Word Limit · 10:04pm Mar 27th, 2013
I'm about to enter the second most difficult part[1] of writing Whispering Stars. I need to start cutting off plot threads before they entangle things. I have enough details in the story that if I don't take care, it's going to clock in north of 120k words. I feel that's just a bit much for the first fic I publish on this site. Even if I embraced that higher word count, I'd still need to go through an eventual phase of uprooting kudzu. Extending the story would make it worse.
Since I value story endings, I'm going to start trimming now to keep things on course and reduce reader confusion. This might force some of the subplots into sequels. It almost certainly[2] means that there's going to be a big gap in the updates as I extend my planning horizon across more chapters. What it unquestionably means is that the next chapter will finish introducing the cast[3].
[1]The most difficult part is getting started.
[2]It is conceivable that the trimming will be easy, in which case no slowdown will occur. That seems unlikely.
[3]There will be no new names.
I feel like I should say something here, but I don't have anything to contribute...
I wouldn't mind reading 120k+ words, if you managed to keep up the same kind of quality you managed in ch. 3 and 4[1]. But I realize that's a hell of a lot of writing[2].
No new names how? For example, would it be legal to bring in Rainbow after the next chapter.
[1] I specify 3 and 4 because I haven't actually even seen if there's a looked at ch. 5 yet.
[2] Moreso because you insist on quality. I could probably blat out 120k words of stuff like this in under two weeks, if I had motivation.
952121
It's not that I would have trouble producing 120k words. I have approximately 18k words of deleted scenes already, assuming I didn't actually delete anything. I think I broke the save-everything rule for one of my aborted chapters, so I'd actually guess I have 22k words of deleted scenes.
The problem is that I'd have trouble producing something comprehensible at that length. It needs to be tightened up in any case.
As for Rainbow and no new names, I would point out that Rainbow Dash was named in Chapter 2.
Write ALL the words!
i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/006/199/x-all-the-y.png
Write all the words?
cdn.memegenerator.net/images/300x/5626229.jpg
I'm so helpful.
952375
It's what I deserve for answering your request for help so badly.
952245 She is wat
> checks chapter
> yup there she is
> damit
Besides Discord and Chrysalis, I can't think of any
ponyone notable enough to be a viable candidate who you haven't already introduced. The 'known friends' graphs have all already been filled (thanks to the timely reminder of chapter 2).Rainbow's actually irrelevant to my question; it would work just as well with, say, Trixie. Then again, I happen to glance in your blog list and see "First of the OC Spirits", so all bets are off I guess.
... Does Cryoglyph count as a character?
952375 Ali!
952245
I can't believe I forgot this...
After rashly claiming to be able to do 120k words in two weeks (I used the word 'blat' for a reason), I worried you would hold me to that. So I ran some numbers. If I do nothing eles, I could even make good on that. (The question is, should I?)
952758
Cryoglyph does count as a character, but further elaborations on his story are unlikely to make the cut.
I would note that Chrysalis and Discord have also already been named (chapter 2 and chapter 3 respectively), although Discord was explicitly referred to as being irrelevant.
952848
I, um, didn't like Pinkie and the Lawnmower. It doesn't look like you've published anything else. That doesn't leave me with much to recommend for or against!
Writing a 120k word story in two weeks seems like a terrible idea. Writing one in a month seems questionable. Speaking of Wrimo, 50k in a month is a much more reasonable quantity of wording.
952886
...
How the heck am I missing these? I don't even. I distinctly recall greatly enjoying it and thinking it's a great story, and I don't remember anything about it. What gives?
Okay, Discord was mentioned in the dream sequence. Is Chrysalis in chapter 5? If Chrysalis isn't in chapter 5 I'm going to really flip sh**.
952922
Chrysalis is indeed in Chapter 5. Hint: Why does a book dedicated to Love have holes in it?
952695
It made me lol.
952901 Oh, I haven't published anything else. Nothing else is even represented on fimfiction anywhere other than a few random comments, to be honest. (I owe Ghost a changeling fic, possibly a spaceship fic as well. And now I owe someone else a NMM fic.)
Story? It wouldn't be a story[1]. It'd be 120k words, but I never claimed it would be a story[2].
I assume the benefits of such an activity would be twofold: getting ideas out out out, in whatever form they happen to take; and ramping up my typing speed. I can clear five or six hundred words in an hour, without editing[3]. I'd hope that, after two weeks of typing all day every day, my speed would be better.
Reasonable? HA! I laugh at your concept of 'reasonable'! This is not about what's reasonable, this is about what's possible!
If you please, I would like to hear about why you didn't like Pinkie and the Lawnmower. (If I don't know what I did wrong, I can't improve, and all that.) This is not the most-ideal place for that, but wherever you like is fine.
[1] Well, it might be, but even so it'd really be a rambling stream-of-consciousness piece of crap that thinks it's a story. It'd even contain large gloms of other stories, possibly even complete, unrelated-to-each-other stories. I'll shoot you the would-have-been cover page.
[2] > checks
> Nope, I really didn't
> *phew*
[3] Well, it might get a bit of pre-thought and some on-the-fly word replacement, but not editing.
952936 That made a lot of sense, once I, you know, actually read the chapter. Turns out I was behind. Then someone else connected the book with love, and a behind-the-scenes detail about Cadence took on a whole new light. (Waitaminit... which book did Celestia take the word love from? Was that the one with the holes in it? If so, that'd explain...
) I still don't remember Chrysalis in chapter 2, though.
953521
Yes! Let the speculation flow through you!
954151 I've just remembered[1] that you didn't answer ... uh ... anything, least of all the questions about writing. Is that deliberate? Shall we dance this dance again? Or are we just going to leave it?
[1] again. But this time I'm at my computer!
977080
Uhm, maybe I misunderstood something. What were you wanting me to answer?
977111
In my mind, the questions are threefold:
1) I believe I am capable of doing this crazy thing. Should I?
2) Irrespective of #1, is it a good idea? (I think you said you thought it wasn't.)
3) Why didn't you like Pinkie and the Lawnmower/what didn't you like about Pinkie and the Lawnmower?
There were also some babelings about Chrysalis in Whispering Stars, but I think we cleared those up over a smorgashborg of other thread-thingys.
989699
Oh! Don't do the crazy thing. It's not worth it and not a good idea.
As for Pinkie and the Lawnmower, it's a nonsensical story with no payoff other than a single bad pun. It doesn't contribute any setting or theme, and it's not great for characterization either.
990362 Oddly enough, that's what I don't like about it, too. Not a lot that can be done about that, though -- the pun is the story, really, and everything before Gilda shows up at Sweet Apple Acres is about getting to that point.
Ah well. Will do better in the future.
990504
The story is mechanically sound, it's just... vapid. It doesn't reflect poorly on you as a person or as an author. I'm looking forward to whatever you write next.
I know I'm late to the party here, but I just wanted to throw out my input.
The story is yours to do with as you please. I can't rightly go into that world of unreality to see what an epic this could have been. If you maintain the quality I'll be content with whatever final story emerges.
But, if you feel the story could be better, don't sell it short. AestheticB's first story, The Immortal Game, was truly an epic. It ended at about 300k words, but he maintained a high quality of writing thoughout it.
So, if you can maintain the quality of writing and have more to write, why sell yourself short? But if you mean to break it up into multiple stories due to its length, that's perfectly reasonable.
Wow, I know I'm late but I honestly expected more people to have responded about this.