Let's Talk About Fanfiction (and test your cleverness) · 7:25pm Mar 25th, 2015
Hi Wonderfolk! I've been posting all sorts of irrelevant stuff lately. Let's get to what we're all here for, eh?
Here are some things I've read recently that I loved.
Let's first take a look at these tragically under-read little oneshots by the talented Fahrenheit. You know, I'm not even sure how I stumbled on these things. I think I noticed Hurricane Watch as a new story on the front page and it piqued my interest. Who knows why?
I'm so glad I read it. I wanted more, so I jumped over to Thrice at Sundown and was even more impressed with the smart storytelling techniques. Fahrenheit has a charm and subtlety to their writing that sucked me right into the story. They're extremely short, fast reads, but boy are they well-written and packed with good visuals. These are wonderful examples of "show, don't tell" for authors who find themselves struggling with that sort of thing. Please go give at least one of these tales a quick read. You won't be disappointed, I promise.
If you're in less of a mood for oneshots and more in a mood to get creeped out (like I've been in for the last several weeks. Beau and I played through P.T. yesterday. SO good.), take a look at SS&E's .out.of.character. WARNING: not for the squeamish. This is Rated M for a reason. But if you don't mind a bit of excellent horror and if you want a story that will stay with you for... um... ever, dive into this trippy, cyclical, damaging story with an ending that will rock you to your bones and make you rethink your life. Lulz. Not even kidding.
Here are some things I'm working on.
... yeah, let's just move on.
Here are some things I'd like to write in the near future.
Here's where you come in, Wonderfolk. I'm gonna write a bunch of titles for the ideas I have. I want you guys to guess what some or all of them might be about. I promise I won't steal your ideas. Well... not without your permission, anyway. Because then it's not really stealing, right?
Sail On, Silver Girl
Ignite Your Bones
If Horses Had Gods
Worm
Feeling Like Something
Absolute Blank
The Strange Case of Doctor Chuckle and Mister Pie
And that's it for me. Thanks, Wonderfolk. Ciao ciao ciao!
Ponky
I'd want to make the guess that this is going to be some sort of parody of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but that's about it. Knowing human ingenuity in general, the chances of things going the same way as the original book are very slim. But I suppose I could chance a guess at it involving Pinkie's multiple personalities or something like that. Hopefully it doesn't involve a debacle of a scientific experiment.
Unfortunately most of Fimfic's community (which has grown far larger than it was 2 years ago) has acquired a taste for trendy stories.
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What? No. Doctor Chuckle and Mr. Pie are both Pinkie's father. The story involves her finding this out and learning about her own abilities in this regard. As for debacles and/or science experiments, I hold no opinion.
(That's a freebie, just in case it matters)
Nopony has a Cutie Mark! Either an [Adventure] involving some kind of magical catastrophe, or just the CMC and a bunch of 'what if's.
Pinkie's dad finds a doll or something that she left behind when she moved to Ponyville, and reminisces for a bit.
That gif's creepy? Sorry, all I see is that dancing pumpkin man. Too silly to be scary!
cdn.gifbay.com/2012/10/pumpkin_dancing_face_man-8938.gif
Old mare Navy vet reflects on her younger years, comparing them to her current, more placid, but still happy life. Possibly an old friend visits town. Meanwhile, the Herald of Galactus passes on choosing Equestria as the titan's next meal after Luna throws the moon at them.
Twilight gets worried about some of the possible side effects miscasting a spell may have.
A younger, dyslexic Applejack considers getting a pet.
Bird.
Lyra reflects upon her companionship with Bon Bon. Later it is hinted she is actually Bon Bon hallucinating she's Lyra hallucinating she's Bon Bon as her evil twin Sweetie Drops shuts off her life support and her soul must fight an endless horde of demons on Sedna in order to revive the Equestrian race after it was destroyed by a rampant singularity that nobody noticed.
imgur.com/3Gpey.jpg
Pinkie Pie discovers an invisibility serum and proceeds to cause havoc across town with it. (While completely naked! Gasp! ...Wait, that's normal.) Her father, an accomplished ghost hunter (credited with the capture of Inky, Blinky, and... Maud) is called in to deal with the apparent haunting.
