Story Updates and the Contest · 6:46am Aug 11th, 2014
Okay, then. Two new chapters added to From Gander to Gendarme, bringing us up to three plus the prologue. It is now officially longer than my first story, and the plot is well on its way. It still has several dislikes to its name, so now more than ever I need some reader opinions on what isn't working and what could be improved upon. The story is still close enough to its infancy that I can correct it without too much effort. I guarantee there will be places in the narrative that need touching up, since I'm posting these updates as I go along.
My begging for comments now over with, let's get to what these chapters have for us. The prologue didn't even mention the main character by name, only side-characters (some of which might be returning eventually), and was meant as a teaser into Gander's introduction. The first chapter brought us into the present a bit from where we left off in the previous story, with the main character's new profession. It also had some side-character building up and a bit of plot. The second chapter is bringing back my favorite part of the original story, which is to say the character of Ducky. She'll be along for the entire ride, and it's just as much her story as it is Gander's. Chapter three was originally part of chapter two, but I broke them up into more manageable portions after I saw the word count. It's part introduction for more side-characters we'll be seeing later, but its true goal is to advance the plot. We're progressing well so far, and I don't expect any problems that might slow the story down.
I'm expecting this story to be part character introspective and part cop drama. We'll have a slice-of-life aspect of how a hippogriff handles Equestrian integration and (somewhat skewed) friendship lessons, while the darker themes of betrayals, mystery, and whodunits run alongside. Hopefully, it combines harmoniously to show Gander accepting the happy pony culture, and doing everything he can to prevent it from being warped.
My not-so-strict goals at this moment are at the very least a five-thousand word chapter per week. I'm hoping that a quicker release schedule will draw more attention and keep it focused and building. So far, I've been able to manage that much writing in a weekend without too much trouble. Of course, this keeps me from doing all but the lightest of editing. I still have to look into the editor groups and see if I have any chance of finding one for my story. I was dividing my attention between writing my story and reviewing those of other authors, but I'm not certain that is the most efficient use of my time. It didn't seem to drum up as much interest in my stories as I would've liked. My goal was to get some suggestions from other authors for my own stories and I don't see that happening, so perhaps I'll try again once I've got some more chapters finished and ready for publishing.
As for the EqD Outsider Insight contest, I originally had high hopes for Taking A Gander. Of the submissions at the time, I felt mine was a strong contender. Now that the end of the contest is drawing near, submitted stories have skyrocketed, and some of them are superbly written pieces from high profile writers. My confidence is not nearly so high that I might place amongst other stories with hundreds of likes and thousands of views. It's a sobering thought, but winning was not my purpose in entering. My goal was to push myself into writing, and I feel I've already achieved that.
Or, at least, that's what I'll be telling myself as I cry into a bucket of ice cream.
Thanks for reading,
-Hack
I agree with this sentiment totally and we seem to share the same boat.
I got cinnamon ice cream with bits of candied bacon. Sound good?
2374951 Bacon in your ice cream?! You truly are a griffon at heart. There's only one logical path for me now...
img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111229231030/bacon/images/c/c1/Bacon_ice.jpg