Writer's Workshop #12: Writing the Mane 6 (part 1) · 6:00am Feb 11th, 2015
Most of the advice I give in these workshops is written to be be applicable to any story, whether pony or no. Well, today I've decided to write some advice entirely for fanfics here. Specifically, let's talk about the mane 6 and the best way to capture their personalities. ...Okay, you got me. The other five ponies are just there so I can talk about Pinkie. I've read a ton of stories with Pinkie and even watched some episodes here and there where Pinkie is a trainwreck and I just can't stand it when Pinkie is written badly so now I'm going to write a ton of words about how Pinkie totally isn't ADHD and lolrandumb seriously you guys. I mean... let's get right into it!
Twilight Sparkle: As it turns out, I've actually written quite a lot of stories with Twilight in a central role. "The Queen Beckons," "A Call to Vespers," "It's Impossible!" Seems I have quite the soft spot for the little nerd. And it's true, I definitely do. I associate with her the most, in case it wasn't clear from the fact that I'm super-smart, terrible with people, a little bit snarky, and a lotta bit dorky. The key to writing Twilight is to get into her mindset and see the world purely analytically. Twilight takes just about everything with an energetic zeal to learn, so give her lots of exciting things to discover and analyze, and she'll play well for you. You can create conflict for her by giving her something that she can't just easily explain away, but that's pretty simple. Twilight's other big character flaw is anxiety, so give her too many options and not enough time, and she'll drive herself crazy.
Roles for Twilight: Naturally, Twilight is best as the voice of reason. Surprisingly, however, she has her place as the emotional one, too. This comes down to the fact that she's quite easily prone to flying off the handle. Twilight also works well as a leader, a guide, and a skeptic. She's naturally good at taking charge and getting things under control, especially after her ascension. She has plenty of great knowledge and advice, and she'll always try to do the right thing for her friends. But she's also quite a lot of fun as the snarky voice of doubt. Basically, Twilight's quite a versatile character for a variety of stories and settings.
How not to write Twilight: I personally have a soft spot in my heart for technobabble/magibabble, in case you couldn't tell. (See "The Alice War," "It's Impossible!", and "Mother and Child.") However, I know it's a guilty pleasure. Don't use technobabble as a smokescreen to make your Twilight appear smart. Especially don't use it incorrectly! If you really have to use it, make it flow evenly through the story. Don't call too much attention to it, and don't make it so dense that your readers don't understand what you're talking about. Other no-no's with Twilight: she isn't a complete robot; she has emotions, in particular love for Spike and anger towards impossible problems. She's also not Castiel from Supernatural or Bones from her show. She understands most societal conventions; she just chooses not to partake in them. Twilight doesn't usually rub her superior intellect into other ponies' faces. She usually sees unlearned ponies as potential students, not inferiors. Lastly, Twilight does have a sense of self-preservation, so she's not going to go run into every stupid trap just because she could learn something out of it.
Applejack: I've found, to my shock, that I actually really like Applejack as a character. There's something very mysterious about her situation and her personality that makes her a lot of fun to write. Family is everything to her, but she also has a courageous, adventurous spirit that puts her perfectly at home in the middle of the fields or hoof-deep in mud fighting some big monster. Okay, yeah, of course her accent is fun to write, but that isn't the end-all be-all about her. You know what is the end-all be-all for Applejack? Doing the right thing. Think about nearly all of her episodes and how they revolve around punishing her for trying to be the better pony. Help her friends while low on sleep and a little bit surly. Raise the money she was supposed to win, even if it meant abandoning her family for a few weeks. Let Granny Smith be happy with a lie, or save her when she's about to do something drastic. So if you want to write Applejack well, if you want to give her some real conflict for her to struggle with, just put her in a position where the right thing is really hard or obscured by seemingly rational choices.
Roles for Applejack: Why is Applejack so underused in the show? Because she works so darn well as a support character. Put her as a guardian to help others, or just fill her full of good advice when she can't get in the game directly. Applejack is almost impossible to trick into doing something selfish or unethical, but sometimes what seems like the needs of the many is actually unnecessary self-sacrifice. She's usually better as a rational character than an emotional one. She usually doesn't take up the lead on her own, but she also won't get in the way or try to stop the ball rolling (intentionally, anyway). On the other hoof, get her under ponies' hooves under the pretense of, "Ah'm tryin' to help ya'll, consarn it!", and you'll have some fantastic conflict.
