Site Post » [Interview] AbsoluteAnonymous's The Games We Play · 1:57pm Aug 31st, 2012
Originally posted at the Vault on 4/6/12.
This week's story is more than double the length of any previous story featured in the Vault, as long or longer than many novels you'd find in a bookstore - the PDF came out to 379 pages. I read it in a day, in more or less a single sitting. I'm a fairly fast reader, that still says something: it's the sort of story you don't want to put down. A well-crafted romantic mystery - you don't see many of those.
[Shipping] • 138,200 words
There's been another sighting of the mysterious Mare Do Well...but this time, all of Rainbow Dash's friends plead ignorance, insisting that they've put aside their costumes for good. Rainbow Dash is determined to uncover the masked mare's true identity before she's humiliated yet again, but this time around, the vigilante seems especially interested in her as well. Will Rainbow Dash be able to solve the mystery before the culprit takes the hoax too far? Or is she in danger of losing not only her mind, but her heart?
Hit the break for just a few more words from AbsoluteAnonymous, and links to The Games We Play on every ponyfic site out there. That PDF I mentioned, along with a few other ebook formats, is waiting for you over at the Vault's Downloads page!
deviantArt • Pony Fiction Vault • FIMFiction • FanFiction.net • Equestria Daily
Where do you live?
Northern Manitoba. I don't want to get any more specific than that, or else my legions of fans will start appearing on my doorstep one-by-one. Then I'll have to find a way to politely turn down all of their offers of marriage without offending them and causing them to untrack my stories.
What kind of work do you do? (i.e. are you a student, do you have a career/day job, etc)
I'm a high school student, but I also work part-time at a convenience store called Shoppers Drug Mart. I specified it as a convenience store because I don't know if the Shoppers chain extends beyond Canada and I don't want people to get the impression that I deal drugs for a living or something.
How did you discover My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic? When did you realize you were a fan of the show?
Last summer, I had a supervisor at work who was obsessed with the show and talked about it all the time. She'd do all these little things like talk excessively about her favorite character (Rarity) or her favorite episode (Suited for Success) or play Super Ponybeat on her iPod while cashing us out at the end of the night. She kept trying to bully me into checking out the show, and at last I caved.
First I read the entire TV Tropes article, and to my surprise, found that it actually seemed pretty interesting. Then, I watched the pilot. After those two episodes alone I was hooked. I immediately walked to the local Wal-Mart and bought one of every MLP toy available and spent the rest of the day feeling positively giddy as I finished watching season one. Since then, I've been obsessed.
Do you have a favorite episode?
In my opinion, any episode with a mental breakdown in it is a good episode.
Who is your favorite character based purely on the canon of the show itself? Would your answer change if you considered the fandom in its entirety (i.e. art, fanfiction, memes, etc)?
Rainbow Dash is best pony, hands down. Canon AND fandom. Pinkie Pie is a close second, though.
How did you come up with your handle/penname?
Every username I wanted at the time was already taken, so finally I gave up and made up my current one in frustration. I don't know where I got it from. I like it, though. It sounds more meaningful than it really is. When other people hear it, they always say that they like it and ask how I came up with it, and I just smile mysteriously and fly away.
Have you written in other capacities (other fandoms, professionally, etc)? When did you first start writing?
I want to be a professional novelist someday, so I do a lot of creative writing in my spare time. I rarely finish anything, though, and have never been published. I've also written fics for some of my other fandoms - specifically, Psychonauts, Portal, and Sam & Max. They can all be found on my FanFiction.net account. I use the same username there, so if anyone's curious, it shouldn't be too hard to find them. I tend to commemorate joining fandoms by writing fanfiction, so you can tell how much I love something by seeing how much I've written for it. I've been writing since I was about ten years old, when I first decided that I wanted to be an author.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
If I'm not writing, I'm reading. That, or watching anime.
Who is your favorite author (published or fanfiction)? Do you have a favorite story or novel?
