Next · 10:42pm Apr 27th, 2020
It's been awhile since I said anything on this platform, and obviously this is my first blogpost on it.
First: almost 300 watchers. Wow.
Second: Follows A Little Spark (from here 'FALS') as of this post is in the top 2% of fics on the site by rating. Super wow.
Third: A final 'wow' for the outpouring of desire for a sequel, which is in the works!
I want to mention all this because while I hold myself to somewhat high standards, I wrote FALS with the goal of breaking as many of my own rules of quality as possible. The response to it has surpassed all my expectations, and I'm very glad to have created something people have enjoyed so much. I've seen one reviewer say that it "raises all the red flags I've learned to avoid in anything remotely serious, but still manages to be okay" or words to that effect. This was intentional. It was apparently pretty successful.
I'm writing this because I wanted to update all the people eager for more on what I'm doing. I've completed the draft of the first part of my next fic. Like FALS, it will end up here all in one chunk, as soon as it's converted to a site-acceptable standard after it's complete. This fic is NOT the FALS sequel I've mentioned, which for now is a low-priority project for me. That doesn't mean it wont be of interest; if you liked Raven, or the idea of Anon helping a princess, or wanted to see more courtly intrigue or adventure, this next story will definitely be up your alley.
A note on my use of 'Anon' as a character: I always intend for the name to be a stand-in for whatever human name you may or may not care for. Many readers of FALS realized that this 'Anon' was actually a fairly specific character, with his own unique backstory and ideals and such. I mention this because the next story's Anon is an extremely radical departure from what you've come to expect from our question-mark-faced (anti)hero. He is quite literally Anonymous In Name Only.
If my pace with FALS was any indicator, I might be able to finish this story in two months, but I don't want to put any official timetable on it. You definitely shouldn't expect anything before then, though. Thank you all again for your support, this story is my first real "success" in the fanfic world, and my first completed fic for this fandom. I'm glad I could make something you all enjoyed.
Could you give a hint as to what the next story will be? And what rules did you break when writing FALS?
5251445
a one-sentence summary of the story's starting state could be written "An eighteenth-century naval officer seeks redemption through serving a new monarch." It'll also be an RGRE story, and confront those concepts more directly than FALS did.
What rules did it break? Pretty much all of them. Even down to the core conceits; the idea of a royal herd seems, to me as a reader, preposterous. If I were forced to read a story based on that premise, I'd 100% go in thinking it wouldn't be able to pull it off. That meant one of FALS's first challenges was finding a way to write that in a way that felt like it progressed naturally on all fronts. (Personally, I feel I did best with Luna, and did worst with Celestia, in both ways partially due to their presentation; of all of them Luna's is the most straightforward overt romance, while the story makes a point that Celestia's position isn't one of conventional romantic attraction even in its end state). I also wouldn't normally write an antagonist so black-and-white as Blueblood; in most stories I write, I include at least one scene from the antagonist's POV to get across the rationale of their position, which I deliberately avoided in FALS to make him seem a bit alien and leave his motives a mystery until the end of that arc. Blueblood will be given some space in FALS's sequel, for what it's worth. There's a lot of more minor points in there as well.
Essentially, I set out to write a story that I'd never even contemplate reading, and to write it in a way that addresses all the issues I have with the concepts involved. It's like a fixfic but for ideas instead of canon.
Just... wow. Unbelievably. Congratulations! I've never seen one story carry someone so (deservedly) far!
Literally cannot wait for the next one. I'll be camping out on your metaphorical lawn for sure.
Well, if your intro story was an indication of what we have to look forward to--seriously, I followed you based on that, when I normally need at least three stories in the "Favorites" category before I start following an author here--this should be pretty good. Can't wait to read it!
I've enjoyed what I've read in the land of greens. I look forward to reading it here.
Nice
5251463 IMO, the relatable villain is one of the most overused tropes in modern storytelling. It's not bad, but neither is sugar. Too much of either leaves your taste shot. At the time of writing this, I'm 2/3 the way done FaLS and I LOVE the opportunity to speculate on what HRH PB is thinking, what his end goal is. It's a breath of fresh air!