Small update to Inertia; more to come~ · 2:13am Aug 9th, 2021
Excuse any writing errors here, I'm exhausted and about to take a well deserved nap.
So the last few chapters of Inertia were probably the hardest to write, as they all came out around... well, in several hours. Roughly speaking, the last thing I touched was Chapter 39, and I just gave it a rough glance over before saying 'buck it' and posting the story. Keep in mind, I don't have an editor - but for the sequel, I've had a volunteer. Maybe it'll turn out better this time, but my time is roughly limited by sleep/work demands.
As such, Chapter 39 had a few revisions and errors corrected across it, with the help of another user's criticism. Feel free to give it a look if you felt the writing quality fell to shreds at that point. There's a lot I've left out, as well - that will be covered in the sequel, Verve.
In the meanwhile, I was thinking of adding a chapter 40 to Inertia; an Epilogue that covers the events between Inertia and Verve. The sequel will take place roughly 3 years after the events of Inertia, so there's a lot to cover but surprisingly little to write. On top of this, after thinking about it - I came to realize that Luna and Arin's relationship was roughly superficial, even near the end. And I wanted to address that, and change it - giving options for new, alternate endings in Verve (the 'canon' ending will be with Luna, as I feel like I shouldn't ditch my roots). These endings are basically where Arin decides to take control of his own fate, and walk his own path (I'm thinking a few choices between Umbra, Celestia, and surprisingly - my own original character to choose from. I didn't even intend it, but sometimes the writing just runs that way. Did you know I initially wanted Inertia to be a Celestia fic? Then I wrote Luna too well for my own liking. Now we're here.)
I'm writing Umbra to be more of her own, independent character that she's always been. I wanted her to play to her strengths, as a reformed villain and a bit of an antihero in the way she acts. I wanted to state that now, because her story essentially wraps around the Nobles of Canterlot nicely, and she does well as an accessory main character that solves the side issues. She's also the kind of mare to always be a step ahead, with a keen eye for magic auras.
I want Arin to be more of the individual roped into fate, not an overpowered Gary Stu. Just a former Inert with the world dumped on his shoulders, slowly losing his will to push on and deal with this rising drama. Especially since he doesn't have the knowledge, leadership, or power to change the world like the characters around him does. I want him to address problems as a commoner would, and that's what I'm hoping to do in the first few chapters (I have 1-8 already written, but my editor is never around to fix 'em.)
Some of the main characters of Inertia are definitely going to fall into the background for the majority of Verve; times change, and so do ponies. Characters who were once important are shelved, to let new personalities grow. (I have one pegasus in mind that's going to definitely win a few hearts).
From the way Verve is being written, the time frame of events are short in the beginning - but it's shaping up to be a good, long read. I have a ton of ideas, but I haven't committed to one story board yet 'cause so much can change so fast. Sorry for the giant wall of text. Just wanted to put my thoughts and reasoning down~
sounds like you have a good story in the works for us, Inertia was great, and I can't wait to read this one, good luck on the editors too :)
cant wait either!!!