My favorite fanfic authors would probably be device heretic, SleeplessBrony, and Donny's Boy.
My favorite published authors are Douglas Coupland and Douglas Adams. The fact that they're both named "Douglas" is a coincidence and didn't impact my choice of authors at all.
I couldn't say for sure what my favorite fanfic is, since I have too many to even list here.
My favorite book is constantly changing, but at the moment, it would have to be The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis.
Stephen King believes that every author has an "ideal reader" - the one person who they write for, the one person whose reactions they care about. Do you have one, and if so, who is it?
Donny's Boy. As I was writing The Games We Play, he would always leave the longest, nicest, most detailed reviews on every new chapter that I published. I wouldn't be able to relax until I knew what he thought of it. I always look forward to seeing what he thinks of my work.
A normal person would probably say "my mother" or something, but I make a conscious effort to prevent her from seeing anything I've ever written.
Do you have any tips for aspiring writers, or writers who are struggling with their own stories?
The most important thing is to actually write. Your writing will naturally evolve and improve over time, but only if you actually do it.
The second most important thing is to find an audience. It doesn't matter who that audience is: friends, family, strangers, prereaders, whatever. You just need someone to comment on your work and give you good criticism. Your writing style will adapt to their criticism.
A lot of writers say they don't know where to begin when they're first starting out. When that happens, I suggest not starting at the beginning. Instead, start wherever your head takes you. For instance, if you have dialogue in mind, get that down, then describe how its said and where the conversation is taking place and why. Slowly build up and set the scene, then work from there.
What is your typical writing process? (Do you work through multiple drafts, do you have any prereaders/editors, etc?)
I carry a notebook with me everywhere so that I can write down my ideas as they come to me throughout the day. Then, as soon as I have a free moment, I'll grab a computer and start writing; usually for four or five hours in the evening, until about 2 AM. I typically write an entire chapter or oneshot in a single sitting, and once I'm finished, I rarely do many revisions. Instead, I just run it through spellcheck and do a quick reread, touching up bits here and there. I've only ever used one prereader - Bellum Civille, who edited a few chapters of The Games We Play for me. Basically, everything you see from me is a first draft written in one go that no one else has ever looked at.
What inspired you to write The Games We Play?
After first watching the Mare Do Well episode, some of my friends and I were joking about how if Mare Do Well had been a new character entirely instead of members of the mane six in disguise, she would've been yet another love interest for Rainbow Dash. But then I started to wish that someone would actually write a story like that, since I thought the idea had promise; a romance where you don't actually know who's pursuing the main character seemed appealing to me. I actually considered looking for a writer who I could commission to do it, when it suddenly occurred to me that I could do it myself. At the time, I didn't have much confidence in myself as a writer, so the idea of tackling such a big project was both exciting and a little scary - but I decided to give it a shot anyway. I'm glad I did.
Did you run into any tough spots or challenges when writing The Games We Play?
The actual writing process was surprisingly easy. The biggest challenge I faced was the audience.
Since Mare Do Well's true identity wasn't revealed until the very end, it was easy for people to convince themselves that she was whoever they had in mind; so for twenty chapters, they read The Games We Play thinking of it as a story about their preferred Rainbow Dash ship. Then the ending came along and sunk those ships for good, so the people who were let down became angry. I saw it coming from miles away, but I was still saddened by the negative reactions the ending received. I think the majority of my readers were satisfied, but those who were upset were definitely very vocal about their complaints, making it hard for me to ignore them.
Also, people seemed upset about the lack of true mystery. Although The Games We Play certainly has mystery elements, I think I'd classify it more as a psychological drama than a traditional whodunnit caper. From what I can tell, many people read it expecting a mystery novel and were annoyed at how the mystery grew less and less important as the story continued, stubbornly refusing to allow for the shift in genre.
