Of Slamjams and Loud Mouths · 8:16pm Sep 6th, 2015
Hey guys, Dubs here. I've got a new story out—or, really, more like a collection of stories. The Life and Times of Loud Mouth. Read on for more info.
This past summer, sixty-three authors (including myself) competed in the first OC Slamjam, created and hosted by Obsolescence. At that start, all of us had to create our own original characters, with the only restrictions being that they had to be ponies and could only be one of the three major pony races. This was my first challenge; as those who've followed me for a while know, I very rarely ever write about OCs, and when I do, they're supporting or background characters (Backbeat, I'm looking at you).
But in the end, I came up with the character of Loud Mouth, a slightly-neurotic motivational speaker/unpaid intern from Manehattan. Loud Mouth's special talent is performing and speaking, specifically on the radio, but due to circumstances out of her control, she can never seem to land a job. As such, Loud is forced use her performing skills to moonlight as a motivational speaker at local recreation centers and the ilk.
Round One: Loud Mouth vs. Glyph Dance
Probably my easiest round. At the risk of offending Glyph Dance's author (who still has not been revealed), he was not a very good OC. Before the competition even started, most competitors had identified Glyph—who, according to the author, was the most powerful unicorn in the world and was trained in fighting with daggers—as a bit of a Mary Sue. The only trouble here was finding a situation that our two characters would meet in. Luckily enough, Glyph's author had also specified that he often took odd jobs, such as construction, to make money. Thus, the plot was born!
Writing Glyph Dance was actually a lot more fun than I thought. I always enjoy writing characters with a Manehattan accent, as it allows me to study my own voice. If I might be quite honest, a few of the jokes I made in the story were very much at Glyph's expense; early on, Loud notes that his name sounds like something out of a Daring Do novel, and the daggers come up a few different times as something weird and unusual. But all in all, I'd like to think that I presented Glyph in a pretty good light.
Final score: 22 votes for Loud Mouth, 2 votes for Glyph. Sorry, mang.
Round Two: Loud Mouth vs. Foxglove
I was terrified going into this round.
In the round prior, I must admit, I didn't like Foxglove's story. I thought that it was quite purplish, and the interaction between the two OCs didn't make sense. That being said, it was clear that whoever wrote Foxglove was a talented author, and he had the force of crowd opinion behind him. One commenter even noted that Loud Mouth would likely lose this round.
So, I got to thinking. The problem with Foxglove as an OC was that he was more a gimmick than a character, as was the case with quite a few OCs. Most every character trait Foxglove had centered around him being a thief. And if they didn't, then they mentioned how much he loved his daughter. Not too much to go off of. Foxglove's author went the route of having Foxglove go to one of Loud's motivational sessions. I, however, decided to take a big risk and write something that I had rarely ever attempted before: a dark, tense fic. That's not a great description, I realize, but the collection is linked right next to this blog, so go read it if you really would like to see.
I spent days arguing with myself, trying to figure out if taking this risk was a good idea. Should I do it? But what if I totally mess it up, and there's no tension at all, and I make myself look like a fool? Maybe I should just play it safe and write another Slice of Life piece? Why am I talking to myself as I walk down Second Avenue?
I eventually gathered my courage and wrote the tension piece, which revolved around Loud Mouth walking in on Foxglove as he was in the middle of a theft, and him subtly threatening her into staying silent. Writing it was supremely fun, and I think the readers appreciated it, too. This story also introduced the character of Whammy Bar, a friend of Loud Mouth's who would come into play again later. Foxglove had a thick Trottingham accent in his first entry, but I couldn't for the life of me figure it out, so I just threw in some slang phrases I know they use in Manchester, England. Or, at the very least, slang phrases that Karl Pilkington uses. One or the other.
A few people questioned why Loud Mouth didn't just call the cops, which I thought was kind of a stupid comment. Loud Mouth—a mare we've seen has confidence and insecurity problems—just got locked into a dark room with a big burly criminal, then got manipulated through fear by not doing anything to stop him. Do you really think that her first thought is going to be to go to the police, when for all she knows that same manipulator could be watching her, making sure she doesn't tell? In addition, going to the cops would likely reveal to Whammy that Loud watched him steal the stuff but didn't do anything to stop him, which, as the final scene demonstrates, terrifies her.
Unfortunately, a few days into the round, Foxglove's author had to drop out. As I'm sure many of you are aware, Foxglove's author was KitsuneRisu, whose mother tragically passed away in the middle of the competition, forcing him to bow out. I hated to advance in such a way, but it seemed like the votes were favoring me anyway, so it wasn't so game-breaking. Still, my condolences to Risu. I can only imagine how he must have been feeling—hell, how he must still be feeling.
Final score before Foxglove dropped out: 11 votes for Loud Mouth, 6 votes for Foxglove.
Round Three: Loud Mouth vs. Ace Artisan
If there's a first time for everything, then there must also be a last time.
Out of all the OCs I faced, I think Ace was the best conceived. He had a distinct personality, a well-thought out pre-existing life, and a really interesting special talent. I knew going into this that Ace's author was talented, and his previous two stories had pretty much taken his rounds by storm. And yet, I wasn't horrendously worried—not sure why.
We had about a week and a half to write this one, but I procrastinated until the last two days. Well, maybe 'procrastinated' isn't a great word. I was defintely thinking about what I was going to write, but the problem was that I just couldn't decide on what to write.
Originally, the plot was going to be about Ace, at his girlfriend's urgings, going to one of Loud's seminars, and them having a conversation as they walked home. I had realized at some point during the first few days of procrastinating brainstorming that despite me making it such a central part of her character, I had yet to write about Loud's motivational speaker background, except in passing. The problem came, however, when I couldn't think of anything for them to talk about or do on their walk. I essentially had the first 1000 or so words down pat, but after that, couldn't think of a single thing.
So I started to think about ways in which I could relate the two that hadn't already been done to death. Making them former lovers was one of the first things that came to mind.
And, to my credit, I actually think I wrote a pretty funny story. Evidently there were a few people who agreed; one of the most common comments was that the choice between the two stories was extremely tight, and came down to only a few variable qualities. However, those same comments signaled two things: one, that readers didn't appreciate the perspective changes that the fic employed (Ace to Loud to Ace to Loud again); and two, that people were disappointed I wrote a comedy after my more serious first two rounds.
Final score: 4 votes for Loud Mouth. 10 votes for Ace Artisan.
So, in the end, I lost pretty early. To be honest, I'm not entirely happy with how it all ended—Evergreen had my undying support, but eventually dropped out—but all in all, it was a damn fun contest. As I stated before, making Loud was really my first attempt at forming an entire OC's character from scratch, and I'm glad that some people got a kick out of her. If she shows up in some other fic as a background character, don't be alarmed. It just means that it's 5 AM and I can't think of a good OC name (not that Loud Mouth is a great name... I've never been good at picking names). Thanks to Obsolescence for hosting this whole thing.
Now, go read!
By the by, something big is coming soon—a story I've been working on since May. Stay tuned for more.
Interesting insight into the competition from someone who didn't really follow it at all, but knew it was going on. Thank you for this awesome blog post.