The Latest Writing Survey · 8:27pm Dec 14th, 2020
So normally I ignore these because it's a quick and easy way to doxx yourself for fun and profit, but this one seems pretty decent and I've been suggested to engage with the community a bit more rather than being a strange weirdo who occasionally spits out words.
The original traces back to Posh, where it reached me by way of... well, a lot of people including Ice Star, Jake The Army Guy and PresentPerfect. (However, unlike Posh I will adhere to a numbering system rather than a numbering offense.)
1. Tell us about your current project(s) – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?
Ahahahahahaha yeah, projects. I've got five on my current active writing docket, with another four on the immediate deck of 'write as soon as I free space'. I normally give quarterly updates on progress buuuut I'll go a bit deeper into the five active here.
- Horse Of The Rising Sun is a Tempest Shadow/Starswirl the Bearded adventure story, based off an idea seed from PingZing. It follows the two as they journey to find an ancient monastery, founded by Starswirl in the days before the Princesses as a place of healing for unicorns crippled by raising the sun. Things take a twist when they do finally reach the old priory and find it less than abandoned you'd expect for a thousand-plus year old ruin. I'm about 75% done and super excited about it! I'm having a momentary slump as I do one of the bridge chapters between major story beats, but this one's really developing into something special and I'm loving writing it.
- Minus One is an expansion on my November Flash 150 entry. The focus: basically a mirror of The Last Problem, but for the Young Six as Gallus leaves town as Twilight did before him. It's morphed a bit into more of a view on how each of the six deals with grief and loss, but part of that is that it's also grown along the way. It's 90% done, and I'm quite pleased with how it's turned out.
- Mnemosyne, a SunFlower romance and sequel to Forgotten Relationships, because Scampy and I see eye to eye on ships. This one follows the aftermath of Forgotten Friendship in the light of my earlier story's slight twist on it. It's unabashedly fluffy and cute and only slightly depressing because Wally sort of lends herself to having somber moments even within her own joy. Currently sitting at around 15% complete. It's been a bit slow because I just haven't been in the mood to write romance lately, but the end result is going to be worth it. Plus I haven't written nearly enough of Best Human/Horse/Princess lately and that needs fixing.
- Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor Gloom Of Night, my slow-developing Derpy/Luna piece that's taken way longer to hash out than I'd ever expected. It's sort of a tribute to the 80s buddy comedy genre, following them as Luna joins the postal service, gets taken under Derpy's proverbial (but not literal) wing for doing the 'Special' delivery route to all the weirdest recipients and eventually thwart a spoilers here invasion because every buddy movie pair somehow ends up in way over their heads for no logical reason. Sitting at around 20% done, though I've had to trash a lot that I didn't like on second review so maybe closer to 10%? Anyway, this one has been a frustration for me for a while. It's a great idea, people seem to love it and are pushing for me to do it... but it just doesn't seem to be catching my inspiration, which means the words are like pulling teeth. I want it to fly, though, because it's gonna be a blast if I can get it to take off.
- REDACTED, because I'm doing Jinglemas. You'll find this one out in a week and a half.
- Possibly one more Jinglemas because I signed up as a Breezie and that's part of why I'm keeping my December workload light.
2. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project
Outside of what's above? The one I'm really stoked to get started on is First Hoof Account, a tragi-romance. The hook boils down to a pre-mirror Sunset looking at the newly princess-ified Cadance and going "She knows how to get what I want. If Celestia won't tell me, I bet I can get it out of this stupid pink puffball." I get to write more Best Horse, it's going to be full of disaster lesbians, and it's going to be bittersweet as hell because the mirror is still happening so from minute one you know the whole story can only end in heartbreak.
3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)
There's been an idea brewing in the back of my head for a couple of months now for what I think would be an excellent piece. It would require a bit of alt-u going on, but having the classic Homeless Sunset (sans CHS) connecting with a Wallflower who's on the streets after wiping everyone's memory of her has absurd potential. Lump in the tragedy, tsundere Sunset matching with needy/abused Wallflower, having both characters grow in their own ways while struggling for day to day survival? It would be delicious.
