Ever wanted to write that one-shot that’ll hit the feature box or start that long-runner that will forever be inscribed on stone for the fandom to enjoy for all eternity? Yeah, me neither; too much work. Question is, how do so many authors manage to do it when half of us are lazy bums?

Hello, my name is Flint Sparks and I’m-

HOWDY-DOODLEY.

I am the voice that lives inside Flint’s head. Otherwise known as Pearple Prose, sexiest metaphysical being to ever not-exist.

I’m cooopercrisp, and if Pearple is the voice in Flint’s head, I’m the voice in his heart.

Oh, you guys… Anyway, I- uh, we’re here to teach you about… Collaborations.

Collaborations, simply put, are when two or more people gather together and share ideas, often in the form of writing. You’ve probably seen plenty by the big names, such as Bronystories or Obselescence, write with fellow writers. They’re useful for improving quality of stories, increasing proliferation, and creating a learning curve.

Because two heads are better than one, or at least, that’s the general consensus. Personally, I think one genius is better than two ordinary people, but you get the point.

Yeah, I’m the genius here. These dudes are just dragging me down. Why would I even need to collaborate, when all my words are like golden honey in literal form? Why, I ask?!

Several reasons, reasons I’d rather not go into but have to anyway! Face it, there’s been days where you just simply cannot write. You have the ideas (or lack thereof), but no drive. Other days you’re rearing and ready to go! But have nothing to write… That’s where partners and brainstorming comes in handy! Hey Cooops, remember when I gave you that free idea?

What? I thought I had to sell my soul to you and live the rest of my days as your slave.

Yes, but at least you got to write about ponies and friendship. Isn’t it magical?

Pffft. I would rather write stories about Sonic the Hedgehog. Ponies are laaaaaaame. But anyway, I have all the ideas I could ever want, and they are all amazing.

I remember when I used to think that way, Pearple. But I think Flint may have a point here. The best ideas are often the ones you can discuss with other writers, right, Flint?

Yes, when you work alone you might have a tendency to go to extremes. Outside opinions provide moderation to your own thoughts and balance out your strengths and weaknesses. For example, I’m the type of writer with an abundance of ideas but writes incredibly lazy. To maximize my efficiency, I prefer to pair up with “serious” writers who come by ideas slowly, but harass me relentlessly until I’m finished. In other words, we compliment each other.

Hey, I have an idea for an awesomazing fic. Hear me out guys: Twilight Sparkle was just having an ordinary day in Ponyville, when she realised that she is actually an AWESOME BADASS. Then she ditches all her friends, cos I hate those guys. Who even likes Applejack? She’s not even a good background pony.

Uh…Pearple? Doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of the show? I mean, the show is called “FRIENDSHIP is MAGIC,” after all.

Not to mention Twilight is incredibly out of character, and you’re thrusting your opinions on characters when the story isn’t even about them. You want different opinions on ideas before you go and publish a story; typically a prereader can tell you if a character or plot is just out of whack, but it’s more convenient to nip that bud before it blooms into a real problem. Hey Cooops, mind providing your own version of Pearple’s “awesomazing” idea?

Sure, I’ll give it a shot. How about instead of Twilight just ditching her friends for no reason, she’s become isolated and lonely because Spike has fallen ill? It would be far more in-character for her to be worried about her closest friend, and it would give her an adequate reason to neglect her other friendships. Then perhaps her other friends can try to find out what’s wrong and eventually force their way into the library and find out about Spike’s illness.

Ah, that’s better… but um, pretty sad. That’s not very “awesomazing” like Pearple wanted. Perhaps a compromise, or when two author’s find common ground between conflicting ideas, is in order? Let me try:

Twilight has been neglecting her friendships as of late since Spike mysteriously fell ill. Concerned, her friends force their way inside her home and discover that the cure for Spike’s illness is only found inside a magical cave guarded by a fierce dragon. Deciding it’s too dangerous, Twilight refuses to let her friend’s risk their lives. In a bout of defiance, Rainbow Dash sneaks out of Ponyville and gets the cure herself.

Oh, and she beats up a dragon. Because she’s Rainbow Dash.

Oh. Oh! OH! I get it now. Yeah, that sounds about 20% awesomazing-er. Now, time to spin my masterpiece:

it wuz an orinary day in poneville and twilet sparjke wuz sad cos spyke was ill—

I’ve seen Flash Sentry stories written better than that. I’ve seen troll-fics written better than that. Well, even Stephenie Meyer writes better than that!

Am I the only one who doesn’t hate Flash Sentry?

No, I wrote one once. I was speaking from experience…. ANYWAY, collaborating with other authors provides a learning curve of sorts. As in, you improve based on the company you write with on a common basis. For example, say you’re a new writer. Given the opportunity, who should you work with?

