Oh how I have wasted away my days.

Sitting here, in this god-forsaken computer chair, staring at this damnable computer screen while my complexion slowly gets paler and pastier. You know, at one point I was so into writing my flagship story that I didn't see the sun at all for six days. And I coughed up blood a couple times. Not sure if it was related or not, but my nosebleeds and my acne got really bad during those days of my literary infancy.

Was it worth it? Sure, I got a solid 80 watchers from that story alone, and sometimes I'll open up Fimfiction and see that someone else managed to dig through my heaps of written crap just to find that story and give it a favorite and a like.

It took me an entire damn year and hundreds of hours of sitting here and observing the goings-on of this community to realize I was doing it the chump way. I built a cult reputation, that's okay, but I'm no freakin' Kkat, or shortskirtsandexplosions, or a darf, or a Bronystories, or even a Regidar.

And here is how the real all-star writers do it.

1. They find a niche.
-By niche, I mean that an author found a specific little microcosm of this fandom that has not been exploited to death, and they ran with it. For Kkat, it was the epic crossover and the perfect melding of the dark world of the Fallout universe with the magic of MLP. Fallout: Equestria has become one of the most recognized fictions in this fandom, standing tall with My Little Dashie as something that literally everyone has read, and is one of the few fanfictions to have actually been printed and distributed (other than Fifty Shades of Grey).

2. They get really good in that niche.
-By focusing all of their writing efforts in one area, most of your all-star writers have become writing specialists. Some people write stories that are incredibly funny, and some write in ways that invoke the greatest disgust I have ever know. It's all about finding that certain niche and the genres that accompany it, and focusing all of your time and attention on perfecting that! If you learn to make perfection, a good reputation will follow.

3. Ride on the coattails of someone more successful than you.
-Most big businessmen these days didn't make it to the top on their own. They had someone behind them, someone who mentored them and coached them, and basically made them. You can be a made-writer too, you just have to know the right people. Sometimes I take a look at the feature list, and I see some up-and-coming writer who wrote some okay-ish little thing, with a decent plot and a not-bad idea. And I wonder what made it jump up to the top, and then I see it, the name of one of the Fimfiction greats in the "Specials Thanks To" section that many people put in their stories, or listed as an editor. Having a big time writer slap his name on your story is like getting corporate sponsorship. It's like throwing a celebrity's name on a bottle of cologne even though that celebrity has never worn it in his life! That kind of proxy-fame is why douchebags join a rich and famous person's entourage, because they hope they'll be something just by hanging out with a jerk that's bigger than they are. And on that note...

4. Go for the known winners.
-Okay, you're new, but you've managed to nail down the "writing good" thing. You are perfect in the ways of grammar and elocution, and your stories can be entertaining. But, the subject material of your story may be crap. Through just observing the like/dislike trends on the front page, you can generally tell what kinds of stories will be received terribly. Stranger moves to Ponyville, hits it off with one or more of the Mane Six, probably not going to work. A human popping into Equestria for no good reason, ain't gonna happen, bro. Go for the known winners: the team that reaches the Super Bowl at least once a freakin' decade, the golf club that will always give you a two hundred and fifty yard drive, the jar of peanut butter in your pantry that won't give you botulism! Observe the trends, see what kinds of stories do well, and which ones do not.

5. Be original, but not too original.
-A friend of mine, a Mr "Dark Nebula" by name, graciously pointed this out to me once when I was wondering why my totally-awesome-magnum-opus-quality story only had six likes. He pointed out that it was too original, that it was so far separate from what the readers of this website came to see (magic talking ponies), that it did not interest them with what I had to offer (a badass story about minotaurs). There was nothing that the reader could relate in that story to anything that they already knew. It was just minotaurs, hardly even mentioning the existence of ponies. It was set in a land on the other side of the world from Equestria, there was no mention of Celestia and Luna, there was no indication that it was even related to MLP except for the fact that I mentioned the word "Equestria". It was too original. In that fic, there was nothing for the reader to instantly familiarize with, no anchor that they could latch onto. I once read a story called "The Gripping Hand", which is some bullshit about three-armed aliens and an advanced civilization of space-faring humans that somehow require everything at ground level to have the technological grace of Victorian England. It. Was. SHIT! Oh sure, it was original as all get go, but it was too outlandish for even me to enjoy! It was so original that I couldn't even comprehend what the hell was going on at any given point in that ridiculous piece of literature! I BURNED THAT INCREDIBLY SELF ABSORBED BOOK! BY FIRE BE PURGED!!111! WE'RE BARBECUIN' SCI-FI TONIGHT, KIDDIES! MUAHAHAHAHA!!

I... I've burned out for the night... more tomorrow... Klondike sleepy.....

1176361

Well, I fail in all of these things.

*flips laptop*

Imma go for a walk.

1176391

me too

*flips desktop*

Wait up! i'll join you on that walk.

1176417

Bring water.

1176361 An interesting view point you have here. I guess I fit into the number 2 category. I can't really say that HiE is niche by any means, but I am focusing all my strength to perfecting the art of writing it. So far I've got 220 watchers so my rep is slowly but surely building.

