In Which Some Explanation Is In Order · 8:57am Mar 1st, 2013
As if it wasn't already apparent, my sanity has been a bit stretched as late. Nothing to be worried about, mind you, engaging in thick droves of poni poni poni literature requires a certain degree of psychological vacuum.
A great deal of it has to do with the nature of EoP... which hasn't exactly been very “natural” at all as of late. Don't get me wrong, I've written maybe 60 to 70 pages of the new Petra Arc, and I have had several faithful editors combing through the first two chapter drafts (and I'm uber thankful for them as always).
However, the actual pace at which I'm writing EoP is... disheartening, to say the least. I had hoped to be tens of thousands of words into the narrative by now. Spoiler: I'm not. Nobody ever said that dredging a sleeping giant like EoP from the depths would be easy, but it's positively shameful that I've accomplished so little as it is.
But is it truly so sinful?
I had a conversation with candlestick head the other day, where I expressed my writer's woe. He said something to the extent of “are you forcing yourself to write it?” When I replied in affirmation, he ever so subtly suggested that I—y'know—stop treating the material like defecating an undigested elephant. Or, at least that's how I interpreted it. I'm not good at Jack Daniels Fu.
The fact of the matter is, as much as I respect the epic grandeur of End of Ponies as a whole, I know that—even if I were to work on it faithfully every day and with utmost zeal—it would still take the better part of one or two years to complete. I've long understood that End of Ponies would live up to its name, because whenever it's actually finished, it will likely be long after the actual canon cartoon show is over with, and it would pretty much encompass all the feelings I've ever had for the material ever.
So, what am I getting at here? Simply this. I'm down in the dumps, and the reason for why I'm down in the dumps is because there are tons of shiet that I wanna write, that seem like super awesome ideas to me, that my heart, soul, and testicles are super jazzed about tackling—and yet I can't, or else I refuse to, because of the huge blockage of words in my colon that is End of Ponies.
So, what do? Must I abandon the ridiculously dinosauric epic? Hell no. But what I am thinking about doing, though, is not castrating myself over the fact that it's taking a Nietzsche-forsaking eternity to write. I know that there are many marsupials who wish to see the next arc and the arcs to follow that one. However, if it takes so much dayum energy and suffering to force myself into writing something, only for the spaces in between to become virtual cemeteries and graveyards of literary desolation, then what's the purpose in tackling something in such a way that it utterly cripples me?
To make a long story even longer, I will continue to write End of Ponies, but I expect to do so at a much broader pace, spaced apart along with other stuff that I friggin' want to produce right now, projects that will inevitably fuel my literary resolve and allow for blissful enthusiasm to return to Harmony, the Wasteland, and Russian squirrel stereotypes.
For instance, just over the last three evenings, I've very eagerly hammered out over twenty pages of a new story that I've been dreaming constantly about, but only felt forbidden to do cuz of End of Ponies. But now that I'm actually tackling it, my writing pace has picked up, and I'm feeling pumped about something again.
This... is a good friggin' thing. I don't see why I shouldn't be doing good friggin' things, especially since I am dealing with a fandom that has enthralled me because of its ability to make me feel friggin' good about life, myself, and the pursuit of princesses in the first place.
For those of you understandably upset about the lack of EoP and the utterly shameful state of my literary diligence, I can only apologize and say that if I don't do this then the EoP that I will eventually produce will be stale and lacking in the very same electricity that spawned it from the amino acids of poni poni poni euphoria in the first place.
I like to think that I got over two thousand subscribers on Fimfiction not from End of Ponies, not from just Background Pony, not from a psychotic assortment of manic and pastel-colored blog posts, but from a wild cornucopia of literary materials that I've been caffeinated enough to provide y'all with the gracious assistance of loyal editors.
