Year of the First · 6:09pm Apr 16th, 2019
And what a year it's been. I don't mean that in the best way, though; lots happened, and just as much didn't happen. So it goes.
But today marks a year since joining Fimfic officially (not counting the time I've ghosted the site), so I've gone on ahead and predictably made a blog post about it. Yaaaaaaay.
Except if I'm not focusing on a moment, I like to pass the moment by the reader as fast as life does so. So what this year has been, in bullet-fast summary, was:
- I wrote more Rarity et Rainbow Dash than anyone asked for
- I picked up a habit of writing surrounding an Emotion or Introspection of a Feeling, rather than a Plotline and Execution of Sequential Events. That's mostly because I either write a film, or I write a scene.
- I post things at the worst hour, because I'm impatient and can't wait until it's not 3 in the morning
- Maybe because of the above point, I don't always recognise I've written a line when I read it. So I surprise myself sometimes.
- I continue to neglect editing properly because the best practice is to give yourself a biut of distance from what you write before you look at it again critically. Fresh set of eyes and all.
- I got Equestria Daily features?
- I got ROYAL Canterlot Library features?!
All of which isn't what I had planned starting this last year, but most of what happens isn't part of our plan. That would be boring, if I entirely wrote all the things that happened to me.
(Suffice to note that I do write outside of my horse exploits, over on AO3 or ff.net, on which I've probably written my favourite works thus far. But there's less of a community there, so, y'know.)
And while I did want to do a top ten list of fics I've written, I don't think it'd be quite right yet. So below is a few words on a few words I wrote.
I really liked this one, even if -- or especially because -- it's probably the worst-performed. I just loved writing the switching POV, especially when it involves kid Dash and kid Fluttershy being awkward pandas.
Also, you may have noticed I love to write in the MELANCHOLIC key. This one hits right between that and young wonder.
These two were both a similar experience to write: I had an idea, and it wasn't a sad exploration of a Very Common Feeling. So, super fun.
I really, really loved writing She Writes, because it was one of those ideas that came to me and hit paper within two (late late) hours. Its fast-paced and touches all the bases, with that touch of sitcom humour that I so awkwardly execute.
We Are Forever was one of those things that took a few days, and was a practice in putting my film-oriented thought process on paper and trying to get it across without, y'know, film. It absolutely has a touch of zany comedy that would make people question my tastes.
The Good Parents was the same vein. Fun, fast, not my usual sad stuff.
These two has me using BAD WORDS. And I think there are times that you have to be able to throw these things casually, because honestly, at the age of these eqgirl kiddos, it's far more natural to just toss a cuss here and there. Still, there are a few places where I had to hold back.
Additionally collected here are a set of stories that were built on an idea, half written, and then abandoned because I wrote one line that I really liked and decided to script up an entirely new story that revolves around it.
(and Fall Out Boy-esque titles, for the latter two)
These are probably more to the tone of what I like to write and watch and read: introspection through ordinary eyes. Forget Her Not had a sort of weird controversy(?) when it came out, but when I read it over I realised it's a lot more solid of a story than I had remembered. Lots of lines I love here, and probably the ONLY actual HORSE words I've posted. /:
Under The Streetlights might be my favourite out of what I've written here. And herein I credit Bad Horse for just getting it, and putting my words so effectively into shorter words. You're a cool dude, dude.
This one. Lots of things regarding this one. Its special to me, despite it being on the back burner -- well, I just don't want to ruin it by rushing through. This one has a thorough plan (I mean, check out the first letter of each chapter title as they come out). And massive apologies to Sir Pascoite for the wait on it! I'm a procastinator (or a procascoitinator :P)
And so finally ends this post. Last Year Was Complicated, and I don't expect them to get easier, but here we go again. See you on the flipside of whatever I get up to, y'all.
And, lastly, massive, massive thanks to all of you who've been here, ghosting or quiet or vocal or otherwise. Wish I could give a few spotlights, but I'll wait for the right time on that.
Thank you. Take an anniversary fic to go.
Glad you're here and writing, and I feel overjoyed I've discovered your stories especially when I did. I feel like the site's somewhat been in a lull as of late, but your stories are a bright patch of colour here. You get at a lot of the slice of life and character interactions that made the show so special in the first place, and you bring the lens of young adulthood to the fore in a way that really works. And you just absolutely get the spark of friendship between Dash and Rares to boot. I'm excited to now be following you and I look forward to whatever your future here brings :)
Forget Her Not is, so far, my favorite piece you've written, followed closely by Hope You Dance, but I can say with confidence that I've enjoyed nearly everything you've posted this year (and the rest I have yet to read. Is This It, I'm lookin at you). You bring a unique voice to the site, one I have yet to find elsewhere, and the way you capture this weird kind of (warm?) melancholia is a sensation I appreciate a great deal. Reading a story by PapierSam feels like rain on a windshield and quiet conversation between friends. Simple, contained, and often mundane, but enriched by the sound of life just outside the window. That probably doesn't make much sense, but suffice to say your stories make a me feel a certain way, and that's what I admire about them most. You just kinda kill it.
You ever play a game called Kentucky Route Zero? The tone reminds me of your work a lot. If you're into that stuff you should give it a try.
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I'm super stoked to hear that, mate, thanks for the kind comments and for sticking around. Here's to another year!
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You've always given me these great words that I appreciate a bunch and am glad to read every time. And I'll definitely check that out, I'm in need of a new game.