I really didn't want to write another vast epic... · 2:56am Mar 27th, 2014
...bit it seems I might be doing so anyway. I try to keep the "vast epics in progress" count down to just one or two. But Honey Pie, despite being something that I began because I was depressed and insomniac at 3am, and which I meant to be a short one-shot, appears to be turning into a huge monstrosity of an epic. I might even have to start dropping the first person POV eventually because there's stuff that happens that doesn't directly happen to Sweetcake.
As of right now the total Honey Pie universe file, with everything I've written plus notes about changelings and such, has 49k words in it. And if this idea I just got works out, I'm only just getting started.
P.S. I'm considering opening an IRC chat, either on irchighway where the FimFic chat is, or on Canternet where the EQD chat is, for people who might be interested in chatting about my stories, tossing around future plot ideas, or talking about writing and ponies in general. Any interest?
i really enjoy honey pie and i hope it continues for a long while. good luck sir
hondagrom.net/forums/attachments/2286d1377783306-almost-had-heart-attack-i_know_that_feel_bro_by_rober_raik-d4cxn5a.png
As for the IRC chat idea, why not Skype? I'm part of multiple Skype groups and we all love talking about ponies and writing. Join in on the fun!
1958424 I don't have Skype. And yes, I realize that it is possible to install Skype, but getting a new program and installing it and learning how to use it, on the off chance that maybe somebody might possibly want to come and talk about my stories with me doesn't really fill me with glee.
If I just wanted to join an existing large group of people, there are already tons of IRC chats and such out there, after all. If there are a bunch of my followers who'd be interested, I might consider it, but otherwise I'd rather use IRC.
1958443
Yeah, I getcha. Just saying, there's a lot of talented writers on Skype. I'm part of several groups and made tons of friends on it. And truthfully, I've never used IRC before, and I wanna chat with you, so I thought this was my only shot.
1958454 Alas, we stand on opposite sites of a great, never-used-that-program divide. Can it ever be bridged?
1958456
Well, if I actually knew how to use IRC then yeah.
1958460 If you don't want to install anything you can always webchat.
http://webchat.nightstar.net/
Put in a name of your choice, but "#brony" in the chan box, don't bother with the tickybox.
1958465
Okay, let's do dis.
1958465
1958495
My god, SPark and RainbowBob are chatting with each other. Do I sense a "Celestia tries to have a threesome with Pinkie and SweetCake through online dating" collab?
That would be heaven. Jus saiyan.
1958511 Ha ha ha ha. I suppose I've written stranger things.
Wow. That's a lot. Well, Honey Pie is basically perfect and amazing, so this is ok.
I enjoy it but make sure you remember that eventually things have to end.
Good authors can write a story, fantastic ones know when it should be finished.
1958848 I assure you that I have ZERO intention of writing just one story for the rest of my life.
If you do switch from Sweetcake as a perspective, wouldn't it be better to simply switch characters, rather that going into 3rd person, for the sake of consistency.
Although who knows, you could probably pull of a perspective switch.
1958866 Well, the problem with switching characters in 1st person is it makes it VERY hard to let the reader know that you did. In third person you see:
And so you know that you changed from Applejack's POV to Twilight's. But in first person that switch looks like:
How does the reader know that "I" is somepony else? I mean obviously there are ways to let a reader know, like having another character call the "I" in there by name, but having to do that every time you change scenes is really awkward and difficult. If you're writing a story in 1st person, the rule of thumb is that you stay with just one person's POV and don't switch to other characters. That's really why one does first person too, to tell a story through just one perspective. If you want to tell a story with more than one perspective, you generally don't use first person.
1959305
That is a good point.
I've seen a few authors use different Unicode characters or small embedded .jpg's for line breaks, to indicate the character shift. Another solution would be to use first person for Sweetcake, as he's the protagonist, and 3rd person for anyone else. You could also of course just switch to 3rd person entirely.
The issue is using multiple perspective types vs. entirely switching perspective type in the middle of a story. One can be hard to pull off, while the other can be jarring. Don't worry, though, the story is solid and won't suffer for either, at worst it'll be a momentary narrative hiccup.
1959491 I'm not a huge fan of anything that relies on stuff outside the text itself, so I don't think I'll be going the jpeg route.
I haven't started writing that segment yet, I've just been doing plot outline, but I think I can make things work when I get there.
1959305
How about if you don't switch characters on a scene basis, but on chapters? It wouldn't have to be every chapter, either. The reader would be able to pick up on the internal voice change after a paragraph or so.
I could be mis-remembering things, but I feel like this is something The Time Traveler's Wife did.
1959634 Well, I appreciate the suggestion, but it seems like folks are getting the impression that I have a problem when I totally don't. I have complete confidence in my ability to write this so it's sensible and readable.
Just write whatever you find enjoyable to write, that's the most important part.
I'm totally open to SParkchat by the way. Ban anybody that doesn't capitalize the P!