State of the Writer Report · 11:07pm Feb 25th, 2015
Greetings one and all!
I'm going to guess that you've probably noticed a distinct lack of updates to Project Sunflower: Harmony. I'd like to try to explain what's going on, as well as what I'm planning to have happen in the future.
I'm going to be honest, I haven't felt much like writing, recently. A lot of that has to do with stuff that's going on offline: My wife has been sick, my brother's in the hospital, there's been a death in the family, and my job is slowly but steadily eroding my sanity. Ordinarily, writing has been a way for me to escape this kind of garbage. Not so much recently, though.
Have you ever had one of those days where it feels like you're better off just banging your head against a wall rather than trying to accomplish anything? That's been me the last couple of months, at least when it comes to writing. It's disheartening when you're feeling blocked, force your way through and write anyway, and then feel that what you've produced is substandard anyway, in spite of all the effort it took to get it out.
A big part of the reason that I feel this way is because Sunflower: Harmony is not where I wanted it to be at this point. I've seen some of the observations in the comments about the lack of narrative focus, and I have to agree: this story is a mess right now. The way I had it planned out, the slice of life stuff would have fit in nicely alongside the main plot. Instead, what's happening is that the slice of life is taking over and the main plot is getting buried. Coming to this realization took a lot of the wind out of my sails.
I realize that what I should have done was write another story before this one, where Erin gets settled in Ponyville. It could have been filled with all of the day-to-day fluff that I love to write and that a lot of you like to read, while keeping it out of the way of the main story line for Harmony. Things would have gone much more smoothly if I'd done that from the beginning.
Obviously I'm not going to cancel the story or anything crazy like that. I still love this setting, and I'm really excited about what I've got planned coming up. And I'm not going to go back and re-write the first chapters right now, since that would just be confusing and unfair to you guys.
The solution is, of course, incredibly simple. I'm going to move as much of the future slice-of-life stuff as possible into its own side story. The title for that is going to be Sunflower: Life in Equestria. It's going to have all of the detail that isn't important to the main plot line, but which is fun for me to write. And I know a lot of people enjoy reading that kind of thing, as well. This will allow me to focus more on advancing the plot lines of Sunflower: Harmony. With most of the fluff going into the side story, this will leave the main story far less cluttered. I like the idea, and I hope you do as well. 
I'm sure many of you are wondering if you have to read both stories to follow the main plot-line. The good news is that no, you don't. If you don't care that much for slice of life and would rather skip all of the fluff, then there won't be anything vital in the side story that you need to know.
Now, as to how I'm going to move forward from here...
Chapter 15 was written while I was still thinking about how I was going to fix the story moving forward, so it still has quite a bit of fluff in it. I've decided not to change that, because some of it is important fluff. Chapter 16 is in editing, and is the first chapter I've written where I'd made a conscious decision to move the day-to-day stuff to a different story. As such, it's the most active chapter yet.
Once chapter 16 is fully edited and ready to go, I'm going to publish 15 and 16 at the same time. I'll publish the Life in Equestria chapters as they're ready, as well. Look forward to some Pony Movie Nights, more magic lessons for Erin, and a lot of Trixie's dream magic training, none of which needs to be in the main story.
I've got some things planned that I am really excited about showing you all. Now I finally feel like I can get started doing that. And I know things are confusing right now, with everything I've got going on in Harmony (and it's going to get a little worse before it starts getting better), but I'm going to start tying the various threads together very soon, I promise.
I thank you for your patience while I worked this stuff out.
Thanks for reading!
~Hoopy
Kind of a reason I stopped reading, I wanted the action and the new world. Still man take your time, no need to rush in
I don't think anyone would blame you if you Cut the current story up, either. I love it as it is, but having a separate S-o-L set inbetween the first story and Harmony about Sunflower moving in to Ponyville might be more new-reader friendly.
Anyway, stay strong.
Sounds good
I enjoy the Slice-of-Life stuff and the action.
I'm all for this, I like the idea of a story that focuses on everyday life of Erin.
Hope things in your life get better soon!
I shall patiently await the return of your awesome stories.
Oh i'm very sorry about what's happening
i hope your wife will feel better soon and that the situation will work out.
Nice idea of making the side story btw
I'll surely read it once it comes out 
Glad to hear you've figured out a solution to your current slump.^^ Hope it helps relieve your stress as much as it used to for ya.:D
Sorry to hear about your life situation - hopefully things turn for the better soon!
It's good to know that you've got a solution for your writer's block, too! It'll be a fun read no matter what form the story takes, so just let it come at its own pace.
I hope your wife feels better, your brother improves, and things all around start looking up!
Dont forget to take a break now and then as well, though most will enjoy that SoL stuff as well
I wish for the best with the situations you are having in your life, and remember to take breaks because it sure looks like you've got a lot of stress to deal with.
This seems ideal for me, since I really like both the slice-of-life and the "big plot" and whenever I was reading a part focused on one of those I felt concerned that the other half was suffering as a result. Two separate "streams" seems like the best of both worlds. :)
I actually thought that the slice of life served to emphasise the buildup of the plot. As Ponyville becomes involved in the main plot, the slice-of-life would be overruled by the urgency.
2 years now. I understand. I've just started getting back into it.
I enjoy both, so I'm glad that neither is going to disappear!
I enjoy both the main story and the fluff, so I'm glad that I'll still get to read both!
May the Grace of the Valar Protect You
Shire Folk
Speaking of side stories, a wierd idea popped into my head when I finished watching Rainbow Rocks. What if at some point it was up to Erin save the band with her singing from the Sirens? Hilarity ensues thats what.
Better to take your time with something you create than rush through it, you can do this!
Good luck dealing with real life. I think a lot of us are here for escapism, and fluff and high adventure are both great for that.
A good way to transition to your new model might be a random crisis. Something surprising and not at all plot-related happens to jar everyone out of their comfort zone, and when the dust settles you're telling the story the new way.
Woot! Yay~!
Currently the SoL stuff is much more important to me than whatever is going on in Forbidden Planet. After all, Sunflower's SoL has the momentum of your entire first story behind it. So I'm kind of leery on hearing ppl complain about "too much SoL too little action" because it may demotivate you or force you to take the story into places where you won't enjoy it anymore (and then it becomes Incomplete forever, like many other great FiMfics).
all the best to ya
Best of luck to you and yours, Hoopy. The story plans sound good, but don't feel like you need to drive yourself crazy to make it happen.
Anything Sunflower is fun to read. All the side stories, all the main stories, I just am happy to see Erin doing anything because it's always a treat!
She's kind of like Cinnamon Swirl that way.
This is going to be so very awesome
. Sunflower is what got me started on this site, which... Now that I think about it was like a week ago. But still!
Also, best of luck at home, Hoopy! You have been given the lucky 7 moustaches!
Sorry to hear about the family and that the writing hasn't gone your way lately. Still, its good to see that you have recognized that there is a problem and now have a clear goal in mind.
Why not just add the extras to the "side stories" story? Adding a fourth story might just confuse things more.
What I'm waiting for is Erin meeting up with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, Erin has been exposed to good ponies too many times and should be introduced to the bad apples.