I'm in a wyrd yet contentedly mellow point in my life, a time where I am calmly looking into the future, dwelling upon the friendships that I have acquired, the chance I might have at meeting Ponky someday in person, and the numerous stories that I would like to write between now and then. Unlike the cold, jaded lemur that I was fifteen months ago, I don't envision myself sitting nightly in a corner of my garage, bending over one single epic and one epic alone. Maybe this is the new Skirts, a slightly less epic creature than the gargantuan sauropod of old, but somehow I am fine with that. I've already made a footprint in the equinist pocket of the Internet. It's now time to turn it into dance steps.
I've got Dr. Pepper back in my system. I feel an asteroid belt of ideas coming at me from all angles like a Saturday night on Orange Blossom Trail. I can already think of three stories I want to write by the end of March, and it all excites me. I look forward to the manner in which this will reinvigorate my EoP stride, so that I can finally earn the respect that my editors, fans, and artists have given me.
And, as crazy as it sounds, I'm contemplating doing something that I haven't done before: namely taking on story commissions. It's not that I'm scrapped for cash, mind you; I just see it as a nifty challenge, something that I wonder if I'll be good at.
But that remains to be seen.
For the time being, here's a tiny hint on what I'm working on right now, which I hope to be uploading eventually, two tiny chapters per day, over the course of a month:
-SS&E
P.S.: Check out Scribbler's latest recording, for it is awesome.
As much as I'd like more EoP, continue writing other magnificent works. EoP is a magnum opus so there's no need to rush it.
I don't think anyone wants EoP written out of sheer force, and I don't think anyone wants to hold you down in captivity either. As much as we'd love getting back to the wasteland we've missed for so long, it's still more important that you're not killing yourself inside to do it.
Still, I like this compromise. When I first started reading this post, I was legitimately worried it might be news that EoP might not be finished, like many other great stories I had the misfortune of starting, never to know how they would end (worst part is this one blows them all out of the water). I was extremely grateful to see how you weren't going to take that route, and in contrast, your committal to finishing what you began. Even if it comes at a slow pace, I can live with that, so long as it means you keep your sanity (if you have such a thing). Even if it takes years more, I'll be here the whole ride long, appreciating every bit of it =)
Good luck.
Dawn't beh cries.
teh cwy fery will cri evertim if yu cry... lik ah babeh.
Go Bellesmith! Kick that glorified maid's ass!
I mean, keep up the good work skirts, like others I don't care how long EoP takes as long as you haven't abandoned it. I trust you, unlike other marsupials I've had to deal with lately.
Is it sad I'm counting on SS&E to restore my faith in humanity? I mean I warn people not to read SS&E without anti-depressants, why the hell am I looking to him like the light at the end of the tunnel?
P.S. How does it feel to be a girl? (Sorry, I had to drag that up)
I should really begin reading EoP...
I agree with the idea that you should focus on what YOU want, instead of catering to the needs of your audience. I'm pretty sure you write epic stuff because you find it fun, and you should not try to remove that fun for our sake
In other words, have fun, and your followers will surely profit from it by reading more awesome (and slightly disturbing) stories written by a truly interesting person
Oh, and a story with octavia on a travel of self-discovery, going through interesting places and bringing deep thoughts and feelings?
Or she dies and goes to the underworld, where she fights her way back to her beloved Vinyl Scratch?
Or maybe Vinyl is the one trying to get her back from the underworld, as per the greek mythology?
I'm just grasping at straws now, please excuse me
EoP is some pretty damn awesome madness that you pulled out of your head. It's an impossibly unique story, but I think most of it's sly charms come from the sheer energy that you put into it. If you aren't feeling it, step-back and lets the feeling slowly creep back up on you. We'll both appreciate it much more in the long run
And Hell! I'm not one to complain about getting regular updates of your writing
When you have to force something, it is no longer a labor of love and it will show. By all means, work on your new story and smile!
When you force yourself to write, it stops being fun. Write what you want to write, how you want to write. It sounds like you've come to an excellent compromise in your head, which is fantastic. As always, I will be there to help out in any way that I can, both in editing format and in "chat on steam" format.
