Poll: For Readers of The Night is Passing, please read (or those who may be interested) · 4:29am Jul 11th, 2015
Alright, fillies an' gentlecolts. Gather round.
I have a simple question. But first I have a little introduction to said question.
I've been reading FOE fics recently, and it's reminded me of a regret I have about TNIP. Well, not a regret. But an idea I have not yet been able to get rid of in all this time. Specifically, quotations. At the beginnings of chapters. There are a few ways to do this. FOE writers tend to use show lines and such. KKat used show lines and lines that fit the chapter. Funke, who wrote Inkheart, also does this. Frank Herbert did as well, and his quotations became part of the worldbuilding/character-development of Princess whatshername in such a neat way.
I've been wanting to do that. I wanted to do it from the beginning, actually.
I'm seriously considering going back and adding quotations to the beginning of each chapter of The Night is Passing. They would be everything from things from literature I admire to songs and maybe even bits from FiMFic I've particularly felt inspired chapters and plot points and even characters. Personally, I may just do it anyway as I reread my own story (again) but whether or not I should share that I think I leave up to anyone who reads this as well as just me.
If you read this far, challenge: If you had to say, what would your Element be? If you were an Element bearer on a quest with your friends and such. For bonus points, what tribe of pone would you be? I enjoy question games, as you can see. Have fun. If anybody reads this far.
Sure, you should absolutely do that. If it's something you're excited about doing, that means it's something you should probably do. Besides, what's stopping you?
Edit: Oh, I guess I'd be the Element of Snarky Comebacks, from the Asshole Tribe.
3227499 have I told you that you a re a delight, both meant ironically and genuinely? I do enjoy your comments. Also your username, which I still find funny. I'm snickering as I type this
As far as quotes go - I think they'd be extraneous, though the necessity is up to you. Given the epic nature of the work, non-epic or too-modern lyrics or other additions could be jarring. I've always loved the chapter titles: I thought those set the stage and tone for each section perfectly, and worked in place of opening quotes.
Given a choice? Magic/Unicorn. Translated from reality? Probably Generosity/Pegasus or Kindness/Pegasus.
Quotes are neat. Thing is, though, if people don't like them, it only takes a second to skim over them. If people like them, they're there to enjoy.
Challenge: Element of Caution? I'm trying to think of a way to spin my hyperanalysis/perfectionism into a virtue and not a flaw. Dedication? Reflection? Thoughtfulness? Peace/Calm/Serenity? If one of the mane 6 elements, Honesty or Loyalty but not realized the way the mane 6 realize those traits. Earth pony, because they don't get enough love. I had fun. Thanks for playing question games.
3227510 I think, on reflection, you're right about the nature of any added introductory quotations. I would need to be judicious. I may just do it as a blog post!
3227511 You an' me mudponies foreeeeever. I'm not cool enough to be a pegasus :P
I love quotes. :D
Element? Probably Generosity or Kindness. Pone Tribe? Unicorn or Pegasus. Probably Unicorn.
If you try their method you might want to start it as a sample in a new fiction. If it appears you've successfully pulled it off and it's a hit, then you can try incorporating it into your more mainstream stories. This will prevent your popular ones from constantly being reedited and confuse some people there.
Element? Well, I'd wish to be one from Generosity. But, knowing my background, I'd be more likely Honesty than any other. I always liked Earth Ponies, they seem to be portrayed poorly in the fandom and under represented. If anything I find Pinkie to be the premier Earth Pony, like Twilight was the most powerful Unicorn and Dash is the strongest Pegasus. Pinkie is so in touch with the world around her, she can seemingly break laws of physics.
Loyalty, Unicorn. The fine manipulation of all the small electronics I love working on just couldn't be done without the magics. I'm also afraid of heights and have no love for the natural world beyond the inspiration it brings to artificial craft.
I would suggest citing any quotes you use from other fics. Some people get but-hurt over things like that. Or just not use any quotes from other fics.
Fanfiction is a serial work, and editing is part of the process. If you want to add quotes, add quotes. As long as you're not heavily retconning the story I won't get upset.
Element: Generosity. Race: I was going to say "unicorn" because I'm bookish but that's racist. So, Earth pony.