I hate knowing that I've let people down. I think I did the best that I could in both respects, but some readers seemed downright offended about the direction The Games We Play ended up taking. I wasn't really expecting that. I don't think it would've been as big a deal if the fic had been a oneshot, but since it was so long, people had more time to build up their expectations; so of course they reacted badly when they were let down. Moreso than they might have otherwise.
When you set out to write The Games We Play, did you have any specific messages or themes in mind?
I originally envisioned The Games We Play as a silly superhero spoof with plenty of meta humor about Rainbow Dash realizing that she'd been demoted to Love Interest status in her own life, which would naturally have driven her crazy. It became much more serious over time, though, and ended up being pretty dark. Any messages found in the narrative were only worked in later, on without any real planning on my part.
A lot of it was drawn from my own life, since I was going through a bit of a dark period at the time. I ended up using this fic as a place for me to vent my own musings on identity and self-perception, and as you can see if you've read it, these become central themes.
Fun fact: I've never been in a relationship, and yet almost all of my stories are about love. Sad, huh?
Where can readers drop you a line?
You can either PM me on FIMFiction.net or email me at absoluteanonymous@hotmail.com. I'd recommend PMing me, since I almost never check my email, but either way, I'll make sure to answer as soon as possible. Also, I've lately become something of an IRC regular, so if you ever want to chat, feel free to drop in and say hi.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
When you comment on something someone's written, try and remember how hard it can be just to write, let alone how hard it can be to publish it somewhere where anyone can read it. For a long time, I was terrified of reading the comments people left on my stories because I was afraid that they would all be from people who hated them. You don't have to like everything you read, but at least try to recognize how painful it can be for an author when they see such negativity regarding something that they've poured their heart and soul into. Unless the author is an arrogant, self-righteous prick. Then you can feel free to insult them as much as you want.
Those last lines are insirational words indeed, very much so
This story is fabulous.
The shifting focus from mystery to psychological thriller was easily the best part of the story, turning it from merely 'just another story' into an experience instead. People are entitled to their own opinions though so never mind.
Interesting interview anyway.
I know AA doesn't really consider this a mystery story, but in my mind that's what TGWP will always remain, if only because so few authors in the fandom even attempt to include mystery elements in their works. The mystery genre is one that has been almost completely ignored, so when a story like this comes along that at least makes a stab in that direction, it's remarkable.
Also remarkable, of course, is the quality of the writing. I'm not sure if she'll consider this a compliment, but AA writes like someone far more mature than her years. When I look back at what I was writing in high school, well, it wasn't pretty.
Also, northern Manitoba? I didn't know they had electricity up there.
I loved this story so much... I'd just like to say I was thinking of Mare-do-well throughout the entire story as being Mare-do-well. I didn't see it as one of the ponies I wanted shipped with RD because I knew I'd probably just end up receiving a shock at the end. Besides, I love nearly every ship anyway, so I would have been happy had you even just left who MDW was a mystery. Off track, though. I loved the story. I wish you the best.
I'm glad they interviewed AA about TGWP. It's such a fantastic story and easily one of my favorite mlp fics of all time
. I know how much she hates to be known for Pinkie Watches Paint Dry xD
Great story, great author. I feel that this will always remain one of my favorite stories on the site.
You know, I used to kind of dislike AA. But after reading that last line...
Hats off to you, girl. *hoofclap* You're absolutely right. Every writer deserves a chance. :)
That was 130k words? I didn't think I'd have read so much back then. It's good to see this has an interview of its own now, AA seems pretty humble about the whole thing. And that must have been one awesome supervisor to mention ponies so much.
325344 In my experience, writing a mystery takes much more careful planning of the entire story to execute properly. Most of the other genres which are popular on this site can be serialized on-the-go, much like comic book monthly releases.
