Comma-Kazie

Unfortunately, it looks like the clock's run out. Thank you everyone for your questions tonight, and thank you for reading!

Okay. here another one. Have you ever looked back on any of your published stories,  where you went "I should've done this instead" or "I've got much better ideas for this now", moments where you look at your stories some time after it's been published, and you think about wanting to change, improve or implement new ideas into it?

 

Cause that's something that's kind of halting my writing process. Last year, I thought I had solid concepts for the fic I had planned. Now everything I had planned has changed. Some characters got scrapped. New ones thrown in. Those that stayed got new quirks and personality overhauls, and planned conflicts between them ended up shifting. 

 

How do you know when the right time to jump on an idea is, and not regret publishing it too soon or going back to scrap and re-write it for something "better?"

Have a plan for the whole story from start to finish, and take time to plot out the important things That Have To Happen. Don't be afraid to make changes along the way, but you have a much better plan of seeing your story to the end if you have a solid blueprint at the beginning.

I like to believe tropes are tools and that they're not always bad.

Oh, certainly. Like more literary tools, you just have to be careful how you use them.

Thank you for tuning in! 

Would one of those worst episodes happen to be "MMMystery on the Friendship Express"?  Cause to me, that episode is wretched.  :okiedokielokie:

That and "Rainbow Falls" stand out among my most hated episode.

I certainly never thought she was the closed-off nag Cloud thought she was either, there were just barriers between the two that we never got an opportunity to see torn down, so that's what's fun about seeing how Nimbus may try to actually do so when she gets the chance. 

 

A more general fandom question for you all: what's your favorite season of MLP and why?

Season 1. That was the only one where there were never any really 'bad' episodes, and I enjoyed the Grand Galloping Gala being a background story arc that was interspersed throughout the episodes.

I'd like to ask what authors do you each feel have had the biggest influence on your particular styles of writing?  

Much as Chen and Poni said, it's a compilation of the books I've read over the course of my life, with Jim Butcher being a big influence in recent years.

Well, much like most many others I fell quite the hiatus after preparing an overhaul in my own story. And unfortunately, said hiatus has extended through months due to schedule issues and a tad of sloth. This wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the fact that if I don't practice customarily, many synonims and expressions just fade out. I tried some methods like transcribing several words which I mean to keep, but it hasn't worked very efficiently, and just spamming formal and obscure words in every given message and reply I peddle here may or may not be a bit bothersome for the rest of the users (or at the very least that's what I believe they might think).

 

So, what I'm asking is if there's any efficient exercise you might know about that could help me to practice daily without the need of conceiving a plot for it.

 

Or, on the other hand, what do you guys do to stir some inspiration? Music? Pictures? Or plain insight? 

Usually I have an idea of how I want a story or scene to play out, then go to music with an appropriate tone to help me flesh it out. I know I went back to An End, Once And For All quite a lot when I was working on From the Mouths of Fillies.

Very good, and yeah, I think you're right about it being for a Winningverse event.  On a related note, you wrote as a sequel to Chengars "Winning Pony: Road Not Taken" the one-shot "Road Not Taken: Going Home."  What was it like getting to write a Nimbus who's softer and didn't have nearly as many regrets as canon-Winningverse Nimbus did?  I mostly ask because (and Chengar could attest to this from the exchanges we've had when I've thrown questions and ideas his way for my fic) Nimbus is probably my oddly enough favorite original character in Winningverse, even though we got to see so little of her in the canon, and I'm doing something similar to what you did there in that, in my fic "Batmare Begins" continuity, the Kicker family is essentially the Winningverse one, but in addition Nimbus is still around following the events of the Changeling invasion.  So I just wanna know what it was like for you getting to expand on her character, but also write her in this alternate universe Winningverse where things, essentially, went the way they were supposed to originally for the Kickers.

I really enjoyed expanding on her, even if it was just for one story. Seeing a happier and more fulfilled Nimbus is something I'd like to expand on more in that continuity, and it's fun to contrast her quietly loving and supportive style of parenting to what I'm used to with Derpy's 'Hugs and muffins for all mah bebehs!' method of motherhood.

Its said the two most important elements of writing are characters and story/plot. Have you read stories that had great characters but an uninspired or even bad story, or had bad characters in a good storyline?

Nothing comes to mind, though I may have simply forgotten them after I stopped reading. That said, I do remember being underwhelmed by book one of Tales of Earthsea. There was a lot of interesting world-building, but nothing to make me feel invested in the main character.

Most punctuation marks, I know how to use. But, the semicolon ( always confuses me. When are appropriate times to use them?

Semicolons help connect closely related ideas when you need something stronger than a comma, but not as strong as a new sentence (a period). That said, you should use them sparingly--one or two per page of text is generally a good limit. 

http://www.fimfiction.net/writing-guide#Commas-semicolons-colons-dashes-and-ellipses

I am looking forward making use of that character in the Venture stories. One advantage of having a series set a good decade+ before the show's canon is that I can play with a character we killed off canonically.

