Con Artist · 4:12am Apr 4th, 2019
Overheard at Coffee HQ...
Hello, customer service? Yes, I'd like to ask about my options for repairing or replacing the 2019 I recently purchased. ...No, it's working fine for the most part, but it seems to be running consistently fast. Like right now I'm looking at it, and it says this is April, which clearly can't be right...
My first Pony con of 2019 is just around the corner: Whinny City, happening this weekend! I'll be out with the fam, but I should still be able to say hi to some folks. I'll also be rocking a revision to my beloved Vinyl Scratch getup, which finally includes the kind of zipper-vest-thing that I've been trying to find for it all along!
But that's not all: I'm going to BronyCon! 
I'm sad that BC is ending after this year, but I'm heartened that lots of folks seem to be heeding the call to come out for one last time... even if, like me, it'll be their first time. I'm thinking of getting an autograph book and trying to snag as many FimFiction author autographs as I can, since this'll be my best chance to catch a huge swath of FimFiction and/or Writeoff folks in one place, and I want something to remember this whole crazy experience by.
Pony will end. Pony's place in my life is already changing. But I don't want to forget.
I have way too much fun getting out as Vinyl. It's weird and hard to explain, but it's honestly like putting on another side of self when I don the outfit, however simple it may ultimately be. I'm not sure where that side of me is going to go once Pony bids us dasvidaniya... maybe I'll hang it up, or maybe I'll be the random old dude who keeps wearing Pony cosplay out at random cons in the 2030s, whether or not anyone gets the references anymore. I bet it'd be fun to resurrect my Ozzy-Chrysalis getup from Ciderfest 2016 (complete with velcro-necked Shining Armor plush for legit head-biting-off action) after both Ozzy and Chrysalis have shuffled off pop culture's mortal coil. Though I may have to re-work the frickin' foot-long head-horn one of these years... it's a lot to lug around.
Pardon my premature wistfulness. 
Let me end with a couple of shouts, thoughts, & questions:
- Statistically speaking, most of you guys haven't checked out my man Moosetasm's Warhammer 40,000 crossover fic Cold Comfort yet. I'd encourage you to do so, as it delivers on both pony cuddling and character development in a way that you probably wouldn't expect from the usually grim and dark Warhammer 40,000 setting. Moose is also gearing up to release another more action-packed entry in the series soon--trust me, if 40K is at all your bag, you won't want to miss it. But whether or not you dig 40K, Cold Comfort stands out as being worth a look. It's just incredibly unique for its genre and setting.
- Speaking of underappreciated fics, Soufriere's recently-reactivated Antonovka is criminally low on views & votes for what you'll find within. It's an adventure at its core, but it's slow-paced and atmospheric, preferring to build setting and tension rather than going for balls-to-the-walls action. It also features one of the simplest but strongest quest-hooks I've yet seen.
- I keep debating whether I want to write sequels to a few of my works. I wouldn't do it just to do it; in my experience, sequels tend to draw fewer eyeballs than their parent fics, and as a reader it can be off-putting to have to read a new story's predecessor(s) or wonder what I'm missing. Still, I'd be curious to know how people might react to hearing that there might be another story to be told in the world-lines of (at least) A Dinky Little Problem/Results May Vary, Heavy Rock, and To Serve In Hell. All of them are still a bit nebulous right now, but I think the biggest thing holding me back is the uncertainty about whether I should "go there"--I'm increasingly confident that there'd be something to "go" to if I tried.
- Now that I know for sure that I'm going to BronyCon, I'm considering trying to make one or more physical books available for sale at the BronyCon bookstore that Aquaman's running, and I'm wondering where I should focus. Of course, my head immediately jumps to doing a print version of To Serve In Hell, as that's my one legit book that I have under my belt. Yet to be honest, I wonder if that's what people would really want to buy from me, if they were going to buy anything I'd done. So let me throw this out there: if you were tempted to buy some physical CoffeeWords at BronyCon, would you rather see To Serve In Hell or some kind of shorter-works collection? (And to be clear, I'd be a lot more interested in breaking even on printing costs, or just not losing too much money, rather than seeking a real profit from the endeavor.)
Oh, good. I'm not the only one who thinks the world is stuck on fast-forward.
Cool, I’ll see you at BronyCon!
See you in Baltimore!
Share a room withsee you in Baltimare!Boowoohahahahah!
And just because G4 is coming to an end, doesn’t mean pony is done. It’s been about the fans more than the show for a while now, so here’s hoping we realize that and keep the community going strong!
And thanks for the shout out!
As much as I want a physical copy of To Serve in Hell to sit next to my physical copy of Sensation, it might be better to do the anthology... unless you do To Serve in Hell with a small collection of shorts at the end?
5037922
(Pink Floyd - Time)
Well dang guys, I sure was an edgehorse when I wrote this. After getting back from Whinny, I feel refreshed in all sorts of ways. I kind of started an autograph book and don't regret doing so, but TBH I was absolute pants at flagging people down to sign it.
I'm just not that worried, I guess.
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5038353
It's probably not gonna get better, so I need to get cracking on some fics that have been sitting in concept-stage for way too long.
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I am very much looking forward to it!
5038023
Yeah I'll be honest, I'm not sure what I want to do. Well... in a perfect world, I'd do all of the above. But I think what I'll do is see if I can handle spending a couple hours poking at getting Hell into a publishable format, then decide if I really want to order a proof copy (from LuLu or something). Then I'll see if I can stomach yet another read-through and detailed edit on it, and decide how deep I want to go.
A not-insignificant part of my hesitation is that Hell at once both represents (IMO) some of my best writing and the absolute darkest stuff underpinning my writing. I'm proud of it in the grand sense, and glad to have written it, but there's a really big part of me that is balking at the prospect of going back to it.
Though in the end I'll probably relent and do it, especially if there's flexibility to print & sell it pretty cheap. It is the document of a chunk of my life, and it's a decent enough story, regardless of whether it's my most acclaimed or popular thing.
I hope you have fun at Bronycon and am glad you enjoyed Whinny City. The show will end as all shows do. Eventually even The Simpsons will call it quits. However, as long as the friendships you've cultivated last and some of the personal good continues then it won't ever truly go away.
As far as making sequels and hard copies of stories, you have to do you. If it feels right do it regardless of what you think the views or possible sales might be. I know I'm not the best role model for views or popularity on these things but I've never finished something here that I wasn't sure was what I wanted to do at that time.
So make like a pair of overpriced sneakers and just do it! (Seriously shoes are super expensive).
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Feels like good advice, man.