However, it would also require a crazy amount of work to do properly - I'm not talking about the fluffy take on homelessness that we see so often, but the far grittier and realistic take because if I'm going to do this it's not going to be an insult to the circumstances and lives people are trapped in as viewed from a relatively privileged place. The research alone would take weeks and it would be a constant struggle to make the portrayal of the situation properly legitimate. Plus it would be super depressing, which is not my wheelhouse. I'm not sure I could do the idea justice.
4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)
That's a tough one - there's a lot of little moments in my writing that I adore. But if I had to pick one and only one, I'd go to the ending of Cleaved. In it, the story follows a family in the last moments of Sombra's rule over the Crystal Empire. When it gets ripped out of time, the family doesn't all make it. In the aftermath, the husband asks Celestia if he'll see his wife again.
Princess Celestia smiled benevolently at Cordierite, but he could read the true emotions behind it. "There is always hope," she lied with the best of intentions.
I've written a lot of things that I like and think back on. But that one still gives me chills.
5. What character that you’re writing do you most identify with?
Absolutely none of them! I'm not a horse.
But seriously, none of them.
6. What character do you have the most fun writing?
Tough question! I would have to say Trixie, mostly because she lends herself to the nuttiest situations and circumstances. Crazy is always great fun.
7. What do you think are the characteristics of your personal writing style? Would others agree?
In the past, I've likened my writing style to a knife - short and fast, making quick lines and zipping back just as quick. I tend to do short, choppy bits and leave a lot of the details to the reader's imagination. Why spell it out when I can rely on them to do the heavy lifting? My style also has a bit of an over-emphasis on dialogue, which is one of my weaknesses and I constantly have to fight off Talking Head Syndrome.
8. Is what you like to write the same as what you like to read?
Well, I like to read good stories so nothing like what I write.
I kid, I kid.
Really, while I'm not one for super-long pieces, I do trend towards reading stuff that's longer and more detailed than what I normally write. (Considering the lengths I normally operate at, though, that's not hard to find.)
9. Are you more of a drabble or a longfic kind of writer? Pantser or plotter? Do you wish you were the other?
Well, considering I count anything over 10k as 'long' and many other authors consider that their prelude chapter? Drabble for sure. And I'm surprisingly a plotter despite how short I write: anything other than the 1k super-shorts has at least an outline, and the bigger stuff has ones as big as any individual chapter.
10. How would you describe your writing process?
An initial flash of inspiration, followed by scrambling to write down the idea and the contingent scenes that have lept to mind as quickly as possible before I forget them. Then sitting staring at a passage for two hours, having no ideas, then jumping out of bed at 3am because I suddenly just thought of the perfect line.
My muse is kind of a pain in the ass.
11. What do you envy in other writers?
The ability to write long.
While I'm totally okay with being a short/flash writer, it amazes me how some writers can take a thing I'd do in 200 words and stretch it out to 5-6k and still make it good and engaging to read.
12. Do you want your writing to be famous?
Ahahahahahahaha hell no. This is a hobby and to tame my muse. Any fame, fortune or what have you is entire ancillary. (I mean, I'm not gonna complain and I'll take it with humility but it's no goal.)
13. Do you share your writing online? (Drop a link!) Do you have projects you’ve kept just for yourself?
I mean... here? Yes? Beyond this place, though, no. I don't share my stories here to a wider audience largely because of social anxiety and caring what my real life peers would think. (One of my greatest horrors is to share something I worked on with a friend, have them go "I wonder what else is available" and then find the front page loaded with child porn. Again.)
14. At what point in writing do you come up with a title?
It's usually pretty early. Not first thing, but I've almost always at least got a working title before the first chapter's done. And I'd say about 75% of the time it sticks.
15. Which is harder: titles or summaries (or tags)?
Titles, but only because summary is the easiest part. It's usually the elevator pitch idea I started from with minor tweaks, and I've got that literally before anything else.
