Okay, here's some news which should make everyone happy. With the recent phenomenal improvements to Portents of Darkness, we have a new workflow that will achieve several major goals.

Some of you have expressed legitimate concerns about development time in light of once-again improving existing chapters. You're all familiar with how 2015 and 2016 were almost entirely spent rewriting the original drafts which we built between September and December 2014. And that feeling when Precipice was finally started that we had somehow broken new ground and gotten beyond the "rewriting" phase... That was a good feeling.

And then this... Portents of Darkness JUST finished a five-week overhaul, increasing its quality by an order of magnitude. We also split the chapter into two pieces, the latter being currently titled, Fire.

With this improvement, the obvious assumption is that everything needs to be rewritten to this caliber. And that's not going to be a super quick task either. It'll take some months. The natural question is, "When the hell are we going to be breaking new ground? Like... you know... finishing act one?"

A valid question. And I think the answer to that question is, "Right now."

Orion is going to be heading the effort of adding detail and improving the existing prose. And unlike Portents of Darkness, he's going to be doing this without my constant input. He will be starting with chapter seven (Fire). When he finishes, he'll be going back to the older chapters, starting with the prologue, and cleaning those up as well until three months is up.

Meanwhile, I will be pushing forward, outlining new parts of the story This won't be a "draft" like I've made in the past. It will be outlines like this. The purpose behind this is to get the entire story outlined as soon as possible. Once the outline is finished, that will solidify the story's structure, and it will just be a matter of writing out the chapters.

When Orion finishes a chapter, I'll also go over it to ensure that it is publish-quality. But I won't be micromanaging the process because I need to keep my mind further along in the story.

Here's what I need from all of you:

I want most of you to work with Orion by going over the prose he's making and ensuring that he stays true to the spirit of the story. And to make sure he doesn't get too purple. I would like to use Portents of Darkness as an example because that turned out pretty much perfect. You all can help make sure that his additions and changes flow nicely with the story we've all been working on since day one.

Also... most of you can work with me in the continuing structure and development of this story as I work on the outline. I don't want to do the outline by myself. I want your input! Each of you has a particular gift when it comes to this story.

TundraStanza, you're probably best to work on Orion's prose since your place in the workflow is typically toward the end rather than early development and structure stuff.

PrinceUniversa, your role seems to be more as a prereader, so you're also probably going to be working closer with Orion than with me.

Pawz, you'll likewise be working with Orion, but I may consult with you on occasion regarding structure flow of future chapters.

Onlyanorthernsong and Questionable, you two I see as having the most "crossover" roles, meaning your talents will be needed both to help Orion with the final prose and to help me forge ahead with structuring the story. Both of you are meticulous when it comes to final prose, so I do want you to work closely with Orion to make sure his work lines up closely with the standards we've established in Portents of Darkness. You're also very familiar with the overall story from start to finish, and with this knowledge, you'll be able to tell when something is out of context or not presented with the consideration of the whole story. Also, between the two of you, I see Onlyanorthernsong as more of a characterization and flow specialist, where Questionable is more of a plausibility and consistency specialist. I will need both of these skillsets to work with me going forward in structuring the rest of the story.

DuvetofReason, I'd like you mostly to work with me. Your ideas have always been the most useful in the context of brainstorming overall story structure, and I think this is where your skills are the most effective. You're not really a "proofreader" because just about any quality of prose makes you happy. But more than anything, you've got tremendous value in allowing me to use you as a sounding board for ideas as well as coming up with great ideas yourself. That makes you most valuable working closely with me on leading-edge outline stuff.

Pen Stroke and any of the other prereaders, if you happen to see this, I think you are of the most use in the phase after Orion has finished his prose improvements, where I'm called back to look them over once the chapter is finished. I'll probably make a "calling all prereaders" announcement every time we're ready to tackle the final polish of a chapter.

Whew. I think that covers everybody. This is going to be pretty awesome! It will probably speed things up tremendously as well.

