So... What do I do? · 7:42pm Jul 30th, 2015
Okay guys I need your help, something weird happened to my story.
Like, there's this weird number on it now, the top right hand corner I've never seen before.
One followed by three zeros? What manner of heresy is this? I don't even accidentally what?
Like what does that even mean, am I trouble? Oh God what did I do, am I on fire? I'm not on fire right?
No but seriously, thank you all for the 1000 upvotes, honestly I'm kinda humbled by the attention and am beside myself in what to do about it.
I mean there's nothing I can really do to adequeatly express my gratitude, while I was never in it for the upvotes, a thousand people is alot of fucking readers and that kind of needs to be acknowledged full stop.
I mean, its almost enough for me to cave in and give everyone that romantic subplot they've always wanted.
Hahaha, yeah, I'm nowhere near that point yet. Hold onto your butts.
Nah but seriously I want to do something for you guys, even though I am in my funk. I'd rather not get chapter prompts because that did not work out so hot in my last attempt to do so, so lets avoid that mess and tell me what you might actually want to see from me and I'll consider it,
NOW i DON'T WANT TO SEE ANY INDECISIVE NANCIES OUT THERE WHO ARE GONNA BE ALL LIKE THIS:
Hell, even joksters going all like this:
Would be preferable, because at least that'd be funny.
At present I have three other stories on the boilerplate that I seriously want to work on and on-off basis, and if you really have no idea what else you might want to see me do, (picture, plot line, something something marshmallows), you can always choose from one of these options I got underway:
Dominoes - Science Fiction Pony-On-Earth fic straight out of the Bad Monday's interpretation of the universe with much of the similar canon on the pony side of things, but Bad Mondays never happened. Focused squarely on a group of humans, ponies, Diamond Dogs, Griffons and a changeling. They go to space and adventure happens. About as batshit as my Fantasy side of things, vastly different story to Bad Mondays. Basically FireflyStarWars of the Handyman variety.
Humans For Hire - This evolved out of my Metafic I did for Humans are Superior that kind of died, which was called 'To the Mysterious Occident...' whose premise I was fascinated with. Thousands of randomly selected humans have been transported to Equestria and other nations... that was ten years ago. Now humans are known as a mendicant race notable as a 'Jack-of-all-trades' species as they usually try to find any means they can to survive in this strange new world, often taking risky and dangerous jobs by and large. The story focuses on Jack and Jill, brother and Sister who came of age in Equestria having arrived as children. Adventure
Renaissance - NO HUMANS FOR ONCE. A rule 63 story which started out as a pure world building exercise that got out of hand (because I am Handyman and I don't have enough hands to hold all these plots), focusing on the Mane Six trying to [SPOILERS]
All of these stories basically have their first chapters already completed (more or less) and are just gathering dust in my unpublished pile. If any one of them is liked enough, I'll polish it up and dump Usurper on editing duty (unless its Dominoes, JBL wants that) and push it out sometime after the next BM update.
Till then, fuck I don't know, maybe I'll have a celebratory drink.
I wouldn't be the first person coming into the firm at 8am with a hangover.
Slan go phoile.
I don't even know who this character is
That is indeed a one followed by 3 zeroes.
Holy crap, good job.
Congrats and I choose humans for hire!
Less talk, more butts.
I-I mean words! Words is what I mean.
I don't think I can handle this much horse in one blog. You're hurting my brain.
--
Well my wizardish author i personally suggest that you surprise us fine men and women with: A) A bonus chapter of your choosing. B) A bonus art of your choosing. C) A surprise. Like a real surprise that we couldn't have expected.
Also, vote Dominoes. And not because he threatened to heave editing for the others onto me.
CONGLATURATION ! ! !
YOU HAVE WRITTEN
A GREAT STORY .
AND PROOVED THE JUSTICE
OF OUR CULTURE .
NOW GO AND REST OUR
HERO !
(I say Humans for Hire.)
1001 now. Spike be all over that shit.
Mm...probably the rule 63 one.
What is that character you keep using?
3282716
Derpibooru -> oc:sapphire
Careful. Some of that is porn, so keep your filters on safe.
There is only one possible answer.
SPAAAAAAAAACE!
Congratulations!
I would choose Dominoes, firstly because it sounds interesting, secondly because once you get them out in space you do not have to be tied down to (or let yourself rely on) all your previous world-building and you can stretch your creative muscles.
Dominoes sounds fun. I pick that one.
3282740
3282796
Wat. How exactly did I lie? Did I just hallucinate all those page warnings?
3282805 Naw, but none of it was porn.
3282809 Huh. Well I stand corrected, then.
Isn't starting another story just another form of procrastination?