A.) Someone of equal skill level.
B.) Someone of less skill level.
C.) Someone of higher skill level.
D.) RainbowBob.

If you answered A, you’re like most new writers on this site and are probably going to find writing difficult at first. Instead, you should seek out higher level writers to learn from. No, that does not mean PM the first author you see and harass them. Make friends first! But that’s for another lecture… and no, it’s not about magic.

But how do you get better writers to even give you the light of day? I think it’s hard for a new writer to make friends with more experienced writers without at least demonstrating some modicum of talent. Otherwise, it’s hard to get your foot in the door, isn’t it?

Good question. By the time you’re making friends and seeking out partners to write collaborations with, you should probably have your own stories. Before you can learn, you have to know your own capabilities. Otherwise, you might unintentionally stagnate. But we’ll get to that later.

OK, this is all cool and friendshippy and stuff, but how does that help me get any better? If I go with a better writer than me, then they’ll just take all the credit!

Experience, my friend. Experience. Tell me Pearple, do you know what the difference between active and passive voice is? Or how to use action tags?

...Yes? They’re the ones where you gotta show things right?

Cooops, can you take this one? I have to bang my head on my desk for a few minutes.

Well, to answer your first question, active voice is where-

Whoa whoa whoa, a little off-topic here. The point is that many more experienced authors know the tricks to writing that you might not even know about, and are hard to find even if you read about it in some boring lecture you found on a group page. The key is experience: that’s the one thing that no amount of reading can give you.

Think of the learning curve like this:

When you surround yourself by more experienced, talented, and knowledgeable writers, you can only improve yourself. You’re in a position to listen and learn from the best.

However, when surrounded by authors of equal experience, you stagnate. It’s the big brick wall that often leads to writer’s block. If you’re not learning, you’re not going to get any better. I’m not saying you shouldn’t write with your friends, but rather you should reach out occasionally and meet someone new.

Huh. I get what you’re saying now. So, if I want to get better at writing awesome ponefic, I need to work with even more awesomazing people than me?

Exactly, but I don’t mean you have to actively seek out people are more popular or more prolific than you. Experience is more than general story writing, it also refers to story elements. If you know someone who’s good at something you struggle with, it might be a good idea to team up. Learn from other’s strengths, and help them learn from their weaknesses as well.

So what you’re saying is find someone who complements your skill-set and it’ll be a win-win for both of you?

And that brainstorming is great for making up new, cool ideas for stories?

In order to improve, it’ll prove useful to leave your comfort zone..?

Yeah, all that jazz. To sum things up, collaborations are more than just pumping out fics fast or getting your name out, they’re an opportunity to learn by experience. Think of it like an internship, except that none of us are getting paid…

Maybe someday we’ll be hired by Hasbro because they’re so impressed with our writing…

Flash Sentry and Twilicorn was torture enough; do you want to see red and black alicorns become canon?!

Hey guys! Check it out, I just made this awesome new OC. His name is Polaris Uber-Death-Destroyer, and he’s the son of Luna and Discord and Twilight’s second cousin twice removed!

...Guys?

...And this is why we write pony fanfics instead of having a social life.

Until next time!
Signing off...

~Flint Sparks
~Pearple Prose
~cooopercrisp

Courtesy of bookplayer, head over to the The Collab Cage for further information and collaborative needs.

2174718

D.) RainbowBob.

>implying that all the users on this site aren't actually duplicate accounts of RainbowBob

2174737
Headcanon accepted.

Wait...

2174743
>implying it isn't show canon already

If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room.

-Unknown

2174774
Precisely.

2174774
I don't know, my point of view has always been that if you're the smartest person in the room, and you think a lot about how you're the smartest person in the room, you're probably there because other rooms don't want you.

And on the topic at hand, I think this lecture is incomplete without a push for the Collab Cage, a group where you can start and find collabs with writers of all levels. Just, read the rules. They're there for a reason, and in my personal experience there's no better way to make yourself look bad than to not read the rules of a forum.

2174718
Oh, I would know all about this, considerin' how ya approached me for a collab during one-shotober, you sneaky rascal, you.

2174859
Oh, totally forgot to add that link.
Thanks!
It's not a lecture, just a pro-tip. But thanks for the help!

In my personal experience there's no better way to make yourself look bad than to not read the rules of a forum.

2174889 It's not a lecture, just a pro-tip.

Not reading the lable of the thread you're replying to, on the other hand, is totally professional and something smart people do all the time.

2174910
I didn't learn anything!

2174718

Pro-Tip

This is a very long... "tip."

2175551
Woops, read that wrong. It should be a sub-lecture.

2174718

Pearple Prose is best voice.