True enough. That is going to be fun to flesh out.

One thing I've always wanted to try is make readers sympathize with a villian.

Do you think there's any sort of bias towards longer or shorter stories? Short stories (especially comedies or tragedies) tend to get a lot of promotion on, say, Equestria Daily and get a huge number of readers. At the same time, sometimes it feels like longer stories can't attract readers outside of a hardened fanbase who were on board when you started writing. There are exceptions like Past Sins or Fall Out Equestria, but those were some of the earliest major, well-written works in the fandom. Do you agree/disagree?

I can't speak for Equestria Daily, but I will say that there is some hesitation on a lot of readers' parts to jump into a long story if it's unfinished, simply because no one wants to get invested in a story that an author could lose interest in or not come back to for a very long time. (I admit, I am guilty of this particular sin.) Thus, I think shorter stories will get more immediate attention and longer stories will go into the 'Wait and see' pile unless they're from an author readers trust to see things through.

This question is directed at you Comma.  One of your more unusual stories compared to your usual fare is "The Incredibly Valuable Contract of a Sellsword Changeling."  What motivated you to write that story?  You're certainly no stranger to tragedy in your stories (most apparent given the name of the fic-verse you originated  ), but this fic was most unusual given whose POV it was from.  Writing from a villain's POV is nothing new, but was it difficult getting in this particular changeling's head and trying to present how they would perceive such a grim and horrible task?

As I recall, Sellsword came about as part of a Winningverse writing event where the challenge was to write from a PoV that was in the Winningverse but not one of the main characters of Life and Times. The changeling who abducted Nimbus Gust (lovingly referred to as 'Momling' by us) was something of a blank slate--we saw its disguise as Nimbus, but once that arc has reached its climax, that was the end of it.

I wanted to do some more with that, and get some world-building in as well to differentiate the canon led-by-Chrysalis changelings and the Free Mind changelings we'd created for Life and Times. It honestly was a lot of fun to create Momling--the use of 'this one' (borrowed from Mass Effect's hanar) helped form a character for whom a sense of self was detached and private, even from its own thoughts while on the job. From there, all that was needed was a dose of cold professionalism and a few self-imposed rules to keep Momling in the Lawful Evil side of things.

 How lenient should writers be with taking creative liberties in the way they present the story? I've seen authors use colored text for different characters, gratuitous bold and italicized words, and even cutting up paragraphs partway through to show characterization (somehow). Where is the line, or does it all come down to how well good the story is in the end?

Anything you do, especially stuff like that, should have a reason and fit within the context of the scene, character, dialogue, etc. Too much of it without a good reason will make your story hard to follow.

Oh, thought of another one: assuming you fall prey to it at some point, how do you get over the "I don't feel like writing today" slump? Because I get that more often than not and simply can't convince myself to put down even one hundred words of a random scene.

Write anyway. Once you start, it'll help remove the block and the words will start to flow.

How often do you write/edit/etc. per day? Do you set aside time for it, or do you just work on stories when the mood strikes you?

I'm generally editing things piecemeal every day, though when someone puts out a Last Call, I burn through the chapter from start to finish in an evening or two.

How do you deal with lofty expectations for your stories? What I mean is that recently one of my stories kind of exploded in popularity far more than I could have imagined, and I've had people commenting saying things like "Oh, this is one of the best stories I've ever read!" or "I hope [this] happens!" followed by "I hope [this] doesn't happen." or things like "Why didn't you do [that]?"

 

I know I can't please everyone, but the fear that I could royally screw this up though no fault of my own is making it harder to put word to paper.  

If you have editors, proofreaders, or collaborators, listen to them; you don't have to agree with them, but know that they're trying to help you make your story the best it can be.

The comments section you can take or leave, though do leave yourself open to feedback and constructive criticism. As I said previously, write the story you want to write--only write what someone else wants if you're being commissioned.

* What is it like to be such recognized authors in the fandom? Do you get a lot of fan mail, requests for assistance, etc. or is it pretty quiet overall?

 

* How long do you sit on an idea before actually writing anything for it? Is it a relatively instantaneous process, or do you (like me) mull the idea over for a few days/weeks to get it "just right?"

 

* What are your favorite authors outside of the fandom (i.e. Tolkein, Lovecraft, Adams, etc)?

I admit to a little pride, for for me it's generally pretty quiet. That said, I'm nowhere near as prolific an author as Chen or Poni, so there may be a correlation there.

For my stories, it depends--I don't leave an idea in my head too long lest I lose it, but actually fleshing it out beyond brainstorming can take anywhere from a week to a month or more.

Jim Butcher is the obvious contender, though I also enjoy Robert Greene (of The 48 Laws of Power), Roger Crowley (Empires of the Sea), HP Lovecraft, RA Salvatore, and Stephen King.

When you're writing your fanfics, do you try and view them from a readers point of view, and has there ever been parts you've written that you were worried might not go over so well with some?

Not really, no. I (and I think I speak for all of us) write a story that I and the Winningverse group would want to read. If others on FimFiction want to read it, awesome. If not, that doesn't bug me. I'm a firm believer in the free market of ideas.