16. Tried anything new with your writing lately? (style, POV, genre, fandom?)
Not new-new lately, aside from using OCs a bit more. Though this is why I love throwing myself into contests and events like Jinglemas. The push to work outside my own envelope is a good thing and it's turned into a lot of my better works.
17. Do you think readers perceive your work - or you - differently to you? What do you think would surprise your readers about your writing or your motivations?
Almost certainly, though mostly because I am a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. I am very bad about engaging on a personal level and largely exist as a robot that shoots horsewords because the ancient Greek personification of an idea won't let me sleep.
The reality of me is far more boring. Also that last bit is a lie because I don't sleep even when Calliope gives me peace.
18. Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterisations?) Tell us about them.
Rarely but not never. I'll usually make mention of it in the author's notes or occasionally add it as a non-canon bonus chapter. But those are infrequent - my stories mostly stay on track with only minor variations. Such is the power of plotting.
19. Is there something you always find yourself repeating in your writing? (favourite verb, something you describe ‘too often’, trope you can’t get enough of?)
All the damn time. One of the things I use the editing process for is going back and mixing up phrasings and sentence beats to try and avoid exactly that. If I use the same word more than twice in a sentence (and it's not 'a' or somesuch), I consider it a personal failing. I repeat myself all the time, and then viciously go back and remove all traces of it.
20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)
All but my shortest pieces have multiple references to other stories I've read/liked that are similar to the one being written or the current scene. Partially this is to give a nod to other writers who've inspired me or who's work I've found interesting; and partially because I consider it part of my role here to help push people not just to my own stories but to the writing of others. There's a lot of good content out there, people! Don't just read my dumb crap, read other people's awesome dumb crap too!
21. What other medium do you think your story would work well as? (film, webcomic, animated series?)
Given the context of this place, if I answered anything other than 'animated series', I'm doing it wrong.
22. Do you reread your old works? How do you feel about them?
All the time. Sure there's a lot of really early stuff I look back on and cringe, but mostly? I enjoy what I've written. There's stuff from a decade-plus ago I still enjoy rereading because it did what I wanted it to do and it came out well. Maybe today I'd do it better/different, but... It's still entertain, so why complain?
23. What’s the story idea you’ve had in your head for the longest?
Relevant to here? My initial idea for writing was an alternate Elements story - the hook was that during the events of Our Town, the Tree basically goes "Well, I can't sense their marks anymore. Guess they're dead. Too bad, they were fun. Whelp, time to choose a new set!". Then run the new Bearers through a scenario eerily like S1E1/2. And right at the last moment before they earn the Elements, Starlight is vanquished on the other side of Equestria and the Tree goes into a panic and starts slamming the metaphorical ABORT button, trying to put everything back before anyone notices.
I ended up jumping in with the Sunset contest and honestly, looking back? Probably better that way. Alternate main cast stories are kinda overdone.
24. Would you say your writing has changed over time?
I think structural, mostly. I've gotten better about my comma splices, though I still am terrible about my use of the dash instead of the em-dash (hi SirNotAppearing!). I've also skewed a bit more bittersweet lately, but I blame that on the world as a whole being kind of screwy right now.
25. What part of writing is the most fun?
Fun?!
A part of me wants to claim that it's seeing the responses and hearing how people like the story or interacting with readers about the finer details of my brainworms. (I can't honestly say that though, I've got juuuuust enough social anxiety that seeing a comment notification pop up triggers a fear response that this time I've stepped in it and the story's crap and imposter syndrome kicks in and then I click on the damn thing because having the notification bugs me and it's all fine people still like me.)
The satisfaction would have to be my answer - knowing I've done A Thing and it's complete. There's a sense of achievement about that.
Same, bro.
Glad to see I'm not the only one like this.
I admittedly would crave a cliff notes guide to these things. I must know each and every last reference.
This is a fantastic way of putting it XD
That first story sounds fantastic, I can't wait :O Also tragi-romance, that sounds right up my alley. :D
I know, right? XD
Coward. This is why you’ll never be a Ghost.