Self indulgent blather (also maybe brainstorming). · 4:05am Feb 13th, 2017
So every so often, my sister likes to encourage me-- "Hey, are you writing stuff? You should write stuff! You're good at it!"
At which point I go "Oh, I've been working on some junk, mostly for practice. Nothing publishable." Which is true. But it's still kind of embarrassing to realize that over the last couple of years, I've written ... a shitload of fanfic. Admittedly, it's all just a bunch of short stories that are mostly excuses to string a couple of silly gags together, but still. Not exactly something I'm about to expound on at family get-togethers. Or at any real life gathering, for that matter. Unless I were to talk about pony-fic at a con or something, which is unlikely.
But yeah! Every so often, I butt my head up against 'original' fiction, with ... varying degrees of success. For the most part, I've found I run out of steam around the 10k mark. I think part of the problem is that for the last ... shit, year or two, I've been trying to play around in a cool-seeming setting (space wuxia, basically), but it doesn't quite 'click.' I think part of the problem is that the setting and characters almost come off as TOO weird. That, and my major source of inspiration (over the top kung fu movies) is a primarily visual medium, which doesn't quite translate well into text.
And on top of THAT, the style doesn't lend itself well to the snappy dialogue that is what I'm really good at. Huh.
And so, I think I may put that idea on the back burner for a bit, though I may return to it later in order to mine it for ideas and characters and stuff. Which begs the question ... now what?
"More pony fic!" my most fervent of fans may cry. Which ... well, I'll at least get around to finishing The Prisoner of Zebra at some point. After that, I dunno what silly horse stories I'd want to write. Maybe return to some of the stuff I've got on hiatus, or maybe I'll try writing something fluffy and Rarijack-tastic, or maybe, just maybe ... I will write the GREATEST DISPLACED CROSSOVER EVER which I honestly should do more research on before trying such a great undertaking. Also I will probably have to get pretty drunk to write it. I dare not tell you more because that would spoil the surprise.
But, such things still aren't something I'm inclined to tell my family about (much less actually submit to a publisher in a vain attempt at relevancy).
SO. Uh, regular ideas. Such as ...
A SWASHBUCKLING FANTASY: This is another set of characters & adventures I've actually written a bunch of stuff about before-- I might be able to wring something halfway decent out of it ... but my biggest thing is, I have to figure out some background/context. Namely, I've got a properly snarky protagonist (think Flash's voice from The Prisoner of Zebra, for all of the three of you who've read it) ... but I need to figure out just why he's important to the plot, where he's coming from, and all that. Because apparently you need stuff like 'motivation' to serve as an excuse to get into swordfights and provide wry commentary. Hm.
OR.
SPACE OPERA: Space opera's been a lifelong love of mine, and (as a plus) it looks like there's something of a renaissance in the genre right now. I mean, it seems simple enough-- think up a crew of ragtag misfits, and have them spout snappy dialogue at each other inbetween laser gunfights. Hmmm.
OR.
SOMETHING GENRE-MASHING AND PROBABLY ALREADY PUBLISHED BY BAEN: To break it down into a high-concept pitch: "What if Commander Shepard crash-landed in Westeros?" Or, well, it wouldn't be actual silly crossover fanfic, but it'd be something along those lines. Basically something in response to typical 'grimdark' fantasy, in which a super-skilled space opera protagonist stomps around in the middle of a crapsack setting and makes it better through the use of superior technology and well-applied ass beatings. "Oh, so you're the guy flaying peasants as a hobby? Cool. Been saving these bullets." *BANG!* I've ... a few vague ideas on what to do with this stuff, but I haven't gotten to writing it down yet. My biggest issue is figuring out just WHY there's a planet full of medievalist sadists out there somewhere. It's a common enough trope in certain flavors of sci-fi, I admit, but I feel like I need to come up with something halfway plausible in order to distinguish it and make it non-derivative. Maybe the primitive planet's actually gone through some kind of apocalypse that's reduced it to such a low-tech level? So it's "Commander Shepard crash lands on Westeros with a little bit of Fury Road thrown in to taste." But it's easy to think up something high concept-- actually sitting down and writing it is the hard part.
OR.
I could write 'legitimate' fanfic and try self-publishing GI Joe adventures on Amazon because that is a thing you can do.
Seriously that last one seems kind of tempting.
But what do you guys think? Figured I'd ask, since I don't really have any other outlets where I can ask about that sorta thing. :)
I was going to make fun of the idea of G.I. Joe fanfic, but "Love in the Time of Cobra" makes me giggle. Go ahead and do that. I wouldn't (probably) read that, but somebody probably would.
And I swear I'll try to read the Prisoner thing sometime this week. Doesn't look like I'll be continuing reading the original Fallout: Equestria fic - I'm sure I'll find something more attractive, like sewer-crawling without a face-mask.
Originality is the most overrated quality of fiction.
That said, if you feel like it, by all means go ahead and write it!
These all sound pretty amazing, but the time period mashup especially so. Hypercompetent space protagonist in a post-apocalyptic medieval crapsack? Sign me up.
I can relate to this. I've been kicking around a fantasy idea and a sci-fi idea for original fiction, but struggle to get past the world-building stage and move onto the all important plot. So I keep going back to writing pony.
Wish I had some advice for you. But I would totally read any Rarijack fluff you write.