The future of Death Note: Equestria (and other stories) (opinions needed) · 10:06pm Aug 25th, 2014
First off, panic.
Good, good. *strums fingers wickedly*
Got that all out of your system? Excellent. You can stop panicking now. Let's talk business.
Do you know Death Note: Equestria is nearly three years old now? It's funny to think about that. In fact, it was more than three years ago now that my brother and I finished a Death Note marathon and I thought to myself, contemplatively, that Lyra sits funny just like L does. Now, it's been viewed over ten thousand times. That may be small potatoes compared to some of the huge stories out there, but I stumbled across that number last week and just had to sit for a minute. Ten. Thousand. And of all those people, ten percent have read all the way to the end. I don't even know a hundred people, yet more humans than I will ever meet in my lifetime have experienced at least a small part of my little pony story. We get so used to big numbers on the internet that it's easy to forget what those figures actually mean. You may consider me blown away. Love me or hate me, thank you all for your consideration. It means so very much.
Now here's the thing.
In exactly one month, I'll be turning 22. (Fingers crossed for a leitmotif and a half-decent pony movie.) I'm heading into my last year (hopefully) of university, with my eyes on the ultimate goal of becoming a professional editor. I'm at the point in my career when I need to start getting my name out there; taking on more jobs, writing publishable short stories, maybe starting on my first novel. And that means that fanfiction is going to have to take a backseat.
One of the more common criticisms of DN:E (*cough cough*) is that it has no reason to exist. This is something I have to at least partly agree with. By all measures, it's my first novel; in fact, it's the length of two or even three novels, with no ending in sight. That's in addition to the tens of thousands of other words I've contributed to this site. Imagine, I might argue, what might have been accomplished if I'd instead put that time and energy into books and short stories; I could have been published multiple times right now, and planning my third novel instead of my first. But then, I argue back, if I had produced a book in the quality of writing that I had when I started doing fanfiction, I know that I wouldn't have been happy with it. Part of the reason I love DN:E is because it's a visual measure of how much my writing has improved over the past three years; it starts out clumsy, tacky and highly derivative, staggering blearily out after a long creative dry spell, and slowly evolves better characters and stories and more beautiful prose. By writing it, and by getting support and instant feedback from the people who follow it, I've improved my skills much more than I would have otherwise. That doesn't mean, though, that the story is actually good, and all the talent in the world means nothing if I don't have any publishable works to show for it. Was I wrong or right to write it? Would it be wrong or right to continue to write it? I don't know if I have an answer to that.
No, DN:E is not cancelled. Nothing is cancelled for the foreseeable future. While one-shot fame is tempting, I'm highly unlikely to start writing any new stories, and will focus exclusively on finishing the ones already in progress. But all this does mean that this will likely be my last year of writing fanfiction, at least to the extent that I've been doing, and at the rate I'm going nothing is ever going to be finished on time. This is why I'm giving myself options, and why I need opinions.
OPTION ONE: I continue as I have been doing, writing chapters of various stories in no particular order and sending them off to editors when appropriate. You continue to get top-quality work at a slow rate while I work other writing into my schedule.
OPTION TWO: I do what I have been doing with Our Equestria and go on a writing frenzy, bypassing editors to focus on getting chapters out as quickly as possible. I have always struggled with efficiency and quantity of writing more than quality (which is saying a lot), so this might be what I need.
OPTION THREE: I put fanfiction on an indefinite hiatus to work on getting published, with a promise to one day return. Having to drop my stories, even some of them, would break my heart, but maybe it would be for the greater good.
OPTION FOUR: I shut down all my stories completely, never to return. If this were to happen, and if I were certain that I was saying goodbye to fanfiction for good, I would make public all of my planning documents to answer any remaining questions so that no one has to spend the rest of their life wondering where I was going with something. That's everything, from the fate of Sunny Days and whatever the heck is up with Echo Pie all the way down to what becomes of Butch Castle and Sundancer the Kid. We're talking mass spoilers here.
OPTION FIVE: Ghostwriting! This is something that I know a few writers have relied upon when they go through slumps, with mixed results (*grinds teeth*). Finding a guest writer for DN:E would not be an easy task, since the story has become incredibly complex, but if an opportunity does come up this may assist with any of options one to three.
I'm not just throwing this out for posterity; I genuinely don't know what to do here. If you have any thoughts on the series, on me, on the future, on writing, let me know. The future of Death Note: Equestria is in your hands.
-9
I'd either pick option 1, or Option 5, I'd ghostwrite if you want me to
LOL! top that review
, i even felt his venom
I Personalyy old friend love death note equestrian and would love to se you continue but this aint about me its your call you must do what you think is right and I will support ya as much a s I can.....Hay Heres an idea why not make Death Note E into a Book
I'll admit that I only recently read your story completely, but its one of the stories that I enjoyed the most. It would be a pity to stop writing it, but if you feel it necessary, you should do what's best for you. I wouldn't go path four though; if you want to stop writing, find a high quality writer with a lot of free time to take over. I would do it if you think I would be a good choice, but you need to make the final decision.
I'd worry about finishing your current stuff before trying to get published stuff out there, mostly for the sake of having a more complete resume but also because I personally believe one must finish their plate before going for a second serving.
2400906 Ohh good point a finished resume does look better
I want option one.
Option one sounds nice.
Option five seems alright too, though there's the problem of finding a writer you trust who's also a good writer to boot.
You're a great writer, don't give up!
Option 1 is fine with me. But if you need help, you can try Option 5.
option 1 for my selfish needs
but option five also sounds like a way that everybody can be happy
I just want more of this story; its 20000000000000000% cooler than anything I've read in a while.