I always get kind of worried when an author makes more then one story... It usually just halves the chances of either one getting finished. Some authors even have 60 unfinished stories to their name... in some ways it's worse then the authors that have one story that they update maybe once a year if we're lucky.
I still say that the easiest way to get yourself out of this funk would be to simply start writing the next arch. But I'm on this side of the monitor, so I probably don't know the full story.
Just please don't let the success of 1000 likes push you into the usual cycle of perfectionism / self debasement 'it's never good enough', writers block that's killed quite a few stories on this site...
3282816
"I'm disappointed in you. You should at least know better to link proper pornography, sonny."
-Grandma
Handy be like..
3282891 Don't worry, I know what I'm doing.
crazyhyena.com/imagebank/g/funny-old-woman-apple-face.jpg
3283057 Keep fighting the good fight.
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3282906 So true.... expect i don't think he dresses as M. Bison from street fighter.....
First, I am extremely disappointed by the fact that it is slightly over 1000 likes because it means I can't knock you back down to 999.
Second, for something else to write, I would really rather see you good off with Lyra a bit more in the BM universe than start something new. If nothing else, it keeps your thoughts flowing towards BM rather than splitting your attention while giving you something silly to write that you do not care all that much about. That said, if it does have to be one of the options you posted, I would definitely rather see Dominoes than Humans for Hire, although there is not really enough information about Renaissance for me to say if it is more interesting than the others or not.
I never knew you actually made a meta fiction Handyman, though, now that you said it, I can't help but hear Tux's say: READ MY METAFICTION! From the HaS podcast.
I WANT ANOTHER INSTALLMENT OF LYRA'S "HANDY THE Human" FANFICTION!
Why not add another human at the end of the next arc?
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I vote for "Option D: Romantic subplot for BM."
derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/4/26/609953__safe_solo_oc_oc+only_animated_smiling_upvotes+galore_cute_open+mouth_bedroom+eyes.gif
Lol, congratulations on the
likesupvotes!Beyond stupid question but who is the pony that is in all of these pictures/gifs?
3283370
Fine. I want to read Bon Bon's "Handy The Human" fanfiction!
do some non-canon sidestories about ideas or scenarios that you wanted to do, but they wouldnt fit in your existing narrative.
That Humans For Hire thing sounds the best, they better start a political incident(s) or I will be bored. Maybe a war should break out for their actions...
3282672 Danke
3282693 And thats one for Humans for Hire
3282698 So thats one vote split threeway between a random chapter, a random art (gotta love the specificity) and a third of a vote for the Handyman Special. And well editors get two votes so I'll put down one vote for Dominoes.
3282702 I ain't afraid of no ghost. And another vote for Humans for Hire
3282716 I had no idea what her name was, had to find her by typing 'wiggly eyes, pony, gif, derpibooru onto google and then image searching. Usurper seems to have found out though. And one vote for Renaissance. To further elaborate its an adventure fic focusing on the Mane Six trying to prevent the death of ponykind. Hilarity ensues.
3282745 AAAAAAAAAAAAnd another one for Dominoes
3282760 And another one.
3282763 And another one...
3282845 so 2 thirds of a vote for an artwork or a picture, and another third for a non-canon chapter idea. Still got another vote JBL
3282859 Procrastination? Dude I've been wanting to do these stories for months now. Dominoes in particular has been on the backburner since before Christmas. If anything I am procrastinating on them. Frankly, no offence Dakka, but the blindly trying to struggle through a funk thing is the quickest way to achieve burnout. Like ever. 'I have trouble writing a thing, I should fix it by writing the thing, man why is it I can not get through this thing.' its like quicksand. And I am still writing on the next arc, I am just not confident in my abilities at the moment to make it good, thats not the same thing as hitting a writer's block. Trust me, if I hit a writer's block, you'll know it because I won't be producing anything for a three month period like last time, not moaning about my abilities to make something decent.
3282906 No.
3283057 Heresy.
3283151
3283370
3283299
3283734 Don't take JBL seriously here. He himself suggested I do a Lyra chapter on skype as a means of taking a break and doing something stupid for the fun of it to re-center myself. For D48, I'll split that vote between a Lyra chapter and a half vote for Dominoes. Menth's vote goes wholesale to a Lyra chapter.