Wait, did I get the wrong classic sci-fi novel again? Shoot.
I feel as though "Ignite Your Bones" would be your most passionate project, assuming the title is coming from the source material we both know it is. F'naaa.
You probably think I'm gonna choose "Feeling Like Something" don't you? Whelp, for a curve, I'm gonna suggest "Sail On Silver Girl," cuz we both know the source material for that too and I'm most definitely intrigued.
And you're right. Let's move on.
Sail On, Silver Girl
--Something Something Silver Spoon on a boat. "I'M ON A BOAT"
Ignite Your Bones
-- Halloween style party where they set zombies on fire.
If Horses Had Gods
-- Praise
the sunCelestiaWorm
-- Ponies get superpowers while being attacked by giant space whale- oh wait
Feeling Like Something
-- Apple Bloom builds a robot, which develops feelings
Absolute Blank
-- Cutie Mark Crusaders still crusading at the speed of light. Or they become jack-of-trades ponies
The Strange Case of Doctor Chuckle and Mister Pie
-- Pinkie Pie has to sneak a briefcase. Her voices help.
....what?
Sail On, Silver Girl
Silver Spoon distances herself from Diamond Tiara and tries to make amends with a pony they've been bullying for quite awhile.
Ignite Your Bones
A pony becomes infused with elemental fire and goes on a badass vigilante crime-fighting spree.
If Horses Had Gods
The Princesses try to refute the notion that they are gods or god-like, and continuously fail in comedic ways.
Worm
The Princesses discover someone is leaking secrets about themselves to the public and need to figure out who.
Feeling Like Something
Lyra reflects on her relationship with Bon Bon
Absolute Blank
A story about one of the CMC trying to deal with being the last of the group to get their cutie mark.
The Strange Case of Doctor Chuckle and Mister Pie
Pinkie Pie's father is down in the dumps and a filly Pinkie tries to cheer him up, preferably in a noir-style fashion.
"Sail On, Silver Girl" - Silver Spoon reaches an epiphany about her one-sided relationship with Diamond Tiara, and leaves her in the dust to forge a better social network.
"If Horses Had Gods" - a speculation on the state of religion in Equestria, implying via its premise that alicorns are not the equivalent of gods.
"Worm" - Twilight's compulsion to read verges on becoming an obsession.
"Absolute Blank" - the only CMC who hasn't yet attained her cutie mark questions her goals and self-worth.
"The Strange Case of Doctor Chuckle and Mister Pie" - a tipsy Trixie trips over a baguette that Spike dropped.
Sail On, Silver Girl - A story of Diamond Tiara encourageing Silver Spoon to leave, literaly on a boat, to a place where she can have a better life.
Ignite your Bones - Why did Flamey-Twilly get flamey? Twilicorn finds out.
If Horses Had Gods - A Pre-Alicorn Sisters story, where the issue of belief and 'control' of those beliefs is raised, leading to the Alicorn prospect
Worm - Motivational, It is amazing how something simple and seeming unimportant can effect so when lost. (Or for a morbid version, mayhaps a bully pushs somepony too far [or further still, the bully feels like title because of it])
Feeling Like Something - The quest to decide on lunch.
Absolute Blank - Trivia night! I'm sure Twilight or Pinkie will win. Unless they draw an Absolute Blank
The Strange Case of Doctor Chuckle and Mister Pie - *Points out obvious Jekkel and Hyde reference* - Pinkie finds an old suitcase in the attic at the Farm, filled with posters of a magic show long past... (and now she knows she also related to TGaP Trixie :P)
Wait a minute the Comedy and Tragedy tags are the same colour?!
I never noticed that before.
Is there somebody somewhere who thinks Comedy and Tragedy are the same thing?
Here's a few guesses.
Ignite Your Bones
Lights will gui-ui-uide you hooome. I'll always approve of more Coldplay fics, but this title could be so many different stories. I wanna guess it's about Twilight, though. And sad heart-warming-ness.
