State of the Unicorn, January 2017 · 5:28pm Jan 3rd, 2017

This is an edited summary of my full post on Louder Yay, since some of that deals with things that aren't really relevant on Fimfiction. (Though yes, Ponyfic Roundup will continue to appear there every Wednesday, and to be summarised here every five issues.) So read the LY post for the full story if you wish. But still, here's a quick round-up of ponyfic past and future as far as I'm concerned. Past the break if you're interested!

Fanfic in 2016

I crawled my way to publishing a mighty four standalone ponyfics last year. First up, in March, was Like a Flower to the World, an unassuming thing based on a Writeoff entry. That didn't do terribly well, but LaFttW itself has been reasonably well, if quietly, received; I'm happy enough. Then there was a six-month gap before Sunset's Sales Snag. Thanks in part, probably, to my being overly cautious about adding a [Sex] tag, this is by miles the worst received story I've published: +17/-6 as I type. As a piece of frothy silliness, I think it's a little better than that.

As I didn't want a (relatively) unpopular story to be my latest for long, it was only a few weeks before I pushed out Starlight Repeatedly Teleports into Custard, the first entry in the Custardverse and the cause of my becoming a minor con celebrity, of all things. It's done really well. Finally, just before Christmas there was More than Alive. This is a pretty niche-appeal fic, though it seems that it can appeal a little more widely (thanks, iisaw!) and I've wanted to do a racing-themed story for ages so I'm glad I've got it ticked off.

There were also four flashfics, several written as entries to UK of Equestria contests. (None won, but the first two got hon menshes.) These can be found in my Little Bits anthology and are: "Seussless", a Twilight-centric comic verse; "Talk Talk", an all-dialogue Applejack/Rainbow conversation fic; "The Founder of the Feast", a rather insubstantial Apple Family vignette; and "The Villain Contest", a multi-gen poem. This last was accepted for the UK PonyCon conbook, and so marks the first time I've had something appear in print! :P

Fanfic in 2017

Ah, now you're talking. Well, you might be – I can't tell from here. But let's face it, I'm never going to be the sort of writer who can churn out half a million words a year. (Total output since spring 2012: 74,195 words!) Still, I do have a few things in the works. Those that have gone beyond vague ideas in the back of my mind include:

The Book of Ended Lives: I've wanted to do this one for years and years, and it's about time I actually wrote it. Touching on, but not directly about, Applejack's parents' death. Largely a conversation between AJ and a Town Hall employee (an OC) who has one of Ponyville's more unusual jobs. First person, from the OC's perspective.

[untitled adventure]: it'll get a title eventually! Something I've also wanted to write for years but always shied away from: an old-fashioned episodic Mane Six adventure. These days, that needs a little [Alternate Universe] magic to avoid some obvious problems, so that's what it'll get!

Ponies Play Cricket: this will also get a better title if it ever happens. Rarity, having been impressed by a cricket match in Canterlot, tries to get Ponyville to put together a team for a challenge match. Silly, but not absolutely random.

Custardverse 2: oh yes, there'll be a sequel. I have an idea for it already, though whether that survives to publication is anyone's guess, including mine.

Knowing me, what I'll actually publish next will probably be something I haven't even considered yet. That's what happened with Custard, after all...

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