3283265 Well, if you're in the mood for some terribad reading, the metafic is located here, and the password to access it is Crown. Be warned, it has zero editing and I had to juggle some pretty stupid concepts to try to weave it together into a cohesive worldbuilding whole. Most HAS members filled out an application process and I had to tie their madness into eachother somehow to the point it made a kind of weird sense. Also I only started it as an excuse to kill off people I knew for shits and giggles. Humans For Hire will have a similar premise as its concept but nowhere near the fuckery present here. I had to be very strict on the tech restrictions and the wankery some people wanted, (I think someone wanted to start off in the fic with a revolutionary communist army with Command & Conquer technology, I put the boot in on that)
Haven't updated it in forever though and I doubt anyone in HAS still cares enough for me to do so.
3283417 [REDACTED]
3283474 *sighs and rolls some dice* ....Hmm, those sure are numbers.
3283725 See Usurper's comments.
3283847 And another vote for a random chapter it is then.
3283991 And another vote for Humans for Hire
Dominoes - llll, 1/2 = 4.5
Humans for Hire - lll = 3
Renaissance - l = 1
Random chapter - ll, 1/3, 1/3, 1/2 = 3.whatever
Random art - 1/3, 1/3 = 2/3
Handyman Special - 1/3 = 1/3
Well Dominoes is certainly in the lead here for now for something I could do, interesting...
3284025 First, I only mentioned Dominoes as a fallback if you were not considering a Lyra chapter. If that is in the running then my vote is fully there making it 4 for Dominoes and the random Lyra chapter in about the same boat.
Second, I know better than to take JBL seriously. That said, if he suggested doing a Lyra chapter on Skype then I think that counts as his second vote which puts Lyra firmly in the lead.
Humans for Hire sounds interesting.
As for what I'd like? Just more Handy suffering with some incoherent rage piled on top for good measure will do. Whatever he hates most, make it happen. It's the price he pays for not just going to Ponyville in the beginning.
3284025 I've always known writers block as your mind judging something that doesn't even exist yet as not good enough which interrupts your creative flow.
3284359 I've seen and used this before during my last block, it wasn't that effective for me. Believe me I am not shitting you here.
3284405 I don't think you're shiting me. I'm just trying to make sense of it seeing as i'm on this site of the monitor and I've seen a lot of stories I like die because they went down a similar way.
Has this 'not feeling it' thing come up before? I do remember noticing the word 'rewrite' on the side of some chapters. Was that the reason?
3284419 That chapter was rewritten because it was uploaded on a Friday, it was poorly written and had been bugging me over the course of a weekend so I rewrote it so that it'd be less shit.
3284025 I was mainly wondering the why rather than the what.
3284428 Oh. Well largely because i just really like the images.
3284437 Oh, and here I was thinking you would be using it as a persona/avatar/representation of self...regularly.
3284441 I don't identify as a promiscuous, post-apocalyptic, anti-tank rifle wielding, drunken, female pegasus.
Who do you think I am? Rust?
3284451 Nope. I thought you were a Sci-fi Six-Armed Spellcaster and I wanted you to stay that way.
I have an idea for a story and i'd be lying if i'd say i weren't quite interested in reading something along the lines of it. The idea is what if Mankind was the Proto-race?
Mankind always dreamed of exploring the unknown to find new life and other that shared their passion. But as time went on and space exploration became easier and easier they where forced to come to terms with the fact that they where all alone out in the void. There was no life outside of their little blue world and no matter how far or wide they looked they could never find the life they sought. Growing more and more distraught over the fact that they where all alone in this seemingly endless void mankind wondered if there was any point in going on. Because what is the point of all their wonders and knowledge if there is no one to share them with or leave them to when they are gone too? Being a very, very old race at this point mankind has reach the apex of their evolution. Reproduction hold little meaning to them, the shackles that bound them to earth have long ago been broken and they travel the endless void in leviathan bodies made of metal and flesh. But all was not lost, for as Mankind gathered to decide on what to do now they asked themselves "If the void truly is devoid of life, then whats stopping us from creating our own?". The idea spread like a wildfire through mankind as a whole. Back so long ago when they had been bound to their own world they had always wondered if something greater then them had made their life possible. They had never been able to answer that question but now they saw inspiration in this question. They could travel the void, seek out other systems and be the ones to jump start evolution. They could create new life and make the seemingly endless void that is space not such a lonely place anymore. This could be their legacy and when their children where old enough they would welcome them with open arms to join Mankind in the void. Mankind would never be alone anymore.
i.imgur.com/7WPQaMu.jpg
So yea that's my two cents in this, R8, H8 and again many congrats on the 1000.
3284421
Fair enough. If the chapters wind up being lackluster I guess it will only mean you're likely to rewrite them at some point, if you don't just delay the release to rework them as a matter of practicality.
My vote is for Dominoes
3284025 *Insert wheeze of laughter*
3284490 Nice idea mate, it ain't too shabby if I say so myself.
Dominoes
Humans For Hire
Humans For Hire