I've been trying to remember:
Whether it was your original interview, RB, that first pointed me toward this story, or if it was the link on Kits's page here at FimFiction. Either way, though, this is such a fine piece of work! I surprised myself by guessing the secret identity early on--the only other time I've managed to do that was in the film The Usual Suspects--but still, the set-up, the development, the pay-off, that finale with the city and the snow, the lights and the shadows: well done all around.
Mike
The way TGWP blends different genres together and morphs from one to another over the course of the story is one of the reasons for it's brilliance.
This is the greatest fanfic ever written, as far as I'm concerned. I could write a dozen paragraphs of praise for this story, but this is really not the place for that. Suffice to say that it is absolutely sublime in pretty much every way. Great to see this interview reposted here.
Nice interview! AA, if you read this, I'd like you to know that you've inspired me a lot. The quality, length, depth, and "pageturning effect" of TGWP was like nothing I'd ever read. After reading your story I realized just how expansive MLP fanfiction could be, and decided to start writing my own fics.
Throughout the story I thought of MDW as MDW, as somepony above mentioned, and I had my theories as to who she was, but I didn't go crazy trying to guess. For a story such as yours, I think it's better to let the story lead you as you read it instead of fixating on an outcome (i.e. MDW's identity) and reading the story in a way that conforms to it.
The part about negative comments is something I can relate to. I'm currently writing a fic that has received a few downvotes and negative comments because some people disagree with the concept or the characterization.
Shameless self-promotion time! I'm writing my own mystery story that some of you might enjoy. Have a look: Four Walls
AND this is why your RD awesome!
327091 English please?
I enjoyed this one immensely, throughout the entire story I kept a mental tally out of 100% who MDW was keeping an eye out for hints or strange behavior.
Loved it and will reread it when my fiction supply runs low again.
Ah, one of the greatest stories around here. The number of them seems to grow gradually, but still, this one keeps taking the lead.
Nah, that way you can keep writing what love relationship should look like and not what it actually is.
Except I already tried explaining that this wasn't the reason people were disappointed (well, maybe a few). Some people were really interested to see how the conflicting love triangle between Pinkie Pie, Dash, and Mare Do Well turned out. And with the story's ending, it didn't really give resolution to that. I felt like the last chapters had built up that conflict nicely, and then the conflict was brushed under a rug, which felt really unsatisfying. It also just felt like the way Pinkie acted at the end was off key, and I wasn't a fan of the choice to have a chapter that was strictly dialogue with no narrative description. Even if you have a chapter that's just two people talking, you can breathe much more life into it with a touch of narrative alongside it.
You can keep saying it's because people want their OTP if you want, but it isn't.
325733 If anyone were to say that this was the best fanfic ever, it would be you, Freezing.
327819 It really is. No fanfic even comes close, in my opinion. Never before did I get so caught up in a fanfic, never before did I relate to a character so well, never before was it so clear to me why RainbowPie truly is the One True Pairing of My Little Pony shipping. Just seeing parts of it quoted elsewhere invokes feelings of nostalgia and when I see pictures of Mare Do Well I no longer think of that episode but think of this story instead. I make a point of linking to it as often as I possibly can and have written countless walls of text about it in attempts to convince people to read it.. Like I said, it truly is absolutely sublime in pretty much every way.
327847 I think lots of pairings make sense if you embellish the participants without having them go out of character. For example, Octavia could like Luna because Luna appreciates classical music. As Octavia spends more time playing private shows for Luna at her request, something truly special blossoms between the two. Pretty standard setup for those two. Rainbow Dash has the special ability of being the universal solvent in shipping: I've seen her go with literally everyone without it feeling forced (except for Fluttershy, but that's because she has a personality type that makes it hard to start relationships).
Good to see the interview AA
I second this
There are people in Northern Manitoba? JKJKJKJKJK
On a more serious note, The Games We Play is the best PinkieDash story. Hands down.
325344 Haha, Canada jokes... *is Canadian*
"Fun fact: I've never been in a relationship, and yet almost all of my stories are about love. Sad, huh?"
