Plans, Schemes & Machinations · 7:52pm Oct 30th, 2016

So, originally, I was pushing myself really hard to get The Alchemy of Chemistry ready for you to read first thing tomorrow morning. Ebon Quill and I have been killing ourselves trying to get this story right. I don’t think I’ve ever had a story where the editing process has been so invasive and brutal. That's not just Ebon, too. I've been going at the damn thing with a machete. It's a big deal and I needed it to be done right.

Then I realized… tomorrow’s Halloween.

Dammit.

If I release it tomorrow, the story’s going to get totally lost in all the Halloween fics that are bound to smash into FimFiction. However, I’ve also done my research of when the best time is to release a story, which is either Sunday or Monday morning. Well, we’re past Sunday morning (and I still need my final polish passes in addition to Painted Heart getting to take a crack at it).

So, I have good news and bad news.

The bad news is, no new story this week.

The good news is far better. It’s… good, even!

Starting next Monday at 10AM Pacific, I will be publishing the first chapter of the brand-new novella set in the Origins Arc of the Wavelengths Timeline: The Alchemy of Chemistry.

Not only that, but every Monday at 10AM Pacific after that, you’ll get the next installment! So make sure to stop by to get the next chapter!

This is the kickoff story of the Wavelengths Timeline. Occurring in May of 990, The Alchemy of Chemistry will reveal one of the most pivotal events of Sunset Shimmer’s life. What started out a simple plot to advance her plans to get the information she wanted about the mysterious mirror turns into something that could shatter Sunset’s entire world.

The Cloudsdale Report hinted at these events and Princess Celestia: A Brief History mentioned it briefly. But now, you’ll get the full story, of just how some shy little filly named Moon Dancer came into Sunset’s life.

In fact, I have two things for you today. The first is the revised synopsis.

Stuck as an aide to a bunch of second-year students at Gifted Unicorns, Sunset Shimmer thought picking one to tutor might be entertaining… and maybe advance her plans regarding that strange mirror.
She doesn’t actually care about this ‘Moon Dancer’ filly. She’s just a means to an end.
So why can’t Sunset sleep after Moon Dancer storms out after a tutoring session? Why are the Princess and Professor Polish so concerned about her? Why did she end up screaming at a first-year in front of the whole school?
But most importantly, why is Sunset starting to doubt herself?
This was all part of the plan. Right?

Secondly, I decided I hated the original cover for Alchemy. Really, really didn’t like it. It didn’t feel right for the story. Frankly, I have no idea what that cover feels like. Font was wrong. Background was messy. Bleh. So, I went with something a bit different.

This suits the story far better. And yes, I’ll be adding that little “Wavelengths” header to all the stories, save for probably the Applications Arc Stories (Probably).

With Alchemy now complete, my talented editors and beta readers will be attacking Bards of the Badlands while I jump forward over a decade to strike at Wavelength Theorems itself. It’s funny. I’ve actually learned a ton since I first start that book. So much as changed. I’m going to do my best not to reboot the entire story from scratch (there are some scenes in Wavelength Theorems which are emotional gold), but it’s going to be hard. But I’m going to do it. Because there are so many plot threads that get resolved in Wavelength Theorems… it’s just impossible not to do. However, since I still have three entire arcs to write before the events of Wavelength Theorems, it’ll likely change a lot. To be totally honest, I’m actually aiming for what I personally think as an ‘epic’ story length (epic as in the style of the ancient tales, not in terms of quality, though of course, I always aim for epic quality), which will be well past 150,000 words. Think Sunset of Time or Long Road to Friendship.

At least I know what’s going to happen next after I stopped writing in there to write Applications and Bell Curve. So, I’ve got that going for me.

Well, that’s it for now. I still have my audible edit to do and this week is going to be totally nuts for me. With NaNoWriMo starting on Tuesday, it’s going to be an adventure. Plus, I’m attending BlizzCon this weekend. If anyone’s going, let me know and I’d be happy to pop by and say hi!

