Eight hundred words so far... · 11:59am Dec 30th, 2012
So, I've started writing the story again. I'm going all in. I'm going avoid the problem of exposition so far to focus the first "chapter" entirely on surviving the Hollowhedge massacre and leading the refugees to relative safety. The issue of exposition can be solved by one of the several planeswalkers who are wandering through Innestrad at the moment. Heck, get to RD in Ravnica and you could even have Jace the Flankhole
Mindmage aid in that.
I'm at 840 words out of ten thousand before I consider posting. Even then, I'd have to revise it, run it through the volunteer proofreaders, and revise it again since I'm trying to do this all properly like. Right now Twilight has no mana, but I think at this stage she has the potential to run some very solid blue spells. I'm not sure what she should splash, if she should splash anything at all.
Right now I'm debating which guilds the Mane Six would be in. Yeah, Fluttershy fits in well as Sylesnia, Twilight with Azorius or Izzet, Pinkie Pie with Rahkdos, etc. But it'd also be fun to see Fluttershy as the most gentle and understanding Golgari in Ravnica (they're the only ones who care a wit about the poor after all), Twilight or Applejack caught up in the mad biology of the Simic (the rats are no longer a problem. The slime that dealt with the rats, on the other hand), so on and so forth. My feelings about Rainbow Dash being best Izzet (if not Trixie as well) are already well known, and Rarity as a budding member of the Orzhov Syndicate's "living power" seems reasonable enough.
Of course, seeding one or two ponies across the planes from Innestrad to "Friends" or "Huey" would also help with pacing.
Consider this a look into my creative process as I'm forced to take the long view, if nothing else. With luck, I'll be able to make it to EqD. If not, that's perfectly fine too, since it's supposed to be a lot of fun.
Also, how should I go about sharing my drafts? Is there a function within FiM Fiction, or should I use a Google Doc?
Gee, Pinkie in Rakdos? While, that does kind of fit, I think that Rakdos is much to gore and lawless oriented. I'm not sure if there is anything else that would fit but I'd look for another if I were you.
Also you can share drafts by making your story visible to people other than the author, but without publishing it.
GoogleDocs is your friend here. Also, I'd be happy to dust off my editor hat and look things over if you want.
Twilight certainly has mana. Even if she has no land bonds, there's still her personal reservoir that's part and parcel of being an Equestrian unicorn. Compared to other planeswalkers, it may not be much, but it's still something.
Also, if you have her pop into Innistrad during the Hollowhedge massacre, she's bound to draw parallels between Avacyn and Celestia. Just making the observation. Also also, Tamiyo plus Twilight equals research buddies for life.
Dash and Jace the Mind Hugger interacting sounds hilarious. It's like Jace and Chandra, but with less fire and more lightning and ponies.
As for guilds, I'll point you to this blog post of mine as a suggestion, though I do like the idea of Golgarishy. Maybe the one Selesnyan who speaks for the creepy-crawlies? Or an extension of the Worldsoul in the undercity?
662741 The thing about the Cult of Rakdos is that it's literally the party guild. The guild of hedonists, iconoclasts, and merrymaking. Yes, the merrymaking tends to be explosive and bloodsoaked, but Pinkie's never been one to focus on the negative.
662753
Except Innestrad's Celestia was summoned by the grandson of the father of all vampires, and is stuck inside of a giant silver rock. Said grandson has just gotten home and is wondering what the frell happened to his home since he specifically set it up so that the humans would not be hunted to excess like what's happening right now.
As for Tamiyo, well, Twilight's voiced by Tera Strong. So something along the lines of the animated Teen Titan's Starfire seems like a worthwhile characterization for the strange floating moon sage from Kamigawa. ("Twilight Sparkle, we should go to the Mall of Shopping and get ourselves sweets and books and sundry items!")
I'll see what I can do with Google docs after I get enough of it written down to where I know there's an ending somewhere.
662741
The thing to keep in mind is that while the cards highlight the most notable aspects of the guilds, they're not the entirety of the guilds. The Cult of Rakdos's civic function is that of managing the service industry. Your day laborers, slaves, etc. all come from Rakdos, and there are certainly more civil members who can function in day to day society. It also extents to relatively benign things, such as catering, non-violent entertainment, and prostitution.
...
Now I'm not sure how far I should go with the whole "Madam Pinkie" thing.
I don't think Rakdos parties are the kind of parties Pinkie Pie does.