Not sure if you ever thought about this or not, though I wouldn't doubt that you have, but that would be precisely why you're so good at writing love stories.
Regarding TGWP... It was the first real (by "real," I simply mean one that wasn't terribly written, a troll/jokefic, or... uh... clop...
) fimfic that I've ever really read and I was immediately afraid once I started that I would just be disappointed by all the other love stories on this website.
It was so well written and well regarded that I assumed the other fics on the site would simply be shameful in comparison (I was wrong, but it is still 3rd or 4th on my list of favourites; 1st as far as love stories go).
I'm definitely glad for it being my first fimfic, though; it helped drag me further into this ridiculously great fandom.
Keep going strong, AbsoAnon.
>A lot of writers say they don't know where to begin when they're first starting out. When that happens, I suggest not starting at the beginning.
Great advice!
>I carry a notebook with me everywhere so that I can write down my ideas as they come to me throughout the day. Then, as soon as I have a free moment, I'll grab a computer and start writing; usually for four or five hours in the evening, until about 2 AM.
Now we know how she turns out so many stories!
>Basically, everything you see from me is a first draft written in one go that no one else has ever looked at.
AAAAAAAAH! AAIIIIIEEEEEEE! YOU'RE NOT HUMAN!
I loved the story, but the ending was shittier than Mass Effect 3's ending.
I really enjoyed that story and I'm glad you decided to publish it.
I just had to stop and give my take on this story. Not only because it's a story I completely adore, but also because it's one of the very, very few that I've ever read in just one go. I can only think of two or three fanfics off the top of my head (long ones, mind you) that I've ever done this with, and "The Games We Play" is one of them.
The way it was written, how each of the main cast was portrayed, and the fact that it kept me guessing pretty much until the end was why I couldn't put it down. I wanted to know what happened next. I wanted to know who was toying around with Rainbow. I wasn't gonna let sleep get in the way of that. And I was "rewarded" with a fanfic that I often find myself revisiting even though there's an update to something else I'm following. It's one that will never get old, and one I'm so glad that I read.
Major props to you AA. Don't change a thing!
Bull-SHIT you don't use prereaders! What the fuck man! I spend fucking weeks getting people to edit my work! And it still sucks!
Anyways, nice interview. Fuck yeah, Canadian Bronies!
I adore this story. The writing is so seamless and captivating that you don't even realize that sometimes it can drag on for chapters.
The end was expected, though. Highly.
On the part of coming up with new stories, I was already doing it that way. I just wasn't sure if it was me being weird or not, though. Yay, I'm (somewhat) normal!
327229 it means she awesome, and is as awesome as Rainbow Dash.
333309
...isn't this interview old? Or is it just the second one that AA's done?
334771
As the first line of the post points out... Originally posted at the Vault on 4/6/12.
334840
Ah, there it is. I'm glad I'm not crazy.
329934
MY WRITING IS ALWAYS PERFECT. HOW DARE YOU IMPLY OTHERWISE.
335062
I was mobile at the time and didn't have the patience to tap out an in-depth reply on a tiny keyboard, so - the Vault had been running for a few months before knighty invited me to post its interviews here; to ensure everyone got their fair share of the limelight, I started back at the beginning, so there's a delay of a few months between the original Vault interviews and their appearance here, though FIMFic is slowly catching up as I try to get two interviews per week posted here.
I feel slightly unqualified to read and/or comment on this, considering that I've never read the story, but TGWP is a classic rags-to-riches tale, turning AA into an internet celebrity. Good job AA, and if you're reading this, I apologize about the Lunchables.
336505
images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/29600000/If-Fluttershy-had-fingers-my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-29684849-680-383.gif
336909
Yay! Another Canadian girl!
I don't feel so terribly alone now.
Also Shoppers Drug Mart is great - I get all my vitamins there - makes my urine feel very important.
Plus the points keep me in DVDs from the bargain bins.