As far as this new project goes, the presence of both a cello and an image of the River Cocytus is disquieting. What are you doing with my Tavi Tavi Tavi? Yes, she's mine. I called her. Why am I even awake right now.
To be rather frank, if you're finding it easier and more enjoyable to pound out many tomes per EoP arc, please do continue!
I'd rather be drowned in non-EoP shorts than to have a massive dry spell of which at the end we're subjected to a forced arc. It's the best for both you and your following that you have fun and get those itches resolved.
Never force a story, it only ends terribly in the end. Go, write you crazy princess-loving bastard! Write untill you hit the critical mass of euphoria of poni poni poni!
And nobody else has leapt on this? First dibs. Dibs dibs dibs dibs dibs.
Not only is it a good excuse to throw money at you without feeling too creepy about it, but it's ALSO an opportunity to get some of my ridiculous fever-dream ideas competently and lovingly executed. I don't personally have the intestinal fortitude to handle them, least of all with all the other shit I'm trying to do, but I have absolute trust in your ability to do an idea justice.
Aaaaanywho, yeah. Force is frowned upon in polite society, and I'm sure that it's at least partially responsible for my agonizing pace lately. And by lately I mean eight of the last ten months.
Eh
The guessing begins:
Story revolving around a wasteland and/or the Badlands (With or without Changelings)
Story about Octavia (Rather obvious but little to assume upon)
Purgatory and/or Tartarus (never can spell that right), most likely about some pony dying or something rather...
Fourth, not the slightest clue.
These are just my bad guesses...
I can't be sure, but I think I smell an Austraeoh/Eljunbyro spinoff/continuation somewhere near the end.
-Minty-Mis
Take your time. Even if you don't finish it til after the show is over , that'll give us something to read.
That... oddly... is exactly when I'd expect this to be done. :P
Anyway, I don't see why you felt holding in your fecal matter of other stories, refusing to let those out of your system, solely because you feel obligated to finish a story that's been in hibernation for so long, to release a massive rewrite of alllll those 28 some chapters, and trying to release a continuation almost immediately within a 'set time frame' is honestly anything but logical!
You're long since been addicting to Background Pony, you started to push away EoP because you enjoyed writing BP. It's awesome that you're wanting to give us more EoP, but that's like me putting Gravekeeper at a desk with a gun to his head and telling him to write an epic 7 more chapters of awesome. It'd only come out as constipated clumps of bloodied stool if you tried forcing something out that isn't there Skirts, I mean you did JUST FINE releasing a deluge of fics that one crazy time between BP updates, I don't see how you couldn't pace your self and work on one new idea while jutting down maybe 300-1000 words to EoP a week or whatever.
Now, take some of this stool softener and go release all that backed up pressure you got building before it kills your creative awesomeness. Yes, I was bitter that EoP got halted for BP. But, I think you've done it a justice by waiting till now to continue it by honing your skills on other projects. Take it one plop at a time, and remember to eat plenty of greens and other fiber rich foods. If you're going to continue EoP, it better be when you actually got some solid idea of how you're going to get from P to Q and not straight skipping all the way to Y and Z.
Besides, I like your random occasional mesh of one shots. They are fun. Not all epics, but most fun at the very least. And I like that about you—YOU ARE A FUN PERSON!
So nyah! Berf as many stories as you want! Just throw a few words to EoP when it feels right. Not just for your sake neither, but for the story and its fans. But yeah, you too!
Now, if you'll excuse me, I been holding in a mighty dam which is about to burst as I actually thought this was going to be a short and quick post!
STORY ON SKIRTS!
So, End of Ponies will be like a super-epic story spanning all the seasons? Hell ya! Take as long as you want.
I second the motion: feel free to take your time with EoP.
Commissions? Hmmmm… I might be interested.
A story about Fluttershy and Octavia? Sweet.
i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/7101335808/hDE8AC53A/
That is all.
