfather's funeral. So that was interesting timing on her part.
But yeah, my grandfather died. I never knew him. But his death was a wake-up call. It was easy to think that I had plenty of time left in my life when my grandparents were still alive. Now, that time is over. Life is short. It just... put things in perspective for me.
Also, shortly after this, both my ex-girlfriends have been gently pushing me to get back into writing. One even helped me with a quick edit of the first chapter of Princess of Last Resort, a fic that's been boiling in my head for the past four years.
But here's the reality of the situation: About four years ago, I had several chapters ready to go. Chapter 16 of My Little Destiny was done, just needed to be edited, as well as chapter 2 of Twilight's Endgame. I had the first chapter of Princess of Last Resort nearly done, I just needed to write the final two scenes wrapping things up before everything went to hell. Chapter 17 of My Little Destiny was also nearly done, I just needed to write a single scene that I skipped over because I wasn't sure how to actually execute it. And then there's With Rainbow Hair, where chapter 9 was halfway done.
But the guy on twitter (and yes, I'm still calling it twitter, fuck you Elon!) who said he'd edit my stories... just... didn't... Apparently some stuff at his job got in the way, and he just forgot about it. That... took the wind out of my sails, as it were. And then there was all the other stuff that happened in my life. Then there was the pandemic. Though the pandemic should've helped, not hindered. As well as that, I realized there was a problem with My Little Destiny, chapter 16, in that there's a Chekov's gun that I needed to deal with and didn't. So there's still one scene I need to rewrite in that.
I wanna say I'm back and ready to start writing again, but I said that before and I just ended up looking like a liar. Let's just say, I'm not letting anything stand in my way. If I can't get an editor, fuck it, I'm uploading anyway.
I already know exactly where many of my stories are going anyway:
With Rainbow Hair I got planned out fully.
Sibling Rivalry is one chapter away from being complete (Final chapter is called 'Trust' by the way).
My Little Destiny I got fully planned out from beginning to end... for the most part.
Twilight's Endgame, I already know what the ending is, and the opening. There are gaps, but I can fill them. I want Supergiant to appear at one point. I also want the Equestria Girls version of Scootaloo revealed to be Squirrel Girl.
Princess of Last Resort is my newest story. And I want to, at the very least, get to the end of the first day, when Apple Bloom gives her first speech to the nation.
Then there's A Waking Dragon. I think I know where to take it next, but it's one of the harder stories to write, mainly because of the dual-worlds premise.
I don't know if I'll ever manage to finish any story. But I hope to. I haven't given up yet. The hard part is always the same, motivation.
So if you're interested in seeing any of my stories continue, tell me. I'm on Discord. My username there is 'scarletduke'. ScarletDuke is the username I tend to go by these days, since BlackWidower has too many negative implications.
But if you really want me to continue writing any specific story, tell me. Maybe offer to edit the next chapter. Or maybe... just maybe... I'll be willing to collaborate. Some of my ideas have a lot of gaps in them, so an extra writer could be a big help.
But I am planning on trying. I want to write again. I want to finish something. I want to finish my magnum opus, My Little Destiny. Too much time has been spent doing nothing. I haven't given up on these stories yet, and I have no plans to do so now.
I need to check out more of your stories! Twilights Endgame was the only one I was reading but that Stargate crossover has tweaked my interest.
Welcome back and I hope things go well for you!
Hello! Welcome back
I forgot about having MLD in my "Read Later" thing until I found this blog in my feed. I'm glad to see it's been updated! I'll start reading it soon.
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I'm working on chapter 17 right now as well. So I'm trying not to leave anyone with narrative blue balls.
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That's good news. Fimfic doesn't have very many Stargate stories, and nearly all were abandoned years ago. My favorite, Lunar Rising, was dropped just as SG1 and the M6 met NMM at the castle. The author of SG: Shangri-La says their story isn't dead, but it hasn't been updated since 2019.
Now, to start reading your story.