3227501
Thanks! Ironically genuine delight is what I live for.
If you want to add quotes, totally go for it. I can't read something with quote-headed chapters without thinking of Dune, but that's a good thing.
I'd be Honesty, but I believe I've told you that many times by now. As for race… What tribe would I be, or what tribe would I want to be? Given where most of my family hails from, the Frozen North (Canada), I'd say crystal pony. As for what I'd want to be, it's pretty close between unicorn and pegasus, but I think the latter wins out. I feel like I'd really want the wings for being pretty on top of their functionality.
Go with your inspiration!
As for me... Is there an Element of Art? That or Magic, and Unicorn.
If you want to, I say go for it! Or put them in a blog or two. I find myself curious about these quotes and I wouldn't mind it if you went through them and explained your thoughts about each. Perhaps after the story is finished as a sort of... 'victory roll' I don't even know where that idea came from...
Challenge time: Element? Honesty, honestly. I have a hard time being a convincing lier on those few times I can bring myself to do so... I don't cheat. I don't -like- cheating. I don't think I'm as brutally honest as AJ mind you! Pony Race: Earth pony. I'm not techy enough to be a unicorn nor agile and flighty enough to be a pegasus.
It was Irulan :)
Well, I'm sure that would be quite nice - epigraphs that you already have are pretty neat, and a tiny bit of hypertext and insight into your own view of your work is always good. Besides, it gives an opportunity to widen one's field of view - I've filled my jukebonebox with tons of highly appreciated things this way (e. g. I've firstly met Fowles' Magus in an introduction to "Structure of Magic" (and immediately went to read that foremost) , and Princesses know how much music I've collected from fanfiction quotations).
And as for your question game, I guess that would be an element of Mind Flaying (illithids, y'know - some of the foreign attendants here at Lesvos already had voiced their opinion of my highly-referring and frustratingly labyrinthine puzzling speech habits). Or probably Element of Forgotten Arts. The show-compatible variant would be Magic, I guess. And as for tribe - I'd go for an unicorn (magical security is an interesting field, by the way; here at the morning lectures I almost always doze off to some weird sort of daydreams with Twilight Sparkle the Forensic Scientist, sphinxes that are admins of cloud servers in Cloudsdale and so on).
And that was only now that I've noticed a post in blog of yours concerning biblical hermeneutics (at least I suppose it's right spelling due to my basic grasp of Old Greek and New Greek and so on). It's an interesting field also, but one I'm not sure I'm ready to delve into these days (especially as this "Intensive Programme..." is really intensive).
Do it before knighty makes a rule against non-pony quotations.
1. Do it!!!
2. Unicorn. Magic!
That sounds great. Make sure to include RD's "Would I let the world be any less cool by disappearing?" from end of ponies/austraeoh
Bat pony, element of schadenfreude
*pops up unexpectedly*
Hi! I'm waiting for the story to complete so I can read it all at once, which is why you've never seen me before. That aside, I AM very interested in the premise of the story, at least. And I think quotes sound cool! They're pretty interesting and they can affect and add to the way you perceive a chapter.
Challenge? Well, to be honest, when I made my ponysona I decided on Earth Pony, because as much as I'd love to fly or to have magic to endlessly study and learn, I love animals and the natural world and I'm prone to anxiety, so being able to just sort of...sort of tune in with the world around me? sounds like an amazing ability. The peaceful plants drinking in sunlight, swaying in the breeze, whispering back to the wind; babbling water flowing and tumbling over stones; a heightened sense of the life present in everything around me? That sounds unbelievably awesome. As for element... I'd like to be Kindness, very much so. I can't say for sure, though. I think everyone tends to have aspects of all the elements of harmony in them. Like, I can come up with a stellar lie if given time to plan it in advance, without pressure, and deliver it flawlessly--but I always reveal the truth moments later because I can't stand to lie. Have a reputation for being brutally honest, too. I like to buy stuff for other people more than I like to buy stuff for me. And I can be really fierce if someone I care about is being messed with. Plus, I love when people I care about are happy. Don't we all? So, I can see bits of all the elements in me. I think you and anyone else reading this could find things about themselves that line up with the various elements. The question is, do I have enough of any one trait to actually represent the element? I wonder if I'm really that good.
