Story Notes: The New... Pony? · 6:50pm Nov 16th, 2019
It was probably 8th grade when I last wrote a story, and that was 12 years ago. But I’ve been reading Admiral Biscuit’s stories and when he dropped that challenge it kind of stuck with me. I’m not a very creative person and writing is hard, but the idea of imagining a pony working at your job is a whole lot simpler than creating a whole world and even takes half of the work out of creating a plot. It still took me almost a month to finish this chapter and was difficult enough that there may not be another.
I figured that a pegasus would be the most interesting on a human construction site. A unicorn would be able to do the work of at least four guys if he/she was even mildly competent at telekinesis, while an earth pony would not be a whole lot different than a human aside from culture and differences in the different worlds’ approaches to hvac.
I work in sheet metal, so I was able to base a story off the jobsite I’m currently working at and take personality elements from people I’ve worked with. I probably need to clarify a few bits of construction jargon, too.
Connex – Another name for a large, metal shipping container. For the purpose of construction work, they are either left bare for storage or have an office built inside that takes up part or all of the interior space. Ours usually have an office that takes up about 1/3 of the length with a desk, benches, and a window AC unit. The rest of the connex has shelves and racks for materials.
Gang box – A large toolbox that is used by multiple people to keep their tools locked up and safe while on the jobsite.
Foreman – The guy running the job for each trade.
Journeyman/apprentice – In most trades (as far as I’m aware) the workers are classified as either journeyman or apprentice. You are an apprentice as you learn the trade and once you have enough experience and knowledge, you can take a test with the state to earn your license and become a journeyman. This signifies that the state has determined you have the ability to work according to building codes without supervision.
Local – Short for local union. Refers to the local branch of a multi-state or international organized union.
And you done good.
Totally different feeling when you’re doing it for you, isn’t it?
The writing part gets easier with practice, although it’s always a challenge to find the headspace and time to sit down and do it.
As for creativity . . . well, I’ve had lots of people tell me how brilliant and creative I am over the years, and yet just last week when I was pre-reading for MSPiper, I realized that I’d have never come up with what he did in his story. Nor is that the first time I’ve had that thought when I read something, honestly. You know what, though? I have literally never read a single story on this site (or anywhere, for that matter) where pony AC is tornadoes and clouds stuffed in a box, refilled monthly . . . and honestly, that feels exactly how they’d do it.
Presumably, AC boxes exported south of the Equator have to have the tornadoes turning the other way in order to function.
Durn right it is, and it’s really not that much of a stretch to move on to related jobs. I mean, you’ve probably seen other tradesmen at work, and have a passing idea of how they carry out their trades--you probably also know lots of their vocabulary, and I’d assume you also have a decent idea of jobsite organization, management, etc. Along with all the bits and pieces you’ve picked up with co-workers personal lives . . . in short, you’ve easily got enough knowledge in your head to write a whole novel just about HVAC pony, if you want to.
I hope you do.
I’d love to read more.
Do you know why they’re called that? AFAIK, we just call them shipping containers up here in Michigan. First time I’d heard the term was on an episode of World’s Toughest Fixes.
I’ve heard them called Job Boxes up here, which as I recall is an actual brand name/trade name (the brown ones, if I remember right).
Let me also state I hope you continue this!
I just want to expand on something AB said. No two people think exactly alike. I've often found myself in a similar situation, where I'd have never thought to write it that way myself, but I like the result better than if I'd done it personally. And those same folks may stumble across your own work and feel the same way about what you wrote. That's what makes the creative process so fun. Give the same prompt to twenty people and it gets taken in twenty completely different directions. Everyone has some semblance of creativity; it's expressing that creativity that can be challenging.
Don't let the creative process get frustrating or stressful. If you want to keep writing, please do. Writing should be for fun, and I'll echo that it definitely gets easier with practice.
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From dictionary.com, "a large metal cargo container used by the U.S. Army for shipping supplies, as to overseas bases. Origin of connex: apparently respelling of conex, from con(tainer for) ex(port)". So it apparently started as a military abbreviation. I had to look it up when I was writing because I'd never seen it spelled out, just heard it spoken. Kind of like the way I had no idea what a "sah-sawl" was the first few times I heard it until someone explained that it was a "SawzallTM" reciprocating saw.
That took me awhile. My first thought was just a charmed cloud in every room, but that's boring and has no carryovers to human HVAC. Our systems are really simple when distilled down to the very basics: air blows across something that changes its temperature and then out into a room. So I just had to figure out an analog for that that fit the lore. Thanks for noticing, because I really liked that explanation for pony HVAC too.
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Heh, I’ve had that happen to me before, too.
I kinda do like the idea of a charmed cloud, too, but you’re right that that’s kind of boring . . . plus, that might be good for some ponies, but others wouldn’t like having a little snowcloud shoved over in a corner where everypony could see it and where it might drip on the floor.
You’re right, the basic concepts of AC are pretty simple . . . I don’t know much about home or commercial AC, but I have to imagine it’s conceptually essentially the same as automotive AC.
It seems to be off to a good start (though it probably could end there fine if you don't write another chapter). :)
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Leave it to the Admiral to take an already great pony idea and overthink it in the best possible way. :b
Next up: Silverglow giving a lesson on the importance of the Coriolis effect for modern day AC systems.
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And you did that beautifully. One of the 'damn, I'd never have thought of that' moments.
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Let’s be honest, Silver Glow probably doesn’t know much about pony AC. Well, maybe she picked up a bit in weather classes. . . .
Actually, that gives me an idea: there’d have been classes on making outdoor weather, and also classes on making weather in boxes for home use.
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Heh
You should totally write that. :)
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It’s kinda tempting, I’ll admit.