Sweetie Belle Sucks At Video Games · 8:21pm Sep 14th, 2017
Anybody remember this story? If you don't, or don't care about it, you can go right ahead and ignore this blog post altogether.
I do remember and I'm really disappointed in it. Not by how it performed or even how it came out (I'm not super stoked by how I wrote the thing, but I'll touch on that later). No, what I'm truly disappointed in is the fact that I just straight up quit on the thing. Out of 54 stories I've written thus far, I've only truly canceled 4 of them (5 if you count one I un-submitted, but that's a story for another day). I've canned stories because they're badly written or they're poor concepts or they just don't click, but Sweetie Belle Sucks doesn't really fall into any of those categories. It had a few wrinkles, mechanically and conceptually, but nothing that I think really hurt the story. But I struggled to bring myself to write it, because those wrinkles were kinda debilitating.
The story felt very reactionary. It felt like things would happen to Sweetie Belle and then she'd react to it, rather than interact with the situation. It made for some kinda boring reading, but absurdly boring writing. That seems to be the long and short of it. I just got hella bored writing the damn thing, so I stopped, forgot about it, and started writing other things. Still, I felt bad to leave it the way I did, and, with S.E.X.Y. nearing completion (we're maybe a bit more than halfway done) I've got an opening in my schedule for a silly, over-the-top nonsense fic. So, here's my suggestion...
Sweetie Belle Sucks V2: A reboot of sorts to the original story. The premise remains, Sweetie Belle wants to get good at video games so she has a way to get close to her crush, Button Mash. The difference this time will lie in how I deliver the story; Instead of Sweetie and friends playing the game, what if I did Sweetie and friends living the game. They'd be in the game world, able to leave their mark on the world in a way they wouldn't be able to while playing. This should result in a more dynamic story, one that's more interesting to read and write.
So, what do you think? Is there anyone here who even cares about Sweetie Belle Sucks anymore?
I care.
That sounds interesting.
I haven't read SBSAVG, but I do love any fic with ponies playing games :)
Well...I love your work a lot. "Magic Money Card" and "Kinnamon with a K" are right up with my silly favorites. But, to be honest, "Sweetie Belle Sucks at Video Games" was fun for a while, but, to me at least, got a little repetitive and game-reaction-y. And, to be completely honest, the living-in-a-video-game concept...is actually a little overdone.
Don't get me wrong, you know I'll read it and love it at least 65% if you write it, but it's not too...well...excellent. Maybe try for a different perspective as a sequel? Like "Button Mash Sucks at Kareoke" or even an off-the-charts spin-off from a completely different character's POV, like "Lemon Twist Sucks at Socializing"?
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Before I actually respond to what you said, I'd like to take a moment to thank you for giving me your actual, genuine opinion. That's what I need in this life, and you provided me with it. And, for that, I thank you.
I definitely get what you mean. Somehow, when I first started writing the story, it never even once occurred to me how quickly the story would dry out. And, as for the concept being dry, you're definitely right. That being said, I'd rather write a good cliche than write something not great that's super unique.
That said, those ideas are solid. Button trying to sing to win Sweetie's affections could be a cute accompanying piece, and swap out Lemon Twist with Sour Sweet or Sugar Coat and you've got money with that one. I appreciate these suggestions and will factor them into my actions in the future.
Thanks, mate.
Sure, I'd be down to read that. If you need a prereader I also offer my services, though I dare say your current system works very well.
I'd read a v2
I'll try to keep an out if you do write a v2. I just can't really make any promises that I'll get around to reading it with the amount of stories I already have in my bookshelves.