The Anniversary Post · 11:57pm Apr 7th, 2022
Hey all,
It's not exactly one year since I started posting on this site, but close enough. I wanted to share my thoughts on everything that's changed between then and now.
I realized I actually can't remember what prompted my first story here, how I got the idea to adapt Mothership Zeta to Fallout Equestria. I do remember wanting to start producing something for fimfiction instead of just reading others' stories. But why I fixated on Mothership Zeta, I don't know. Just like I don't know why I thought of religious exiles founding the society of Gen 5.
I've learned quite a bit about the writing process, especially how much help an OUTLINE is! My first chapters of Eta consisted of writing just to see what came out, and that's why the story ballooned far beyond what I had initially planned.
Based on views and votes, it would appear my strength would be in shorter stories. But these metrics are misleading, as my long story is not only unfinished, but also my first story and therefore automatically terrible. The one piece of advice I kept in mind when starting was from John Scalzi: don't make your first story the "one story that matters to you." In practical terms, I should probably abandon Mothership Eta to focus on other works, but I'm not going to do that. It may be a relatively unpopular first attempt, but it's my first attempt. And I think I said in an earlier blog post, I'm not writing for any purpose other than to create something I can be proud of. So my immediate plan is to return to Eta, make corrections to the parts that don't feel right, and complete it before starting anything new. Eta will always have a special place in my heart as the story that didn't matter to me at the start, but which I've grown to love. And I hope you will grow to love it too!
I do have ideas for further stories after Eta finishes, and I don't have any further self-imposed deadlines related to Gen 5's lore. There's something relating to the It's About Time episode, delving into a canon-compliant alternate universe. I'm also thinking about a couple changeling stories, one continuing the Zephyrite story, the other looking at a changeling experiencing the big city. And maybe a couple others that have slipped my mind for now.
It's been a wild year. I'll see you at the next update!
Congrats!