Summertime Stories! News of the Little AND Big Variety! (Your Comments Needed!) · 9:19pm May 23rd, 2021
As I've mentioned on occasion, I am a teacher, and this year has left me too busy to do as much on FiMfiction as I wanted to. But Summer Vacation is starting soon, and I want to spend it writing, and that means MORE STORIES! That's the gist of things, but check below the break for more details!
First News: One-Shot Anthology
While I haven't spent that much time on FiMfiction, I have actually been writing. I've mentioned before that I often do speedwriting challenges with the Quills and Sofas Speedwriting Group, and have published several of the one-shots that resulted from that.
But I actually have several stories from those challenges that remain unpublished. My issue was just the hassle of finding cover art, writing new descriptions, etc., and some of those one-shots ultimately seem to get lost in the shuffle. Some do really well, like Sticking Points or The Rainbooms vs Copyright Law, while others, well, don't. And that's fine, but maybe it might be best to have these little one-shots all appear in the same place so you, my readers, can find and enjoy them more easily with less waiting!
In fact, I'd like to start publishing this anthology in the next week or so, but first I'd like a catchy name. So, dear readers, that's where YOU come in:
Please write your suggestions for what to title the new anthology below! If someone comes up with a really good suggestion, I might even be willing to do something extra special, like a free story commission, which I have, to date, NEVER done!
For the record, I have a few ideas, but I'm not sure how good they are. Here's what I've got:
- "The Hat-thology"
- "The Hat Manthology" / "The Hat Man-Thology"
- "Doing Shots with The Hat Man"
- "One-Shots About Pony THOTs"
Anyway, let me know what you think and if you've got some other cool ideas! I would really appreciate your help!
BIGGER News: Another Novel-Length Story
I intend to work more on an original, non-fanfiction novel that I started earlier this year, BUT I think I should have time to write another MLP-based novel or novella.
Indeed, some of my favorite works are my longer ones, in particular The Iron Horse: Everything's Better With Robots! of course, as well as Reaping Rainbow and Human After All.
I've got several ideas kicking around the ol' noodle here, and I'm debating which one deserves to see the light of day. In addition to writing something new, I'm also considering potential sequels to the above stories. I've already written a few unpublished one-shots in the Iron Horse universe, in fact, and I'm debating folding them into a larger story.
In other words, yes, I am considering writing another Iron Horse book. A big one. Take that as you will. 
Of course, there's also some potential in another Terry Pratchett-style story like Reaping Rainbow, possibly even set in the same timeline.
I've also long-considered taking my favorite one-shot "Marble's Horizon" and turning it into a full-length story, though that might be more attractive to me than it is to some of you.
Here's a handful of other ideas I've had, some more half-baked than others, but for your consideration:
- An Iron Horse sequel that focuses on Turing Test and her family members all trying to integrate and be accepted in society.
- An Iron Horse sequel that focuses instead on 002, Turing's disgruntled older sister, and her continued development as a character.
- A story called "Railmasters" that takes place in Manehatten, where Gadget (from "The Iron Horse," yes) finds herself embroiled in a world of industrial espionage as she tries to balance her inventing with her work for Mr. Vanderbull and a potential romantic relationship.
- An SCP-style anthology documenting Bon Bon and the Doctor's time spent working with SMILE as monster-hunting agents
- A "Human After All" sequel that finds Turing Test stranded in the human world for a longer period of time
- "The Tome Taker" - An adventure story about a rogue book expert whom Twilight hires discreetly to find rare and forbidden books in an effort to stop a potentially catastrophic disaster.
- "The Applejack Racket" - A story in which Applejack and her family, in an effort to save the family farm, start making illegal moonshine (well, applejack, to be specific).
- "Everyone's Welcome at Bloom's Bar" - An alternate universe story where an adult Apple Bloom starts a cocktail bar. In each chapter, she gives advice to different patrons and tries to reconcile with her past. Each chapter would be themed on a different cocktail and feature a recipe at the end. (This one grows out of my mixology hobby; I like the idea, but I'm not sure if the reader interest is great enough to justify it.)
