Author's Quarterly Update: Spring 2024 · 6:41pm April 1st
This quarter's been a good news/bad news sort. (For around here, not in general. Life in general is fine.) Good news? I got a ton of writing done, which I'll get to on the specific story entries. I turned a bit of a corner and got some great work done that I'm excited about. Bad news? I am so behind on my reading. I mentioned last time that between Jinglemas and my reading project I had about 2.2 million words on my reading list. I managed to get through all of that - though only just barely - but at the same time I accumulated another 1.2 million! I only just finished the stuff from February today! Sheesh, I've never been this far behind on my reading.
Beyond that, well. Originally I was planning to toss in a plug for the wonderful folks over at The Barcast who were gracious enough to have me on earlier this quarter, but they also just announced their last call so that's kind of moot. (Though I am developing a bit of a black widow vibe right now. I was the second to last person inducted into the RCL; I was in the second to last feature of Seattle's Angels; I'm the third last person interviewed by The Barcast. Help me, Cutie Mark Crusaders, I don't want this special talent!)
PUBLISHED (3)
Doll - Man, I did not expect this one to hit as well as it did. In a lot of ways this story was a bit of a throw-away: I was satisfied enough to publish it but didn't think it was anything special. I'm still thinking it leans a bit too hard into the melodrama, but the audience seems to have really liked it. So hey! That's great! I still think it's a little overwrought, though.
Sunset Z - And then there's this one. It's a dumb joke fic. I got a laugh out of it, put it up, moved on. In retrospect I should have held on to it for another week, but how could I have predicted Toriyama would die? Anyway. One joke, I laughed at it, that's all I really wanted.
Mediation - This joke, however, not so much. Honestly it was a decent idea but I don't think the execution worked. I'm not sure if I needed to make it longer or shorter or what, but it just didn't really pan out too well. It's acceptable. It's fine. Very middle of the road.
ONGOING (1)
First Hoof Account - Last quarter, I was lamenting that I was seriously burnt out and struggling with this story. At some points I was finishing chapters less than an hour before the posting deadline and everything felt like absolute garbage. I just wasn't able to polish things like I should have, and the low enthusiasm was making the story suffer. Well moving into the third act, something kinda got flipped. I did a final run through of the outline, cut out about four chapters of filler, and then cranked out seven complete chapters (and parts of three more) in two months. I said I needed to find a solution before something breaks, but apparently that something was my block. My current aim is to complete chapter 36 in April - that will bridge the gap between the stuff that's been written in chronological order with the end game parts I've been writing and tinkering with since the story started. If I can do that one chapter, I should be ready to move to twice a month updates starting in May for the remainder of the story's run.
ACTIVE WRITING (6)
She Has A Type - Trixie/Octavia Rom/Drama. 100% completed. It's been done for months. Why haven't I published it? Because I can't get the cover art to my satisfaction. I went out and bought a pink bow tie just so I could stage a photo to make the art and it still isn't right! This is very dumb and I should just hit the publish button but at this point I'm in too deep.
Hair Spray - Celestia/Zephyr Breeze romance. Still on hold until Original Pairings. That's this quarter though! (God I hope I finish it then, this one's been bothering me.)
Sewing At Midnight - Rarity/Derpy Drama. Currently waffling on if I want to keep this one. It's coming out a lot more trite than I thought it would and I don't like that.
At The Gate - Argyle Starshine-focused Drama. Another planned G5 piece I'm working on. I'm about 30% done with it, but at the same time I'm not sure I'm liking what I've got so I may restart it. Concept is good but the execution…
Arranged Marriage - Shining/Cadance/Chrysalis Drama. This one is highly experimental for me. I'm actually writing an M-rated story! I'm very unsure about it, though. Conceptually I think it only works and has impact if I'm deep into the M rating, but at the same time it feels really weird and I'm not sure I'm comfortable (despite having several friends assure me it would be okay.) This one's on the table and being worked on, but I'm also very likely to trash it because I'm just not sure I'm okay with it.
Wonderbolts/Scifi Entry - The two contests currently going in April. I haven't started yet but there's pretty good odds I'll enter one of the two. At this point I'm thinking the Wonderbolts one, as I've got a few more ideas that work with it than the scifi end. But nothing's decided yet and I have time.
