Maybe I Should Obey My Whims More Often · 6:17pm Nov 8th, 2015
How curious it is that right after writing a blog in which I questioned my place in the community, I end up with a story at the top of the Feature Box. Is there a better way to turn a writer's roving thoughts around? Before I do anything, I should thank everyone who made this, my sixth foray in the Feature Box, possible. To be more direct, my thanks goes to those of you who have been following me for some time. It turns out that I submitted the story late in the evening on a Friday, and it wasn't accepted until sometimes in the pre-dawn morning. Given that nobody was online at the time, I didn't expect it to make a huge splash. Yet I watched, in quiet excitement, as the story hit the popular box and steadily gained more and more traction. I doubt that would have happened without those of you who have been supporting me for so long, so thank you all.
That was an exciting day. That it came right after I hit the 700 follower milestone is just the icing on the cake.
Not one to shy away from the spotlight, I think I'll take this opportunity to talk about how this story came to be, as well as answer a question or two I know a few people are wondering about.
There was a time when I was very active in contests, entering many of them on a whim. When I started writing three multi-chapter stories at once, I gave them up due to time constraints, but the temptation never left me. Then I saw that Rage Reviews! was doing another F*** THIS PROMPT contest. Now, I've never been a member of Rage Reviews!, nor have I read too many of the reviews for which the group is named, but the title of the contest alone was enough to catch my eye. The way the whole thing was described and marketed, I was expecting something challenging.
At the risk of sounding arrogant, when I saw that the prompt was There's a new, seventh element!, my immediate response was "That? That's easy." A couple minutes later, I had the idea for What is Missing, What is Lost, and as much as I've been avoiding contests lately, I decided to succumb to the temptation. I threw it together over the course of three days, asked JawJoe to give it a look (Neglecting his penchant for anti-Twilicorn. Oops.), and up it went. And, to be perfectly honest, I thought that was the end of it. Regardless of how it did in the contest, I wasn't expecting what came of it.
But I must say that I'm pleased. Compared to some of my major one shot hits, I'm especially happy this one caught on. It certainly deserves more it than Tyrant. So thank you, everyone, for taking the time to read and enjoy this. For as fast as I churned it out, I'm happy with the final product and honored that you all found it worthy of attention and praise.
And now to address a couple things. First, there's already been some calls for a sequel, mostly revolving around Twilight's 'adventure' to find the seventh element. I never intended for her to go on such an adventure; when I had her mention a search for the element, I meant in a more broad, administrating manner than a personal journey across Equestria. Such an adventure is not likely to occur.
That doesn't mean there won't be a sequel, however. I originally hadn't intended to write one, but some of the comments got me wondering about possibilities, and I think I know what the next step should be. I can't promise to write it anytime soon, because my major projects are in desperate need of attention, but know that there probably is one down the turnpike.
On to another topic: who is the seventh element bearer? A lot of people are suggesting Sunset Shimmer, and I won't deny that I put her name in there for a reason. At the same time, actually finding the seventh element was never a priority for me. The element itself is not the purpose of the story, not really, and I can't guarantee I'll ever write them actually finding the element, though it's not outside the realm of possibility. Nor do I guarantee that Sunset is the element bearer, as I've thought of a handful of others who can also fit the bill. But again, I mentioned Sunset for a reason, and it's likely she'll have a part to play in whatever happens next.
One last thing to note about the potential future of this AU: I don't intend to make the sequel anything more than another one shot. Now, given my "Go Big or Go Home" motto, there's no way to tell if I'll be able to contain my enthusiasm, so take that declaration with a grain of salt. As it currently stands, however, I'm too invested in my current major projects to dare start another multi-chapter story.
Speaking of which, this story did have a few negative results. I am only barely keeping up with my ongoing stories, and that is almost entirely due to my decision to write short stories and enter contests. At the rate things are going, I can't even guarantee I'll be able to start The Silence when I wanted, since I'm still not where I want to be in the planning of it. To make matters worse, real life has abruptly become very busy, making my writing time even less frequent.
Last but not least, I've just hit a major landmark in my review schedule: Fallout: Equestria. Tomorrow I finally begin reading that behemoth of classic misery (if the reports are to be believed), and I aim to spread it out over a whopping ten week period in order to finish it on time with its scheduled review. And no, I'm not stopping my review blog over it, which means that I'm adding 60,000+ words per week to what I'm already having to read. This seemed like the only way to get through it without compromising the other stories on my schedule. You people better be appreciative, 'cause this is gonna kill me in terms of time lost every week.
So anyway, the point of all this is that my top priority for the next several weeks – and maybe a month or two – has to be my three major projects: Order of Shadows, Beyond the Everfree and The Silence. Don't expect any more contest entries (sorry, those of you in the WriteOffs) or sequels or one shots for a good while.
My thanks again to everyone for this recent success.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some real world chores I've been saddled with before I can finally get to writing properly.
Looks at clock.
Jeebas, I've been doing nothing but FIMFiction stuff for the last 4 hours! Thank God I love this stuff or it might actually start feeling like a job.
Order of Shadows Book III Chapter 4: Saturday, November 14
Beyond the Everfree Chapter 4: Tuesday, November 10
The Silence Initial Release: Wednesday, November 18
Stats
Total Word Count: 1,478,000 (+15,000) over 34 stories
Average Words Written Per Week: 9,696
Follower Rank: 291st (+7)
Overall Ratings Average: 94.23% (+0.29%)
Highest-Rated Story (Not Counting Stories at 100%): No Heroes Book III: For Dreams @ 78/1 or 98.73% (11 weeks)
Story with the Most Votes: Tyrant @ 2145/61 (48 Weeks)
Story with the Fewest Votes:
Paul's Peculiarly Puny Practice Pieces @ 14/0 (17 Weeks)
Longest Story: Trixie vs. Equestria @ 144,000
Congrats!!
Time is the most valuable resource you have - enjoy how you spend it! If you start not enjoying FiMfiction, it just wouldn't be the same without your determined attitude driving your stories.
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Three days?! That little piece of awesome in only three days! I have a long, long way to go. Good thing there's nothing more exciting than a long road ahead, you never know where your own two legs will take you! New goal to work towards: finish anything at all in 3 days.
Perfect timing on Fallout: Equestria too, with Fallout 4 just out.
Just say found the story for this blog and I love the story
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Glad to hear it! Always good to know that some of my older works are still getting attention, and I'm still rather proud of WiMWiL.