The Wind Changed and other things

Over two weeks ago, I published The Wind Changed, and it's about time I got to talking about it. It was written forthe FTP competition over on the brilliant review group, Rage Reviews. It won the overall competition, which I am very pleased about, as you can imagine, but it also presented some interesting challenges. Read on for some spoilers, Behind The Scenes and extra information.

THERE ARE MINOR SPOILERS. I recommend you go read the story, then come back!

When I began the story, it was originally going to be told from a completely different perspective; Fluttershy's, in the present day. It was also going to feature Breeze Change, a pony raised by Breezies. Let me explain a bit.

The competition prompt was: "One of the Mane Six is a Changeling", so naturally the first thing I did was throw most of that out the window, and Google "Changeling Definition."

[Changeling:] a child believed to have been secretly substituted by fairies for the parents' real child in infancy.

This was something I already knew a little bit about, because I do like to know my words, and so with this, I formulated an idea.

The first draft of the story was Fluttershy meeting Breeze Change, and having to come to terms with the fact that she (Fluttershy) was a false child. A character-driven piece showing Fluttershy's reaction to this, with the added mystery of a new OC. I began writing, armed with this idea. Then I suddenly and sharply hit a brick wall.

How was this going to be remotely interesting to readers? Fluttershy going to Breezie-land and talking for a bit. Sure you'd get some nice scenery, but not a lot of story. And the characterization didn't work. I had no clue what Breeze Change would even be like as a pony, or any of the backstory.

So I deleted what I had written. It's hard to give up on something you have spent a lot of time on, but the story didn't work. I took a break, looked over my idea, and said to myself: "How does this story need to be told? From what perspective?"

That's when I had the thought that made The Wind Changed a reality. The story was about Fluttershy being swapped at birth, so why not show the readers that? And the best way to do that would be from the perspective of those who swapped her.

So I wrote the story in a bit of a rush, as Real Life kept knocking on my Internet-door, asking for attention. It was the fourth to be entered into the FTP competition, and the first overall. I'm very pleased. And now you know!

If you haven't already, go and check the story out, and leave a comment telling me what you thought.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to Rage Reviews, for the always excellent competition! Go check it out!

The word of the post is, of course, "Digitigrade."

P.S. I said this in the authors comment section, but there are actually two changelings in The Wind Changed. Try and find the second one!