Enchanted Library Resubmitted + Anniversary Event? · 7:15pm Sep 6th, 2018
GUESS WHO'S BACK? SHADY'S BACK!! TELL YOUR FRIENDS unless your friends don't want to read a 300k+ fic in which case I understand.
Enchanted Library is back online with edits going from chapters 1 through 10 (11 and 12 will be modified soonish). Before I go into detail on the changes, I want to quickly address the fact that the original EL oneshot turns 4 years old on the 18th, which is three days after Mexico's Independence Day which is the night a friend and I very drunkenly conceived this entire universe four years ago.
I'm planning on doing a little celebratory blogpost that day and showcase cool content surrounding the fic (made by me and others), and I'm going to TRY to have a oneshot or something for the sidestories. Maybe the first chapter but from Twi's POV?? I don't want to make any promises, though, because I'm having a medical procedure on the 21st so I may not be in the mental state for writing BUT WE SHALL SEE.
Now, as for EL edits...
Firstly, huge thanks to RBDash47 for undertaking the monumental task of not only editing what is essentially my clunky attempts at figuring out the adventure and world-building genres, but also translating my many weird and vague descriptions. I was also admittedly really embarrassed to realize just how much my English Second Language showed in TEL, specifically in how a lot of sentences were appropriate for Spanish sentence structures, not so much English ones.
Anyway, yes, SO:
The vast majority of the changes were grammar and syntax related, which shouldn't even be noticeable unless you've read a certain chapter enough times to remember how it was originally phrased.
Content-wise, there were two big changes. The most notable one is that I axed a scene in chapter 6 between Rarity, Sweetie and Scootaloo. It was a very brief scene, so nothing of note is lost, and also improves Rarity's characterization a lot.
Which takes me to my second change which is Rarity.
I've made her a little less horrifically dense in certain chapters by modifying lines here and there, and then deleting some altogether. This was actually something that had been bothering me for a while, and though I wasn't able to rewrite it entirely to suit my liking, these changes will at least hopefully alleviate the writing issue.
The only way I'd ever be satisfied is by just completely and entirely rewriting the entire story, but I don't trust myself not to downplay the romance because I'm afraid it'll be more compelling as an adventure story with a minor romance subplot, so I've limited myself to only doing REALLY CRUCIAL BUT EASY plot fixes.
Also because I don't have the time to rewrite EL.
Anyway, yes! The story should be going up sometime today, 20% more readable, and will get us closer to having a book printing maybe.
Thanks as always for your support <3
- Mono
I actually never realized English was your second language until I was informed some years ago because you’re so good at it and always had that weird quality with your work that made me think you were a native speaker
(Aaa sorry for the jumble this is from my Ice Phone)
Sounds impressive. I'll give it a look soon; been too long since I've visited that particular library.
Ah, well, time for a re-read.
Good to have it back! I feel you on the ESL structure ~_~
Mono, do you know how many well-written Adventure/Romance fics are out there?
...I don't, but it's not as many as it should be. And that's a tragedy, because they're two genres that on paper complement each other perfectly: a romance is the adventure of two people knowing each other, so what better way to parallel that and back it up than with a worldly, physical adventure that can mirror their relationship in its twists and turns? Unfortunately, a lot of the time when I see this attempted, the adventure will have nothing to do with the romance and whichever one is more engaging will just overshadow the other. But they can work together, do work together, and what they need are authors like you who have an impeccable grasp of character interactions because more often than not it's the romance side that falls flat. TEL should be a standard-bearer of how it's done right, not yet another story that sacrifices one for the other because balancing them is hard.
That's the problem with kids today, too lazy to read 300k fics. Well, suck it up, ya pansies! Y'all'r gonna read them horsewords and y'all'r gonna like it!
4932329
Very much this. Thank you, Mono, for not succumbing to the temptation.
Time to re-read and enjoy this again.
The fact that english is your second language and you still manage to write as well as you do is brilliant.
I think I actually assumed your first or primary language was English. Mostly because you write so well.
If my opinion matters, I rather have EL as a romance story rather with some full-on adventure. Having both in this amazing story is excellent.
Anyway, I'd love to see Twilight's PoV for the first chapter...but maybe a bit of the second. How does she feel being trapped for centuries, only to give the first pony in quite-a-while a lecture on the Star Swirl Decimal Classification...actually what compelled her to do so seeing a pony after so long? It's not like Discord gives her weekly visits.
Final note, can I pre-order a printed book?
Also I don't want to bring it up because I'm kinda terrible with well wishes and social relationships and stuff, but sincerely, good luck for your medical procedure (See what I mean?!) on the 21st. Take care!
Yay! I've had EL on my to read list. When you wrote you were editing it, I decided to wait and read it after you were done. I'll be starting on it soon!
Also, good luck with your doctor appointment. I hope to meet you again at Everfree and maybe BronyCon.
(I honestly think you're selling yourself short on the ESL thing -- I don't know if I would have cottoned on if I hadn't know ahead of time... and your prose is better than so, so many native speakers anyway.)
It's been a delight to get this far with you and I'm excited to keep going!
4932329 Well, that's the reason I started writing them, too. :)
4932332 Yeah, but that's like a couple of days for you :)
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Actually, that’s ten days for me. Assuming it’s all I read and under normal circumstances. Otherwise it’s between 10 and 30 days.
will have to read it soon
I think I'm a little lost. So is the Enchanted Library the one you're editing? Because you said the first 10 or so are up now but I click it and I see 45 chapters or so but then I click the Enchanted Kingdom and it has 10 chapters and was recently updated. Sorry just wanting to read the correct one is all!
Not the adorable sleepover at the library scene I hope. I guess the annoying Rarity with her disdain for hanging with that rambunctious little pega filly could go. Make her sound less against the friendship, or reworded. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, given the time that's passed since I've read that chapter.
Glad to hear it's going well, I'll have to check it out sometime when I'm done with the current multi-chaps on my queue list.
I remember starting reading TEL back in 2016-ish...
It is still my favourite fic, by a margin.
Sos una genia mono, y muy buena escritora.
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Enchanted Library is the one being re-edited! TEK is the sequel
Wait, English is your second language? I honestly never noticed anything strange with your sentence structure.
Jumping on the ESL train here because I am a native speaker and your words are the same way I talk/think
Romantic adventure is Number 1
I see you have high standards. I like it. It never hurts to have yet another set of eyes going through a fic, especially if those are RBDash's (the Pony Fiction Vault is what got me into ponyfic in the first place -- and the fact that picking any fic and it being excellently (copy)edited certainly did help).
On the other hand, now that I know that RBD is in on this, my expectations for the books have gone up even higher. I'm pretty sure it's off the scale at this point.
So that's it for TEL edits for now, and it's ok for me to start reading it for the first time?
I'm kind of nervous, both because of how long it is, and the worry that no other story will ever compare.
This story is incredible just the way it is! I have, of course, read it since the edits but either way, I'm sure there were minor changes made. Can't wait for the book to be printed!!! :D