Two things I'd like to add to all of the above:

First - when act one is finished being outlined, we will have a brainstorming session on how act two is going to be structured. This may disrupt the flow for just a bit, but everyone's roles should remain largely intact. I'll keep you posted as I know more.

Second - all of this is only until Orion finishes with the current drafts. Once he's up to Precipice, it's probably time for him to take on a normal editing role while I (having hopefully finished the outline by then) can actually start producing real proper drafts for everyone to edit.

5726924 Aren't I already a prereader in the first place? Oh and adding to that detail, I can be the one that is able to tell when certain events pass the Mature line. By that, I mean if certain things seem to stretch the T rating the book currently is under. I may not write M-rated stories, but I can tell if it crosses the threshold or not, trust me, I've read and seen enough to have a grasp to tell if certain things may need to be edited to lower the intensity of anything that is concerning. Yes, I know that this is F:oE, but since we're under the T rating, best try to not pass that threshold. Secondly, I am damn good at writing action-related scene... Need anything involving action, call me up!

5726942
Yes, you're already a prereader. But I named you specifically because you're the most available prereader on the team at the moment, and I wanted to make your role clear.

Regarding the Mature stuff... Excellent! That's a fantastic idea. And it fits well with you working on the final versions of the text because the Teen/Mature issue doesn't really apply when structuring the story and deciding what happens. It's all about how it is presented that makes it M or T.

We can put this to the test in the next chapter (Fire) whose alternate title could easily be "SHTF".

Yes, I know that this is F:oE, but since we're under the T rating, best try to not pass that threshold.

Well, this isn't Fo:E "per se"... It is the Nightmare Nyx universe. I merely copy certain elements from Fo:E which I need for my story. I'm not actually adding to any sort of Fo:E continuity. For more on that topic, see this thread.

My goal is, and always has been to maintain the T rating if possible. Mostly because M rated stories are heavily associated with clop, and a lot of people who would enjoy this story have their M filters turned on. I want everyone who might like this story to be able to read it. I also don't like the idea of someone having to sign in to read the story.

Need anything involving action, call me up!

Given that the next chapter Orion will be working on is a nonstop roller coaster ride, now would be a good time for you to work with him then. Depending on how well you work together of course. But you know what happens in this leg of the story. All the stuff related to the zebra camp is the entire focus of the next chapter.

5726951 I know about that whole Nightmare Nyx universe fiasco, don't worry And as for the M/T line, eeyup, that sounds about right. Well when Fire (we really should think of a better title...) is up and ready, expect me to be thorough if certain events seem to edge on the M threshold

Yeah, that M thing does tend to annoy me sometimes... I mean no shame on it but it does reduce the chances of being noticed since it's behind a wall that, while easy to pass, will be quite a hindrance. As for the clop thing, I honestly think so too even though I've read and seen my fair share of clop

I really should look this Orion now that I think about it...

I really should look this Orion now that I think about it...

Well if you're really wanting to look this Orion, you should know that due to being colorblind my style choices are... 'interesting' is the word my wife would use. ;)

But if you wanted to chat or ask anything, feel free. ^^

5726924 ... So, I should just keep doing what I've been doing?

Oh this should be fun. I love the amount of TEXTURE that Orion has put into the story, but yes I will make sure that his additions don't get too vague in other words that he adds to the immersion of the story ( especially by what he does best which is adding the sounds, colors smells tastes and textures of this world into the story) instead of taking the reader out.

So in terms of the prose the way it will work I Imagine is that Orion goes in and adds text, then I go in an comment on text and then you, recon, basically add as the uber- editor deciding on what side to err whenever Orion and I are in conflict( for lack of a better term) as to how something should read?

5727096 Well I feel a bit late knowing you now

5728364 Hey, no worries about that. I'm a fairly laid back person so don't worry about poking me to see whats up.

I tend to respond fastest on the Discord server, and check here maybe once a day or so.

If you want to read a small bit about me, here ya go. https://www.reddit.com/r/MLPLounge/comments/5dj19v/comment/da56os5?st=IVSFJUR6&sh=3cb1d289