Do what's good for you, fanfiction is not an essential things, we as readers should expect that, especially if you're busy in the RL.
Number two sounds like it would be easiest for both you and your followers. Write when you feel like writing, and submit what you can when you can. Sure, there might be a few errors, but people will always point them out to you and help you clean them up, especially if it means getting their fix of DN:E sooner.
Option one seems vastly preferrable.
This is normally the part where I'd volunteer to help in the eventuality that you go with option five, but in truth, I have serious doubts about my ability to convincingly immitate your writing style, and if you were to get a ghostwriter, I'd emphasise finding someone who can keep the quality and style consistent with your previous efforts.
I'd hope for option 1. Ideally, I'd like to see DN:E to its conclusion. While it started out as a derivative story, you worked with each character's personality and ultimately made Twilight different from Light, even if their goals are the same.
If you can't finish it within the year, I'd opt for a slow transition into Option 5. Ideally, we wouldn't even know the switch had occurred. We would just keep seeing more well written chapters.
Option 1, you don't need to stop, but it doesn't need to be the focus of all of your attention though. Go on with your career choices and write when you want to in your free time. It would mean very slow chapters, but it's better than nothing, and it's better than option five for the rest of us. You don't need to change anything, just don't let fanfiction get in the way of anything important.
Option 1 is good, as far as I'm concerned, at least. I'm really only reading DN:E, honestly, but I'd like to see it continue. If it takes time to produce chapters, that's fine with me... after all, I'm one of those who still hopes SS&E will someday publish more End of Ponies (even though I was specifically nice enough to not pressure him about it when I met him earlier this year).
Nothing below 3. then again everyone who is a fan of your work is going to be incredibly biased.
Also i think ghost writing and ignoring editors is a bad idea especially when your making a complex story.
I've known you for quite a while, Nonagon. I've come to admire and respect your skill with prose; I adore, and sometimes fear, the stories you've submitted to this site. But I think it's about time you move onto something greater; something more tangible, more permanent than fanfiction. You've proven yourself again and again, at least to me, that you're capable of taking this step. You've beat the tutorial level. You're ready.
I've invested a fair amount of time into DN:E, for an editor, and I'd be sad to see the very moment I've implored into existence cut off before it sees the light of day. This being said, I'm going to take the bold move and nominate Option 4. You're already a master in this playing field; in my opinion, it'd be silly to waste more time in the little league with the rest of us.
On a tangential note, you may have to inform me what irritates you so much about SamRose's ghosting. I wrote a chapter for him once and it actually served to enlighten me, allowing me to lead my own work into its darker undertones; it's a valuable opportunity for writers to get out of their comfort zone in a way other than a prompt or competition. I haven't kept tabs recently, though, so I'm out of the loop.
I trust you can make a right decision.
Option 3, however, is not that. If you tell yourself that you might someday return, I doubt this will happen. I speak from experience. My fanfiction "career" was filled with broken promises due to lack of willingness to write. You may (probably would) be able to return easier than I, but it's still difficult to do so. I've seen many a writer (including me) disappear after a so called "hiatus" when in reality they never came back.
TL;DR: Option 3 and 4 are the same, but Option 3 gives false hope.
2404837 Really? You really don't remember how that went down?
2400897 2400906 Yeah, that's not going to work. Printing and binding a story is one thing, but any publishing house is going to be much more impressed with The Terrible Adventures of Captain Original than Double Copyright Violator 9000.
2406283 Well, like I said, it'd be better to get all of your current stuff finished before moving onto something else, assuming you're confident you can deliver a satisfying ending to each one.
2406283 I see I get ya buddy
I left Fanfiction for a while. Partially due to unrelated Dramas, partially due to a loss of interest. I came back to it with MLP. Yes, I do only have one story here, but hey, I only post when I've completely finished a story and the second one is a lot longer.
That said, you'd only come back if the inspiration struck you and it might not. So I'd say option 2 if it'll get me the third Mirror Story.
2406702 Heh. Funny thing, the Mirror Fidelity series is one of exactly three (that, NUSBSPF, and SWLY) that I know for sure aren't cancelled. Partly because it's got a much smaller audience, it's something that I know I'm writing to blow off steam and not because of any feelings of obligation. In fact, story 3 is more than half-finished, but I've been having some trouble polishing it up because... just between you and me... *leans close* Human!Sunset may be my most evil character yet.
2406741 Excellent. Besides, I like evil Sunset.
Number one sounds good. Also, don't listen to that review guy. Maybe it means I have bad taste, but I greatly enjoy this and Faith and Doubt (which he mentioned he hated).
2406283 I don't remember anything about it that would make you grind your teeth, anyway. Sorry to trouble you, but I'd appreciate a PM when you get the chance detailing what about it you find so distasteful; I'd like, as much as anybody else would, to have the full picture.
Number 3. It's what I would do. Now think about it logically. If you were to continue down the pony rout then you finish a bunch of stories and then what? Sure you're readers are satisfied but did that really get you anywhere?
If you are serious about about writing then doing it professionally is you're first priority! I don't mean to make it seem like money is the only thing that matters but writing fan fiction is not going to pay the bills.
If you work full time on you're first novel and make it the best you can, then I can garentee you can do it! When it gets out there I know whatever it is you will at least have one fan. Anyway, ponies will always be here.
When you have gotten you're name out there, earned enough to quit the golf corse and have six horses in the back garden of you're mansion perhaps you will return to this website. Long forgotten about the stories you had masterfully woven and the friends you had made. Stumbling across this post, you chuckle. When every tale is done and all plot threads come to an end, there will be peace...