Finally, I’m going to be doing weekly updates on my NaNoWriMo progress. Every Sunday, I’ll do a short blog post with a few lines from Wavelength Theorems (yes, I do enjoy teasing you, why do you ask?) and my current word count. My personal goal per day is a minimum of 2,000 words, so hopefully I should clear it fairly fast. I’m not sure if I’ll just push myself to go for the end or head back to finish Prerogative once I’ve hit 50,000. We’ll just have to see what I feel like then.

And don’t forget, it’s not too late to sign up for National Novel Writing Month yourself! I’ve met a lot of people who are too busy/scared/something for it. It doesn’t matter if you think you can do it. It matters that you try. Buckle down and write something! Heck, it doesn’t even have to be 50,000 words in a new story (I’ve actually only done that once in eight years, I think. I usually do the story I’m currently working on, a rewrite of an existing project or something similar). You could do five 10,000 word stories. But try it!

For those participating, I’ll repost my personal suggestions I gave for an aspiring NaNoWriMo author, Cydox Crescent, in my “Great Scott” Blog post from last week.

Most of these I've developed over years of practice and they may or may not work for you. Except #1. #1 is critical.
First and foremost, TURN OFF THE INTERNET WHILE WRITING. Discord, Skype, TeamSpeak, Battle.net, whatever. And keep it off until you hit your word count goal for the day. Kill your wifi on your laptop. Unplug your ethernet cable. Don't let yourself get distracted by the internet at all. For the month of November, Wikipedia, Depribooru and even FimFiction is your mortal enemy (at least until you clear your word count goal).
The second thing I do is I don't let myself play any games of any kind until my word count for the day is complete. Aside from distraction, I find it's harder to keep focused after playing. And it also gives a feeling of accomplishment, as if the game is a reward for getting it done. In fact, giving yourself a reward for finish your word count goal is a great positive reinforcement. After you hit your goal, watch an episode of MLP:FiM.
Third, don't take days off. For me, I need to keep my daily momentum going, or I'll really struggle the next day. In addition, never end a scene or chapter at the end. Always go a little bit into the next scene/chapter. Always know what the next sentence is going to be, that way you can pick it up easier when you get back.
Also, when you feel like you can't write anymore, do it anyway. I usually have a wall at around 500, which if I can push past, I can go to 2,000 fairly easily.
Finally, I always aim for 2,000 a day instead of the 1,667. 1,667 is great if you do exactly that for every day, but having a buffer is great for if something comes up.

There are probably a dozen other things I could throw out there, but I don’t want to make it too convoluted. In the end, you are the one who needs to decide how you’re going to write. What you’re going to do and how committed you are. For me, writing is an intrinsic part of who and what I am. In fact, when I don’t write, I tend to get jittery and a nuts (okay, more nuts than usual). Yeah, if I don’t write, I go even more Lesson Zero.

(Have I mentioned that Lesson Zero remains one of my favorite episodes of all time? Not as high as Crusaders of the Lost Mark, which makes me cry like crazy, but still, up there in the top five at least.)

Okay! I think I’ve yammered at you long enough. So I challenge each and every one of you, write this November. Even if you don’t hit 50,000, write something! In fact, I’ll even throw in a bonus.

Anyone who hits 50,000 with a single story with a non-mature rating, I’ll do your cover design for you when you’re ready to post it on here. Honor system here and you need to follow the NaNoWriMo rules. Namely, you start on November 1 and you end on November 30. It has to be a legit 50,000 words in a single story (just to challenge you).

And you have to have fun with it.

(And if it happens to involve Sunny and Twilight, you’ll get a bonus bonus! Shipping isn’t strictly necessary. *ahem*)

That’s it for this week folks! I’ll see you next Sunday with my NaNoWriMo word count total and Monday for the launch of The Alchemy of Chemistry!

Have a Sunny!

(Changed my mind, have a few).