Back to a more normal posting schedule · 4:55pm Nov 7th, 2021
Hey folks,
I just published a pretty huge chapter in my favorite story, The World is Filled with Monsters. I have a good plan for the rest of the current act, and the rest of the story to follow.
I drifted away from writing pony fiction during the second half of 2020. There was a lot going on in the world, obviously, and at the time some ugly aspects of the fandom were starting to come to light. After immersing myself so deeply in it for so many years, it was clear I needed a break. So I found a few new hobbies and spent my time with them instead of writing.
And while I'm happy to report that I enjoy my new hobbies, and plan to continue with them (I'll be bouldering at a rock climbing gym in a few hours), there was something lost when I stopped writing. Put simply, I got rusty. It never occurred to me during nearly ten years of intense fiction writing, but writing is a skill, and if you stop doing it, you get worse. Those nice phrases don't come to you quite so easily, and you find yourself struggling to pick the right word for a sentence. It can feel frustrating and even a bit humiliating, and I didn't want to admit that it was because I stopped writing so much that my writing felt so bad.
So, we're going to try to fix that. We're picking this hobby back up and running with it. For those of you who've waited patiently for updates, thank you so much. I hope you will enjoy what comes next.
Great to see you, Gardez. Looking forward to your new work
Welcome back! And nice, I need to get back into rock climbing. Have you gone outside the gym yet? Even with the crash pad it's scary
Welcome back dude, and I really hear you on how quickly things get rusty in the writing world. Enjoy the rock climbing!
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Yeah that seems kinda terrifying. I'm going to want to be a lot more confident with my climbing skills before I try outdoor boulders
Good to see you’re back! We missed you.❤️
Good to see your name around here again!
Glad to see you back in the saddle. Here's to future installments!
Great to see you back! Your work has always served as an inspiration for me and my own writing. I also understand the feeling of being rusty after a long while away, so I definitely wish you luck as you jump back into the craft.
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Pun intended? That feels like something we should be calling it when someone gets back into pony.
Glad to hear you're keeping the story in your heart. I know it's then one of my all-time favorites.
Ooh bouldering. The wife enjoys that when she gets the chance (which is rarely these days). If you're ever out this way, maybe the the two of you could finally show me what the appeal is.
Also yes, writing hard. It's like a muscle. But that said, sometimes a break to try different things is good as well, lest you become overdeveloped in specific ways and incapable of performing anything other than a set of stock motions.
I'm having this very same issue myself. This plus floundering for inspiration whenever I open a gdoc are a deadly pairing for the whole "finish your damn story" mentality. Glad to see you alive and well. I really wanna see where you take Monsters.
Welcome back, amigo. We shall continue to watch your career with great interest.
It is with great pleasure and deference that I say it is an honor that you choose specifically to return to writing horse words. Welcome back!
Boulder... ing?
Welcome back, and good luck. :)
I never paid you much mind until I read I'm Afraid of Changeling, and enjoyed it, followed a good 90% of your stories, read some of them, and through all of that, you became one of my favorite authors on this site. We're lucky to have you back.
Jolly Good to have you back good sir. I am quite eager to read more of this epic saga.
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Glad you're back chief :)
Glad to see you back! Hope to see more of your work in the near future!
Huzzah! Thanks for coming back, man
Great to see you back :)
Hell yeah for taking breaks when you need and branching out in your interests, and hell yeah for coming back to give us serotonin-giving pony words.
I always enjoy your work, so this is good news for me.
As for your skills, hopefully practice will shake the rust off, I know Steven King advocates the best thing for writing is simply to consistently do it.
Glad to hear that you're back and continuing to write.
The World is Filled with Monsters is the only reason I check back on this site nowadays, so thanks for continuing it.
Good luck with everything.
Glad to hear you're back
Looking forward to more chapters. The World is Filled With Monsters being the best on the site… debatable. But it’s certainly one of the more unique tales, that partnered with Cold in Gardez’s epic style of writing makes it a sparkling gem of fimfiction.