I came here after watching a bunch of intensly insperational vidoes. Heck, even now I'm listening to a song from one of them. Peace - by Paul Kelly. You know, I have tons and tons of free time. I'm going to confess: not just on some days, I mean everyday. So here I am now, asking myself how much of a lazy, spoiled person I am, and how I'm going to use this free time at this very moment. That's why I'm trying to find my answer. Here.

Curse these videos, they are making me superfluously philosophical.

I may have found number 1 for myself in the form of shipping one pony who's rarely written about (For the curious...check my published stories, specifically the two top rated ones), and I intend to exploit it for all it's worth.

I suppose I am 1 and 3.

Looks like I fit into number 5. Though only because everything I write is too stupid for anyone else to have thought up, let alone want carry out and not just scrap it.

Huh, guess that's what my problem is.

I haven't written anything, yet.
*spins in office chair*
I should totally try, though.

1177182

Unoriginals fo' life.

1177830

Represent.

1177710 Didn't I just dump something on you to write?

1178207
Ohhey, you totally did...
Does it count as extra credit?

I believe I fit into number 5. I attempt to write things which are original but not out there if you know what I mean. Probably why I'm sticking to Slice of Life for most of my story ideas.

1180156 Fifty Shades of Grey was originally written as a BDSM fanfiction of Twilight. People thought that it was so "well written and enthralling" that they changed the names around and published it. I put that in quotes because I personally despise the entire set of novels by that hack E.L. James.

1176500
Wait up! I've got some!

As for the lecture...
1176361
I think my niche maybe comedy, adventure, and slice of life, because I find myself writing those a lot.

1183956

Life giving water, NECTAR OF THE GODS!

I don't want to limit myself to a niche, I don't want to have to monitor what story topics are popular, I have noone's coattail to ride on and I have a hard time being original... guess I'll never build a reputation.

1184047
Are you going to turn into one?

1184513

A GOD AM I!!!

1184640
Of what?

1184671

OF WATER!!

I try to reign in my cynicism as far as reputation goes. The optimist way of looking at things is to just keep writing and striving to improve and a following will build with time. Or there's the lottery approach where suddenly something you've written draws an influx of attention. However, there's no way to truly bank on the latter.

And then there's the sad fact that it's extremely easy to languish in obscurity.

1184753
Then why didn't you get it before?

1233973

Because of complications.

1234274
What complications?

1234280

Serious complications.

1234321
How bad?

1234625

So bad, that I can't tell you lest you faint.

1234630
Okay then...

1234664

Believe me, I'm protecting you.

1234849
I believe you.

1238394

Good, good.

I share much of your sentiments. I write almost purely OC stories. I wonder at times whether I get more views capitalizing on popular characters. However I think writing should be about yourself rather than the accumulation of viewers. Alas having viewers would be a nice bonus.

Possibly silly question, but on a related note: As a (very) new member and writer, my initial plan has consisted of this:

A) Take a page from Iron Will and actually try to write something fiction related. (check)

B) Start writing shorter items in a mild variety of topics to build skills and and understand different characters, ships, etc. (??)

My question pertains to B. I can't say I have a preferred 'niche' yet, but is it wise to branch out and dip the toes in multiple ponds first? Or, just pick a topic and stick with it for a while to really test it out?

Thanks!

1363733 Well, the obvious place to start would be in an area of your interest. For example, I love adventure, sci-fi, and fantasy, so all of my stories either pertain directly to those niches or include elements of those niches. If you enjoy romance, try writing out a simple romance out for size. If comedy is more your thing, give it a try. The rule for your first story is KISS: Keep It Simple, Student. You're just testing the waters, there's no need to dive into the deep end without first learning to swim. Don't make it overly long or horribly involved or convoluted.

1363733
Write about things you like. After gaining confidence in that, branch out and try things you don't like (but don't dislike, either). You may find yourself liking a certain genre just because of something you did.

I hate looking at this knowing I'm none of these.
Oh well. I'll drink myself to sleep, crying all the way.
... Drinking coke, I mean

1455959 You could be like me, drinking myself to sleep with a jar of moonshine after two people left today just to spite me out of my long-hoped-for dream of one thousand members.

1176500NUUUU WAIT FOR ME! -throws laptop- ack I cant run that fast!

1579186

Too slow.

1579478 first I cant rn fast from sitting in front f the computer from writing and then my writing gets me no were and I miss a walk -.-;

1583660

*shouts from the distance*

TOO SLOW!!!

1364422

Well I guess I'm going in the right direction. I do plan on writing stories with a specific headcannon continuity going on (Most of it being along the lines of what is refered to as Utopian fiction, taking place after an... incident involving Discord, but more on that later), but starting off with a simple Slice of Life fic.

1583872 NO! i will not give up!!!!!!

1583872 NO! ive spent all my life trying so hard for this and for what! NOTHING! this isn't going to be taken!!!

1615005

TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

SLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!