If Horses Had Gods
The Xenophanes fella, right? In accordance to his stuff, I'll guess it's about Celestia, or maybe Twilight, meeting the actual gods/creators of Equestria, which are obviously the real-horse counterpart of alicorns.
Feeling Like Something
Lyra is back from griffon land, and goes to find Bon-Bon. Bon-Bon has a purpose again.
Absolute Blank
Background Pony fanfiction?
The Strange Case of Doctor Chuckle and Mister Pie
Pinkie Pie experiments on her father to "cure" his aversion to fun, but the result does not match her expectations...
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That's hilarious.
Don't you know not to ask what-am-I-thinking questions? Have you already slid that much after a month off your mission? Screw that noise, I'm taking these titles and running with them.
i.giphy.com/64D5PV1YdiR2M.gif
Alright, let's take a shot at these prompts. They may not actually be what you have in mind, but here's what I would do with these titles:
Sail On, Silver Girl
My first thought is that this would make an awesome title drop, even better if it's not in the same words but in the theme of a conversation. Whatever the story ends up being, I want a conversation between the protagonist and another character about sailing through life. Maybe it's a romance, where the guy calls the protagonist "girl", and she happens to be silver? I'd read it.
Ignite Your Bones
If I were to write a story to fit this title, I would make it the story of Vinyl Scratch's career and rise to fame. It might make for an interesting story, too.
If Horses Had Gods
If you're feeling really edgy, you could make this a HiE, where the Anon character was deeply religious in his old life, so he has to reconcile his current situation with his belief. I don't know if it's been done before, but again, would make a very fascinating story.
Worm
I played with the idea of a one-shot about a worm in an apple, but that would be boring. So unless you want to tell a one-shot from the perspective of the Tatzlwurm, that leaves us with "worm" as a degrading nickname. That would have to be in a different setting, either a different land or a different time, maybe about Clover's apprenticeship to Starswirl the Bearded. It would be a complete re-imagining, making Starswirl a crotchety old jerk who calls his adolescent apprentice "worm". The title made me think of Arthur being called "Wart" in "The Sword in the Stone." I'd read it.
Alternatively, as a one-shot or a novella, Spike could be on another, more serious Dragon Quest, where he meets a truly ancient dragon.
Feeling Like Something
Maybe a prequel story about the origin of the Pinkie Sense? I've always wanted to know how she figured that out. If you don't want to do that, your only other option is to tell the love story of Twilight and Flash Sentry.
Absolute Blank
I'm drawing an absolute blank. Jk. First coherent idea is a story about Twilight before she sees Celestia for the first time, in Magic Kindergarten as a blank-flank. It would be about the origin of her love of studying, after she blanks on a quiz.
The Strange Case of Doctor Chuckle and Mister Pie
Well this one's a pickle. I would go for the obvious multiple-personality story of Pinkie Pie, but that title clearly says "Mister Pie." My next natural thought would be to go to her father, but it's a little tricky to fit a rock farmer into the Dr. Jekyll role. Ooh, here we go: Pinkie Pie as Mary Shelley. Slumber party, telling scary stories. Pinkie Pie tells the story of her grandfather the mad scientist and wins the scariest story contest.
But I just realized that Doctor Chuckle would be the real one and Mister Pie would be the crazy side. So Doctor Chuckle (whoever he is) was once traumatized as a colt by Pinkie Pie, and he's never gotten over it. Laboratory hijinks ensue, and he begins to manifest an alternate personality based on his perception of Pinkie Pie. With or without cupcakes.
Okay, I'm pretty happy with how those turned out. If you don't like them, maybe someday I'll take a shot at them. Maybe you should hold writing contests for title prompts like these. Except that would make site submissions confusing, because all the entries would be under the same title. Hm.
2911751
I like these a lot.
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Like this?
images.pcworld.com/news/graphics/206218-the_social_network_original.jpg
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These.
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Thought you could slip the best sidestory ever past us, did you?
It took me a second, but I got there. Thank you.
I'm so grateful to you for doing this.