EoP.... I should read that sometime.
Absolutely. It's fine to develop grand fierce plans and I do that myself, and it's extra fine that you're able to deliver on what you promised (for instance, completing BP suitably without derping the ending by aiming too low). However, the nature of what you do is profoundly shaped by how and who you are while you do it.
When I got into MLP it was part of breaking down a wall of isolation and grimdarkness (a novelwriter, isolated? NEVER)
The thing about breaking down walls is, that's what you do when you GO somewhere. The directions suggested by study of ponies are not bad directions. They're generally good, upbeat, caring, growing-up directions. That's sort of the POINT of a show with friendship lessons originally intended for teaching little girls healthy things. If you are learning from the ponies, you too can grow up to be a better adult, whether you start as an eight-year-old girl or an old nag like yours truly.
Once you've gone somewhere and become a happier warmer Skirts (sincerely, not as a put-on or obligation) you may look back and see that the original thing you wanted for EOP is no longer what you want, and if you've not forced it, you can draw on what you've learned and do it properly. Or it can be your lighthouse out there to keep you honest and grounded.
Well, I've waited this long, I suppose I can wait longer, especially if you post new crazy stuff in the interim. Wouldn't want you to force yourself to write it. That just wouldn't be right.
@Story hints:...Um...something to do with Octavia and Tartarus?
Man, I know how that feels. Before my filly was born, I was listing four stories a day in The Writers' Group that I would never finish. To this day, I have tonnes of ideas swimming in my head nd a metric buttload of unfinished works. I will never have time for my entire imagination, excitable as a speed-laced puppy with the powers of The Flash, Roadrunner, and Goku in multiple as it is.
Hmm.. Arid land, a cello, a subterranean environment, and a red dawn:
[](/octygrin) I'm going to hazard a guess that you're writing I Met A Pony in Hell 2: And We Kicked Bass Together! (Starring Octavia) [](/lyracheer-in)
Hey, you finally figured it out. I was hoping you would. Epiphany level congratulations.
Lord knows I've had to smack Brian in the head with a mallet many a time that writing should be fun, and if you're not having fun then something must obviously be getting done wrong. As much as I too want to see the deathscape of the Wasteland return, I perfectly understand the mood you're in. It's something I myself had been ensnared by before. But regardless, do whatever the bloody hell you want and have fun with it. Be positive; don't force yourself unto the negative.
Also, commissions? Well, there goes my ramen money.
I'm excited that you are going to be doing other stories again concurrently with EoP, don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to EoP, but I love your other stuff too much to abandon it.
Random
I've been thinking of writing a Daring Do x Temple Run one shot.
People have been waiting a long time for EoP to resume. True. And you're feeling like the bad guy cuz you're writing "slow", or writing something else. So you feel compelled to force it.
Consider: for your followers who have been so-patiently waiting, would they really want you to publish less than your best effort?
Take as long as you need, and write what's in your heart.
Or Twilestia. What's in your heart, or Twilestia.
Sad to hear that writing isn't going so well. Just do as you must, and what you feel is good as a writer, and I'll be happy to help.
24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0s0zxvs3v1qa8q3yo1_500.jpg No worries my friend. Stay chill.
If your leisure feels like work, you're doing it wrong. Write what you want, not what you think is least likely to send a mob of bronies waving torches and pitchforks to your door. I will support you no matter what direction your horsewords take you.
Anytime anyone uses color on this site, I start to panic. Goes double for you.
Man, there are a lot of words here, c'es la vie, here are mine: do what you like, and like what you do.
877350
Yes. It must be done.
DO IT
I'll say that I originally followed you to keep up with Background Pony, but I will also say that I continue to follow because everything you write, EoP or not, is touching, inspiring, beautiful, and heartrending. I have never read anything you posted that I was disappointed by; they always have a touching, haunted beauty that never quite leaves. Yes, even Live, Scoots, and then you Die; though it wasn't the most serious of works, I still think about it and try to put the pieces together, perpetually appreciating the time I spent reading it.