Anyway, those are my ideas. If you have any feedback on them as well, I'd love to know what you think. I'm also open to suggestions if anyone can think of anything. Tell me what YOU would like to see!
I'm also working on one other project that's been on the backburner for a long time that doesn't fit into either of these categories... but I'm going to try to finish it as well, independent of these other two projects. You'll see it if I can manage to polish it off. 
They all sound like great ideas, to be honest. Even better if there is any sort of horse smooching involved.
I would do unspeakable things to read more Turing Test stories. Or 002 stories.you know which one I'm rooting for ^^
Tales From The Hat? A bit bland maybe but it is another option to potentially work with.
As for the other projects the two that catch my attention the most are "The Tome Taker" and the SMILE anthology. They both open the world to exploration and I love that stuff. Bloom's bar is a really creative idea but I foresee potential issues not too dissimilar to Wanderer's Sunset's Isekai. I would still encourage you to go for it anyways as the fun that could be had with that are obvious. Potentially tying the cocktail that gets featured in each chapter into the story told in each chapter would also make for a really fun creative challenge if you wanted to go that far.
No matter what you end up doing I look forward to whatever it is.
I have a few suggestions based on transformations if you are ok with it?
5523886
Oh, I like that one! And I haven't read Sunset's Isekai, but I have heard of it. I didn't think about that, but I suppose there are some similarities. Worth thinking about...
5523889
Not usually my thing, but it can't hurt to ask.
5523891
Well, I have a few ideas wherein one of the episodes where the main 6 gang travel to the dragon lands to help spike with the gauntlet they turn themselves into a dragon, not to arouse suspicions, or one where after twilight ascends she begins a growth like Celestia and the retried luna ad celestia starts shrinking into ponies after giving up their crowns and thrones are any of them good?
5523897
I have considered writing a story that takes place in the dragon lands, so perhaps some of that dragon stuff might make it in there.
The other idea, eh, not really my jab. I appreciate the suggestion, though!
5523907
Ok looking forward to the dragon part in the future good luck.
5523891
There's got to be some clever title that uses the idea of drawing lots from a hat.
As for my vote, I LOVE long form stories that are updated on a regular basis (no matter what interval).
Any Turing story gets my vote, though I'm also partial to Gadget.
The BonBon/Doctor story would be really riveting* - especially if you can make the interplay and banter between the two interesting.
As for the others - maybe try a shorter story in your anthology to see how it works out.
If you deem it successful there, then flesh it out.
--Spade
*No Turing, wrong context. Please put the rivet gun back....
5523951
Understood. Beep.
ponders
Random Draws from The Hat?
Tales to Keep Under A Hat?
From Out of the Hat They Come?
First three to hit off the top of my head. As for Turing Test, there's only one thing I have to say about them right now. I know damn well I have them saved SOMEwhere in my files, and I better sit down and reread them before I put any suggestions out!
Ah, hm... ...Well, I'm often not that great at naming things, and I'm afraid this doesn't seem to be an exception so far, sorry. Good luck, though!
Of the ideas you listed, the first three seem like they could be fine (though I don't know how to rank them), but I don't understand the fourth.
Ah, and good luck with the writing!
Ah, as for the story ideas, hm. I think I find numbers two and three most interesting out of those? Though I also have some curiosity about numbers six and seven. I think I'm probably least interested in numbers four and eight, as I don't have much involvement with SCP-stuff and don't drink (though I imagine there could still be other things in those stories I'd find interesting, from the descriptions).
And good luck with the mystery project! :)
I would be curious on these, given the ponies whose jobs would be threatened much more aren't manual dead end jobs, but high earning ones. I can imagine resistance being much more fierce once the upper canterlot ponies realize it's not the low end jobs that would be gone, but their cushy, "intellectual" office jobs that are much easier to scale than making a million farming bots.
Then probably some massive misinformation campaign trying to slander Turing maybe.
These all sound like really interesting stories, but I'd especially love to catch up with big sis!
As for the anthology's title, I like the second one.
P.S. I'm still available if you need an editor