3227809 yeah thats it! Princess whatsit
3230157 You'll be waiting a bit, but when I do finish... hope you enjoy it!
Oh well, I just scrolled through your blog, and re-discovered that "poll", and now I have a piece of mind for you.
Have you ever read Habanc's "Kinetics"? I cannot remember any fragments of normal literature doing thus, but he uses one of the sentences of his characters from the current chapter as an epigraph for it, and it looks really neat. It requires a very distinct way of writing, though, I guess.
But it looks like you were more interested in hypertextual aspect of quotations, so I cease my rambling.
3428351 I haven't read Kinetics! Do you recommend it? I actually think that sounds pretty cool
3428513 Yeah, definitely, even though the author is as slow as you are. I've taken quite a big job on my shoulders (eine Geschäft that would really help my financial situation), and so I start re-reading fanfiction I have stored on my mobile phone since summer of '13, when I have read anything TwiLuna (or just Twi, or just Luna) I managed to found in the Web. As for now, I've only taken a few bites, but the things that I would recommend are Kinetics, and Daedalus' (if I remember correct) Education of Clover the Clever.
By the way, there is a thing I'd like to discuss one day (with anybody interested, of course) (probably not today, 'cause it's 5am in Moscow now, and I really gotta grab some sweet Moon-filled dreams [and yeah, the sky was crystal-clear today and day before yesterday, but yesterday it was covered in clouds and I've missed the Blood Moon - I'm very distraught] before going to try do code magicks again and again) is something I'd like to call rereadability - yanno, they say there is a concept in modern game-design called replayability? For example, there was a conceptually interesting fic, where author interweaved some elements Star Wars universe into ponies [though not so thoroughly and subtle, as you've done it in Auta i lomё], but I felt quite disappointed while rereading it, because quite a part of narrative is based on a fact that one of the canon characters masks herself as an OC; and that abutting, broken by my knowledge, had really dampened my mood.
Same things could also happen in any dramatic piece, but I do not quite remember any classic or post-classic conventional literature that would work in my head like that; and now I'm just unsure, whether it's my bad choices or shifted throughout these years reading tastes, or it's just a bad case of half-blind pick.
(And I surely will reread your story, and probably even comment on it, but somewhen later: the letters should cool and freeze, for they are like vengeance, best served frozen as Hell's lowest circle)
(And I'm sorry for my I'm sure tangled writing ways, for I am distraught and underslept and I've got a song on Hebrew rotating in my head. The refrain would sound like that: Shelter me under thy wings, Be my sister and my mother; let your embrace be the hideout of my head [damn, I'm not sure how the connotations should work here, sorry], the nest of my rejected prayers. It still somehow associates with Luna, even though there is a line down there about "Stars have betrayed me, there was a dream, but it had gone")
(I'm really sorry for rambling, but I hope you don't mind too much)
3428632 Hey! I'm not that slow. These days I'm pretty fast :P
You know, I've never thoguht about re-readability seriously, which is odd because I reread TONS.
I don't mind rambling at all.
3428697 Well, it's mostly my subjective feeling about this - and my time perception comes really warped these days, so no offense.
I've been rereading TONS too (ever since childhood), but probably it's just a straw that broke camel's back? For there of course is more than fabula (is this word even used in English? well, the factual kernel of plot) to any text, for writing has nothing to do signifying. It has to do with surveying, mapping, even realms that are yet to come. But no text consists of mere events, the essential language prevents it; even dry outline is, well, dry, that already bears an emotional/additional/optional for purposes of denoting things connotations!
And the mystery as a pillar of narrative is fine enough even when you know what's really happening, sir Arthur Conan Doyle proves me right. Maybe, 'twas just a flick of unfortunately chosen proportions of mysterious self-gloating and something like that?
This topic requires some hard abyss-gazing, I guess.
(And now I really feel like rereading Quenta Silmarillion. Gotta shut down all digital devices and remove them as far from bed as it's possible, I guess, and pray insomnia won't claim my soul today. Have a good whatever it's up there, evening?)
3428730
Well that's gonna be bouncing around in my head awhile.