So, I guess what I'm saying is, have at it. If it felt "friggin good" to write, I am ready to read whatever you may write, be it AppleDash, LonelyScoots, Eastern Dash, or anything else you may create. I am certain that it will be worth it. I know that when I sit down to read some SS&E, I will rise a changed person, and that's a wonderful thing.
Princess on!
Of the fractional or the bomber type?
You've forgotten to update EqD on the rewrite.
Something to do with Octavia, it seems? Color me intrigued. Also, it is a good thing to know you won't be stressing over rewriting EoP as much. Haven't read it yet, probably won't start til after the rewrite is completed so I don't end up confusing myself, but I never like to see authors giving themselves trouble over writing. It makes me feel like they're beating themselves up over something that is supposed to be fun.
Also, the green text on a SS&E post reminded me of Background Pony. Please excuse me while I go question the circumstances of my existence.
Honestly, I love almost all of your work. All I'd want would be an assurance that, somewhere in the future, EoP would pick back up. With that, then I say do whatever you feel like doing. You are a bloody good writer and not due to EoP alone. All of your works are good.
Take your time with EoP, it's well worth the wait.
Go with the flow. Whatever optimizes your writing output is good regardless of being related to EoP or not.
Your writings are of the good and you should feel good.
This is true of me at least.
I've yet to read EoP (it is sitting on my to be read list though.) As others have said, write what makes you happy - if that's EoP great. If its something else, that's great too.
If your heart ain't in it, the story wouldn't be what you want anyway.
You have already given us so much. Your blessings are great and we couldn't handle any more in such a short span of time. Take your time, for we will keep waiting.
Also, these pictures intrigue me. Cello, purgatory and Cocytus. Could the unsung realm have claimed another musician? I wonder where you're going with that Valley of Hinnom picture, though.
Story of my existence on fimfiction.
And everything else, for that matter.
Do and write whatever makes you happy, man.
We like it all
If you'll excuse my halfhearted attempt at
encouragementsomething earlier, I'd like to say this:You are writing it. That is all that matters. The fact that you have written, and continue to write, such a monumental work, is an inspiration in itself, and is more proof that you have tremendously large literary gonads with which to conceive stories -- but also, enormous gonads in another figurative sense. You have had the courage to not discontinue writing it. That's more than can be said for a lot of us, who cast aside their works if a new episode invalidates their own story's canon or "ruins" a character for them, or some other trivial reason. You keep on rolling.
I would like to point out a story being written by an old friend of mine: Equestria's Secret Service. EdwardJ has been writing that decent tale for at least as long as you've been writing End of Ponies. I distinctly remember him dropping its first few chapters off in Sparky's review thread on Ponychan in 2011, at roughly the same time that Vimbert delivered the smackdown review to I Remember Rainbow Dash. Yet, he has continued, and every month or so he writes another chapter. He doesn't let his own pace discourage him from writing, and neither should you.
If you find yourself in the situation that 877371 described (and I think, in that post, he touched upon a few points really worth considering), then don't be afraid to take the story in a new direction with your new values, new interests, and new outlook.
May the inspiration to write, whether or not it's EoP, come to you.
I have to say, I'm actually happy about that. Not saying that I don't like EoP, it's probably one of my favorites stories of all time, be it a fanfic or not. But with all the work that went into it, I would be really disappointed if the comeback after maybe 6 months of hiatus suddenly felt forced or like you were just trying to bring it to an end. Even if I had to wait 5 years for you to really get inspired for the rest, I think it would be worth it.
And even if it do take 5 years, I will be there to read it.
SS&E, I'm behind you. Not in a literal sense though, because that would be creepy.
What I'm trying to say is that what you are doing here, I can respect that. I approve of your decision to write EoP at your own pace instead of bowing to the desires of your readers.