How not to write Applejack: Applejack's Southern style is a part of her. I know some writing style guides will tell you not to write out dialect if you can help it, but it's pretty much the way it goes 'round here that Applejack says "Ah" and "yer" and stuff like that. That's not the problem. The problem is making that all she is. It's extremely easy to make her dialogue, "Ah'm Southern! Apples apples apples!" A good character, as I said in my last workshop, works meaningfully in the story. Don't let Applejack fall away to the sidelines to spout Southern-isms and flimsy advice. The other thing: Applejack isn't stupid. She just doesn't like adding unnecessary filigree to things. For Celestia's sake, don't write her as some hicksy moron who couldn't tie her own shoes if horseshoes had laces. Give her chances to be savvy, be ingenious, be wise. Oh, and here's another one, kinda similar to the other two: don't make her boring. I bet farm life is a lot more interesting than it seems at first blush, especially when you have magic crops like Applejack does. I think the writers have dropped the ball on not having more stories set at Sweet Apple Acres, exploring the daily life of our Southern belle.
Pinkie Pie: All right, here comes my Pinkie rant. Pinkie is an awesome character. She is probably unlike any comedy relief I've ever seen in a TV show. She's got the bubbly, the perky, the energetic. She's got the savvy, the intuitive, the perceptive. She's got the friendly, the caring, the compassionate. And, perhaps most importantly, she has her demons. I specifically said that Applejack isn't 100% apples and family, but Pinkie is absolutely 100% parties, and the perfect character to deconstruct that notion. She needs the happiness of others to survive, to even be remotely happy herself. Screwing that up will instantly deflate her. The "Pinkie fails at something and spirals out of control" thing is kinda played out at this point, but there are plenty of other ways to go about it. Give her responsibility, give her power, give her blame. Pinkie wants so badly to be in control, to make everything work out just the way she wants it to, that giving her something she can't do will only make her want to do it more. And maybe, maybe she'll just succeed anyway. Pinkie is so incredible because she's basically Batman, if Bruce Wayne decided to vent his trauma through entertaining others instead of saving them. Think on that, nerds!
Roles for Pinkie: Right away, you know Pinkie's perfect for the emotional role. You need a voice of emotion just as much as you need a voice of reason, and Pinkie's bubbly, uncontrolled personality is perfect for it. Unfortunately, a lot of writers put her in the "get-in-the-way" role, which... kinda works pretty well, too, but still. Pinkie likes to do things Pinkie's way, which can be really hard for ponies that, you know, aren't Pinkie. But critically, Pinkie is also a support character through and through. She will always be there for a comforting word and a cupcake or two, even if she doesn't personally know how to fix the problem. Never forget that part of her, either. Speaking of which...
How not to write Pinkie: Remember, Pinkie only cares about literally one thing in the entire universe: making other ponies happy. Pinkie will run herself ragged if she thinks it would make somepony else happy. She would defend any of her friends (read: any pony in Equestria) to the absolute death. She would never, never, never, never, never, never, NEVER hurt one of her friends, intentionally or no. Pinkie is exceedingly careful, exceedingly smart, and exceedingly sensitive. She dropped a piñata on Rainbow Dash once, and it didn't even hurt Rainbow, but it was so traumatizing to Pinkie that she decided to give up on partying forever. Next, Pinkie is not ADHD, and she is definitely not random. From the Art of War: "Simulating disorder postulates perfect discipline." (V.17) In other words, Pinkie may appear to be completely random, but in reality, her thought processes are so refined and perfect that lesser mortals like you and me simply can't keep up with her. She knows what she wants to do so exactly that she's not going to stop silly little things like "social norms" or "what other ponies expect her to do" get in the way. ...You probably think I'm joking, but I'm dead serious. Pinkie may not know as much straight information as Twilight, but her brain is probably... what, twice as powerful as Twilight's? Three times as powerful? Pinkie is a genius, a wunderkind. She has a photographic memory, she can predict the future, and she can charm and disarm with perfect diplomacy. That's why it's such a shame when so many writers just write her as, "lol, she makes silly noises" or "lol, she got distracted by a balloon." (Yeah, even an example from the show. I went there.) Make her a valuable contribution, dang it! Don't just make her get in the way all the time. And dang it, don't make her random! Everything Pinkie does is a carefully calculated power play.
...Okay, this is getting way too long. There's no way this should stay as one post. Tune in next time for Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash! (Maybe in that order.)
I think the main reason I wound up writing Lollipops is because of Pinkie. I haven't had much of an opportunity to pry behind the cannon, and this has been a fun exercise.