I was kinda wondering about something UNwriting related... if I may? What is your preferred genre/style of music?  

It depends on the mood I'm in, but I usually enjoy strong orchestral scores like Denny Schnidemesser's work, symphonic metal like Nightwish, or else fandom/geek culture-oriented stuff like from Miracle of Sound.

Do you often find yourselves living within the minds of your characters as you work with them?

Pretty often. It helps my stay in character and choose how a story progresses based on the choices they would make.

If you wanted to highlight other MLP fanfiction authors who should get more attention who would you recommend?

Hyperexponential. He only has two stories under his belt so far, but they're criminally underrated.

Seeing as I write a crossover, a very extensive and lengthy one, I'm curious, if any of you read them, what you believe the biggest problem with crossovers, either on Fimfiction or in fanfiction in general, is?  What also makes for the best type of crossover in fanfiction in your opinion (and that can be in execution, premise, whatever)?

The biggest issue with crossover stories is the same with any fan fiction: when an author doesn't fully understand or develop the universe they're writing in. A good grasp on the universe you're writing in is important for any fanfiction, and doubly so when there's more than one involved.

Insofar as what makes for the best kind of crossover, I think the best ones are the ones that take two preexisting universes and uses the characters and rules in each to do something new, rather than just having the characters meet up and have the meeting be the only experience. (Not that that can't be done well, mind--Forever! is a good example of just that.) Loyal2Luna is an absolute master of this.

What is your favorite fanfic? And what is your favorite fic written by your co-panelists? (i.e. Chen what is your favorite story by Comma and Poni, Comma what is your favorite Chen and Poni fics, etc.)

I have a hard time picking just one favorite, but my top five favorites in alphabetical order are:

• Fallout: Equestria
• It Takes A Village
• My Little Alicorn
• The Colour You Bleed
• The Flight of the Alicorn

As for my favorite from Chen and Poni ... oof. That's a hard call. I think I'd have to go with Princess Twilight's Protector and the Prankster Pests and Twilight Sparkle vs. the Haunted Mailbox, respectively.

En versus em, space versus unspaced; what is your preferred implementation of the dash?

My personal preference is emdash, unspaced.

Writer- Seeking-Advice: What's the difference between showing and telling? Are there times when telling is helpful instead of hurtful. If so, when?

I think Ezn's writing guide answers this very nicely: http://www.fimfiction.net/writing-guide#Show-versus-tell

Do you have trouble writing for a shared continuity?

Not really; it helps that we collaborate really heavily and can bounce ideas off each other from brainstorming onwards. We'll have our differences of opinion on how things should go sometimes, but we always work it out in the end.

What do you think makes a successful story.

 

Strong characters, something for them to work for/towards, and an interesting setting for it all to happen in.

Anyways, a serious followup question for you all, and one I've always been curious about; you've got some wonderful original characters, and have fleshed out some background characters in fantastic ways as well.  When it comes to main characters, though, particularly the Mane 6, you obviously walk a bit of a balancing act between having them stay true to their characters but also fitting into the Winningverse in their own unique ways (Rainbow Dash in particular is the first that comes to mind, her Winningverse self has always struck me as very distinct from her show self).  How do you three go about deciding how to write all of them, that is, what's a bigger priority, staying true to canon or being distinctly Winningverse characters?  

Poni hit the nail on the head. Deviating from canon is very dangerous, especially since the Winningverse is meant to compliment the canon of the show so precisely.

On average how long do each of you spend on revisions?

 

Do you agree with Hemingway's assessment on the guaranteed quality (or lack thereof) off initial drafts?

 

Considering the dearth of commercial short form fiction available to readers, do you feel that fan fiction and digital publishing in general can serve to fill this need for a wider audience?

We generally let a chapter go for a week or so while I and the other proofreaders pick it over, then send out a 48-72 hour notices for the Last Call. 

In answer to Hemingway, I go with Patton's words of wisdom that no plan survives implementation. How much it deviates will vary from author to author.

Absolutely I do. Honestly, I think that's why fan fiction has taken off like it has in the digital age.

Mind if I ask another question?

 

Yes, I do. AWAY WITH THEE, MORTAL!!!!

(j/k, of course)

If you were going to ship ponies in a story, which two would you pick to pair up & write about?

Well, I'm a little biased towards Winningverse ponies, so if I really wanted to write a shipping story, I'd go more in-depth with Star Kicker and Sparkler.

Any advice on how to first hook your reader into the story?

Have a strong, short opening that grabs readers' attention--usually no more than three sentences. The best example I can think of comes from our universal inspiration Jim Butcher in the book Blood Rites: "The building was on fire and it wasn't my fault."

What was the most cringeworthy mistake you ever made in writing your MLP stuff (grammar/spelling, plot point, mischaracterization, etc.)?

When I made the cover art for The Incredibly Embarrassing Parents of Rainbow Dash, I misspelled 'embarrassing' and didn't notice it until a few days after it went live.