Pony Fanfiction Thread

Okay, so then it would be a good idea to not write the 'scene', let's call it the scene for the sake of SFW (if you can call it that) and focus more on what happens after the scene, with how the characters are holding up and the like.

What he said. Showing the actual thing in detail would only distract from the consequences.

Thread seems a bit dead.

And, I don't know how some people do it. Writing with only one character as the only POV you get results in very short chapters, it seems. This coming Sombra's Return chapter is turning out to be that way.

Depends on what's happening in the chapter, I guess. That's true, though; the more focused the story is on one character the shorter the chapters can be.

Well, it does carry the point across, though. I keep to a rule that the chapters should only be as long as the plot demands them to be.

Bit of a spoiler for the one after this one: Spike gets to accompany Fluttershy. Because no way am I gonna send little Fluttershy into Dragon Scale Woods on her own. Plus, it might get the chapter longer.

edited 15th Jul '14 12:22:14 PM by Kurush

Random Plot Bunny: While maquerading as Cadance, Chrysalis took a goofy duckface pic of herself with Cadance's phone. When Cadance returns, she posts the goofy picture on the internet and it goes viral, much to Chrysalis' chagrin.

Why would Chrysalis be annoyed by that? Nopony would be able to tell it was her, and she already has a Hundred Percent Adoration Rating anyway (at least with her actual subjects). It also sounds more like an EQG story than a FIM story.

edited 15th Jul '14 1:19:58 PM by CleverPun

Well, the idea was that she took a picture of herself out of disguise for some reason, and she prefers to think that her troops fear her. I never said it was a good idea.

Ah—from the way it was worded it sounded like she was still in disguise.

Still doesn't seem like a big deal though—the comics (for whatever those are worth) show her being pretty jocular with her subordinates. And I highly doubt she would drop her disguise in the middle of a covert operation unless she had a really good reason.

She's jocular with her direct subordinates, but the general populace might be a different story.

General populace of ponies or changelings? Considering that her plan was to take over Canterlot (and then Equestria) via overwhelming force, the former doesn't seem like it would bother her. And if the latter, I don't see why the lower-ranked (?)changelings would be much different from her lieutenants.

Though, again, the idea would work much better in an EQG-esque setting.

Yeah, I didn't really think it through much, mainly because the likelihood of me actually writing it is pretty small.

Reminds me of every idea I've ever had. P:

Yeah, I have a pretty terrible backlog of ideas anyway. Right now, I'm trying to decide what to use for my next major project after ADB finishes up. I have two main ideas that I'm considering, one that's mostly a social story and one that's more adventurey and digs a lot more into worldbuilding and such.

Woo-hoo! I finally updated one of my stupid shipfics!

Considering making a reference to Morten Lauridsen in my fic, but I think that'd be lost on anyone who doesn't have a background in choral music.

Basically, he's a choral composer who's written a lot of extremely beautiful pieces... but they kind of all sound samey. He's considered sort of typical of modern choral music - it either sounds like Lauridsen or Whitacre.

Fic is full of music references and the like, as the characters are classical musicians. Context would be an exchange that goes "choral music all sounds samey" "no it doesn't!" "it doesn't when every group on the program does something by Morten Boredsen."

Not a very good name for a spoof, though.

Heh. Boredsen.

Still, I think that references like that can be gratifying, sometimes. For the people who get them they're nice, and for everyone else if the context is clear enough then the meaning is there if nothing else.

Well, the best references are ones that those who understand it get, but those who don't, don't even realize there was a reference.

Yeah. I actually just got a nice comment from someone commenting that even though my story is full of jargon (for example, the characters were meeting and going over rehearsal notes and using very technical terms to discuss things), the context and characterization is strong enough he doesn't feel like he's missing anything.

Like Seraphem said, if it doesn't bog down the story, there's no reason not to include it. Most references tend to slip by readers anyway—you should assume no one will get it when you put it in there, which is why it still needs to work without context. I can count on one hand the number of people who recognized any of my references to the Who or James Brown, but none of them were crucial to understand the stories they were in.

I crammed a bunch of references into my story. And the one I got the most complaints about was the least obscure reference. I think because most of my readers didn't even realize I was making a reference to Smoke Signals or Duke Ellington or the KLF.

I think the most obscure reference I've put in any of my stories was a mention of a hyacinth bouquet.

Speaking of shout outs...

Can anyone think of some distinct concert openings? Not the first song played, or even the intro music before the band starts—I'm thinking of stuff the band says to the audience before they start playing. I've got a concert in my story, and I want the band to pay homage to (ie shamelessly rip off) someone else's opening.

So far, all I can think of is MC 5's "It's time to kick out the jams motherfuckers!" (Which wouldn't be the right tone at all.) Or Talking Heads' bit from Stop Making Sense: "Hi. I've got a tape I want to play."

I can't really think of anything; I don't go to concerts that often, so aside from the "Hello [city]]! Are you ready to rock?" boilerplate I've got nothing.

DO YOU LIKE A DE CRAFF!?

Me tooooo...

edited 17th Jul '14 12:11:40 PM by kegisak