Blog #2 - Life: Pony and Otherwise · 4:59am Dec 31st, 2015
Hey everypony at FIMfiction! Justin here with another blog update!
PONY LIFE
First off, I have to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my first little story. Last I looked it had gotten 66 reads!! Holy cow! That's a lot of people! And it looks like the majority of folks who read it are actually enjoying it, which makes me tremendously happy. Truth be told, it's not about the views or the thumbs up, I'd be writing this story whether anyone read it or not because it brings me such joy, but being able to spread the joy to others is the big ol' cherry on top the cupcake so to speak!
Now there's a few things we should discuss about the story really quick!
First off is the Title Change. Originally the story was called "The Adventures of Shuttertwitch and Sunny" and I've now changed the title to "Shuttertwitch and Sunny in the Case of the Gurgling Gurgler". I did this because I've decided to break my character's grand adventures into independent stories which can be read in any order. So once Sunny, Shutter and his camera Spectre solve the case of the Gurgling Gurgler, they will no doubt go on another adventure for you to enjoy. And this will continue into several stories for you hungry readers to devour. I CAN'T WAIT! There are so many ideas that come to mind, and things I can do with these characters that I should be busy with them for a long time.
About the latest chapter, Chapter 3: Chasing a Wild Tail: I had the most fun writing this chapter so far. I actually laughed out loud as I was writing it, which was something I've never done before (laugh at my own writing WHILE writing it). The new chapter introduces the first mention of an actual pony from the show, which is cool, I won't spoil who it is but you may be surprised.
Anyway I hope you dig where the story is going and I should have the next chapter out in no time!
REAL LIFE
So now that we have all that out of the way, I have to ask, how are things? Going well I hope! I'm still chugging away and enjoying my mundane life as an actual photographer and writer. I'm working on an original novella, a piece of bizarro Science Fiction, that is coming along spectacularly and of course my photography business is doing great too! I really can't complain. And I hope the same goes for all of you.
In fact today alone I processed 300 photos and wrote over 5000 words spread across three different projects! I'm very proud of myself for accomplishing all this, especially on a day where my brain was telling me that I couldn't get anything done (good old depression strikes again), but I didn't let it win and neither should you.
And that brings me to a word on writing, and maybe a little something on life in general if you look at it a certain way:
When you're living your life and you make your living creatively, every day can be different!
There are bright shining days of inspiration and those are nice, but we're not going to talk about those much because they mean diddly-squat in contrast to the other days. The poop shoveling days.
When I'm writing and I have a perfect day, the words flow like a waterfall and the ideas knit into place practically by themselves. Writing is like breathing on those good days.
Congratulations for breathing! Good job! You should get a medal, Justin, for doing what came perfectly naturally and easily to you! And a cookie for each breath! Right?
No. I'm finding that those days don't stick out to me much when I reflect on my work presently. They did at one time, when I was younger, but now I think there is something more important.
What matters are the days when the keyboard feels like someone put Anthrax powder all over it. The room has shrunk to the size of a shoebox! When the depression and self loathing are so heavy that you stare at the wall and project images of escape as big as a star destroyer. When you hate your words and yourself for making them and the only thing that is stopping you from erasing the whole lot is the extra effort it would take.
Yes I have days like that, despite my cheery disposition!
On THOSE days, the poop shoveling days, sitting down to write is really to DO something. And I think I get my best stuff on those sludge-based toxic afternoons when nothing feels right. Because there is a struggle. There is a narrative to my narrative.
Now keep in mind I can only speak for myself. I'm sure some writers can fart rainbow dust and that's awesome. But not me. It's a bloody war, man, and the nastiest battles are the ones that are starting to mean something. They're forming me into something. The bad days make you who you are, not the good ones, remember that.
I think it's important for us all to see that.
Well that's about all I have to say for today, dear readers!
I wish the best for all of you and I hope that you continue to enjoy my stories and most importantly, get the most out of life! I will talk to you again soon!
J
That's actually kind of a good idea. When you get to writing slice of life stories like this, they'll eventually become extremely long and you won't know where to cut them off. It may work better that way.
That's good to hear. You know you really love your characters when you can place them in a hundred different situations!
Things are going pretty well I guess. I'm breaking in my Wii U and am planning on writing a story here soon.... maybe. Just depends on if I get around to writing it.
I'm glad to hear that everything is going relatively well for you. I completely agree with the last part of your blog post. Keeping a positive outlook is key to leading a happy life. So many people lack that.
3653229
Agreed. I started mentally developing so many unique adventures for my OC's that had to take notes! That's when I knew I'd have to break it down into episodes.
Yeah, it's really exciting to develop all new characters who exist in a universe that I adore. It's like getting to direct your own episode! I love it!
Happy to hear that, man! :)
Oh I love my WiiU! What are you playing? What are your favorites? I've been playing Xenoblade Chronicles X and I really like it. Some of my past favorite games on the WiiU are: Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Splatoon, and Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze. There are many more, but I'll keep the list short.
Sweet! I look forward to reading it!
3653659
Well, I currently own four games: Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. 4, Super Mario Maker, and Splatoon. Right now, I'm playing Mario Kart 8 the most, as it has the most content to unlock. My SSB4 came preloaded onto the console, so most of the characters were already unlocked. It's really hard to say which is my favorite. I haven't played Splatoon yet and I've barely scratched the surface of Super Mario Maker.
3653765
All good games. I liked making levels on Mario Maker way more than I liked playing other people's levels. Either way, it was hours of enjoyment. I'm not much of a Super Smash Bros. fan but I thought the game was well made and had tons of content, as far as Splatoon and Mariokart go, well I still play those to this day, I think they are both masterpieces, up there with Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze (which, if I'm pressed, I'd say is my favorite WiiU Game of all time).
3653852
Hmm... I've never played Tropical Freeze; may get to some time in the future. I'm too much of a fan of the main Mario games either. I prefer the spinoffs, more or less.
Maybe we should play online sometime?
3656473
I LOVE TROPICAL FREEZE! But then I am a huge DKC fan, so that's not surprising!
We should totally game together, man! That would be awesome!
3657537
Well, I'll need your friend code to add you on there. You can send it through PM if you'd like.
Or I can give you mine. Whichever.