HiE Rant #2 · 1:23am Feb 21st, 2015
Next rant.
INSTANT LOVE.
Okay, I know this isn't peculiar to just HiE, but it seems to get abused here. Why the hell are humans so attractive to ponies? I mean REALLY. This is a general rant more against instant love in romance fics, I guess, but jeez, dude! This weird instant attraction burns my ass.
If you're the kind of writer that only kicks out a couple thousand words or so for your fic, I understand the rush, but it's a total story killer, dude. If you're doing romance, it means so much more if you give the characters time to develop it, and a REASON, not just "OhmiGod, he's so hot, lets rut."
Unless you're doing a clopfic. I'm not even going there. Not dissing them, just saying that's outside the scope of what I'm talking about.
Have your characters hang out together. Have a reason for being interested (please don't do the fingers thing, I already went off on that). Find common ground. These are the things that real folks have for each other, and if you can touch on that, you can draw your reader in because they can RELATE to it. Dash and Twi both seem to get hammered with this because they're apparently the most popular targets (and if your best pone is another, I'm not downing your choice, trust me. Your fave gets abused as well). Don't let the fact that your human is a HUMAN be the reason. Let it be a social thing. The more real your character is, the more willing I am to go along with stuff you do with him or her. Use your own experiences to give them motivation for what they do.
Find that common ground, and roll with it. You'll end up with a better story and a happier reader, I promise.
Kekekekekekekek
No, but seriously, I agree with this and the hands post so much. Makes it more enjoyable and believable!
Thirded.
Not really much I can add to this one.
This is why I love Adm. Biscuit's Celestia Sleeps In / Onto The Pony Planet and Flight 19; an acknowledgement that humans look pretty weird to a race of horses, and the horses look weird to humans.