PARTIAL COMPLETE - HOLDING PATTERN (6)
Kiss And Tell - Lyra/Bonbon/Moondancer Rom/Drama. Moved this to the back burner largely because I've got so many other things I'm actively working on right now. Nothing wrong with it, I just won't have the ability to focus on it for at least another quarter.
The Jinxies - Izzy/Misty SoL/Comedy. Taking this one off the active pile for the moment as well. I like it conceptually but I'm having a really hard time figuring out what I actually want to have happen with it. Fun concept, missing the execution.
Flashbang - Trixie/Flash Sentry rom-com. Same issues as before. Once I get the free time, I may just throw myself at it without a plan and see what happens.
Breaking Up Is Hard To Undo - RariJack romance, starring the CMCs. No real progress here.
Serenity - Applejack/Rainbow Dash romance. One day. One day.
Canterlot's Secret Library - Twlight/Moondancer/Sunburst Alt-U Drama. Pulled this one out of the trash bin after an idea or two with it. It's still way way down on the priority list, though.
PLANNED (1)
Neither Rain Nor Snow Nor Gloom Of Night - Luna/Derpy buddy adventure.
SEQUEL STORAGE (4)
Where The Antelope Play (previously Some Kind Of Hero 2) - Scifi CMC space opera
Dream A Dream 2 - Rarity adventures as a dreamwalker
A Bridge Over Troubled Waters - Starswirl/Tempest adventure among the deer
Mnemosyne - Sunset/Wallflower extended romance
DISCARDED (1)
Reunion - This one's been sitting in deep storage for a long time with zero progress. Originally it was for the FiddleDust contest two years ago. I didn't get it into usable shape in time and kept it because I wanted to get it out there in appreciation of Red. But bluntly, I've made no progress, I'm not really happy with what I've got down, and it's been two years. I'm calling it and will just have to put together something else FiddleDust at a later date.
Aw, the Barcast's are closing up too? I mean, it makes sense, and when you had your interview the other month I was gobsmacked they were still going at all. But to hear this on the same day I learned that Babscon will be closing after next year's event… quite a portent combo.
Didn't know you had the
misfortune to be the second-or-third last author for several things now! It may not be a desired talent, but it makes for a good laugh, bud.Also, very happy to hear things have pulled together for First Hoof Account. Not that I couldn't tell your mojo was back from the uptick in the chapters themselves after the visible slump (well, visible to one as perceptive as myself, anyway
), but knowing you're only five chapters off the long-planned endgame is great. Both for enjoying the fic, but also for you – I know how much of an endeavour this experiment has been at times. Least it's finally coming together! 
Good on yer, mate! 👍 I wish I was contributing to the same level, but my writing's dropped like a stone since November last year. Also, I sympathize re: the reading backlog. I got tons of books on my bookshelf I haven't or have barely cracked open. Bookworm like me should be making the most of my investment!
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It's kind of you to say, but I honestly am not happy with the last few chapters. I normally spend at least as much time refining and polishing as I do writing, and the last few (September through January in particular) didn't have nearly enough time to cook. They all badly needed polish and I really felt it. So turning the corner is a huge boost for me - it's on track, and if things go as I hope, the story will be finished before the end of the year. (I think current target is September.)
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I have long since given up on my actual books. I can't stop myself from buying more, but I've come to peace with that I'll never actually get through reading them all.
Fortunately I worry less about the cost because I'm an incorrigible garage sale hound, so most of my library was bought for a quarter.
In this one person's opinion, shorter. The punchline at the end was good, but the setup was stretched too thin. Of course, if the setup had been more concise, then the story wouldn't have reached the minimum word count.
I've written exactly one M-rated story, which was very out of character for me to do. Looking back years later, while the actual M-rated scene I wrote is objectively not great, I do still like all of the E- and T-rated parts surrounding the M-rated section. I say go for it, and if you're still uncomfortable, let the finished product sit on the shelf for a while before publishing it. Then you can come back with fresh eyes and see whether everything is justified.