Keystones & Arcs: What's to Come in Wavelengths! · 4:53pm Oct 14th, 2016
Good day fillies and gentlecolts!
I’m happy to announce that coming this Monday, you’ll get to read the final piece of the short trilogy that began with The Application of Unified Harmony Magics.
When Celestia first laid eyes on Twilight Sparkle, she knew she’d seen her somewhere before. Though she’d managed to hide this from both Sunset and Twilight, after they departed for the evening, Celestia needed to be sure.
With her trusted aide Raven at her side and a dangerous threat on the horizon, Celestia heads to the offices of the Equestrian Secret Service to investigate her suspicions.
Because if she’s right, the possibility of eternal night is the least of Equestria’s concerns.
The Cloudsdale Report will wrap the short Keystone arc surrounding the events of Sunset Shimmer’s meeting with Twilight Sparkle and just what sort of waves that will cause. It’s also unique… because it’s told from Celestia’s perspective instead of Sunset’s (my first story outside of Sunset or Twilight’s head).
So, going forward, I plan to write these stories a bit more logically. I didn’t really like bouncing all the way back seven years from Applications to Grading on a Bell Curve. I know it threw some people and Bell Curve didn’t get a lot of attention because of it. I also may not have had a snappy enough synopsis or elevator pitch (short synopsis). There are likely a few reasons.
Now before we get into what’s coming, I want to explain something about how these stories are going to work. There are two kinds of stories in the Wavelengths Timeline: Keystone Stories and Arc Stories, plus the singular Capstone Story.
Keystone Stories are critical events during the Wavelengths Timeline, often during important historical moments or closing/opening ongoing story arcs. The Applications Trilogy is one such Keystone. Sparks, which will tell the tale of Sunset’s battle with Nightmare Moon, is a stand-alone Keystone Story. In addition, The Alchemy of Chemistry, my latest story, is both a Keystone Story and the beginning of the “Origins Arc,” which shows Sunset meeting the ponies who will become her closest friends. The Origin Arcs ends with the Applications Trilogy, which also kicks off another Arc: “Infatuations and Other Lies.”
At present, there are four stories planned for the Origins Arc and five for the Infatuations and Other Lies Arc. That arc will end with the massive Keystone Novel of Sparks which will launch the “Destinies Arc” that will span four stories (one of those may turn into a full-fledged adventure novel). Finally, there’s one last arc, “Broken Vision” (currently at two stories) which will cumulate in the Capstone Story, Wavelengths Theorems.
So what does this all mean? First of all, it means that I actually have a good idea where I’m going with this and how it starts and how it ends.
It also means that I have 20 stories planned for Timeline. Six are already complete. Three are published. Two are currently works-in-progress.
You’re probably wondering why I would undertake such a enormous endeavor. Well, there’s a few reasons. When I had my injury a while back, I was unable to any writing for my professional works for a year and a half. So, I needed something to help me get back into the groove. These stories are helping me get my mind back into storytelling mode and not only that, follow through. I have trouble finishing long stories. I have a massive vision and I want to see it completed (and I’m sure you do too).
So, what’s next, you ask?
Well, I’m happy to announce the story I just completed a few days ago and will be going into editing soon: The Alchemy of Chemistry.
Stuck as an aide to a bunch of second-year students at Gifted Unicorns, Sunset Shimmer thought picking one to tutor might make things a little more bearable… and maybe help things along with Princess Celestia.
She doesn’t actually care about this ‘Moon Dancer’ filly. She’s just a means to an end.
So why can’t Sunset sleep after Moon Dancer storms out on her after one of their tutoring sessions? Why are the Princess and Professor Polish so concerned about her? Why did she end up screaming at a first-year in the middle of a hallway in front of the whole school?
But most importantly, why is Sunset starting to doubt herself?
This was all part of the plan. Right?
This is a very different story than what you’ve read. Applications was a slice of life story that danced on the edge of comedy. Bell Curve was a more serious tale with a few comedic scenes to help relieve tension, but it goes out on a very positive note. Princess Celestia: A Brief History was started as a comedy slice-of-life while progressing the overall story. Cloudsdale will be a mystery while turning the entire world on its head.
Alchemy is a full-blown drama. Clocking in at nearly 30,000 words, it’s the full story behind exactly what happened at the end of Sunset’s first term as an aide for Professor Apple Polish. While everypony who’s read History knows the ending, how Sunset got to that point and just who she was before that point… that’s a pretty big deal. Yeah. This event creates shockwaves throughout the rest of Sunset’s life. Originally I tried to keep the word count down, but in reality, I realized the story I needed to tell just needed to be a lot bigger and more expansive.
It’s also the first story where I wrote 14,000 words before scrapping nearly all of the story and starting over again. This story was hard to write. I had to fight it every step of the way until I finally reached the breaking point and slammed out the finale with doing 13,000 words in a day. I’ll get into the specifics of why this all happened after its publication in my Retrospective.
Finally, I wanted to give you folks a glimpse at the cover design for Sparks.
The Elements of Harmony have been shattered, destroyed before her very eyes. Celestia has vanished. Night hangs heavy over the world.
Separated from her friends in the ancient ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters, Sunset Shimmer now faces one of the greatest threats Equestria has ever known: the creature calling herself Nightmare Moon.
And while Sunset and her friends may have survived the Everfree Forest, Nightmare Moon has one final ace to play: Sunset’s own personal nightmare. The thing she fears above all else...
Herself.
Sparks remains my favorite story that I’ve written in this universe. I’ve brought myself to tears re-reading it… I was crying while writing some parts of it. It’s going to be both an Adventure and a Thriller, but oddly enough, it’s a Slice-of-Life as well. I tried something I’ve never done before: parallel storytelling over time. You’ll get two perspectives, one from the present and one from the past, all coalescing into one climatic epic battle… and so much more, plus a huge curveball at the very end.
Sparks is another story that practically wrote itself. It really felt like it was already done somewhere… and I just needed to get it down on paper. I was so locked into writing it, I simply couldn’t stop once I reached the end.
I will also mention that I will likely give Sparks a Teen rating for some dark tones. Now, I don’t think it’s worth getting a full “Dark” tag. It’s got nothing on how dark stories like Hard Reset or Sunset of Time can get, but it’s much more a psychological thriller.
Still, it’s powerful stuff. Definitely my favorite and while it needs some expanding, it’s going to clock in at nearly 50,000 words. I can’t wait to get my beta reader’s reactions.
I’ll have a bit more information on upcoming plans in my Cloudsdale Retrospective, so make sure to check it out if you’re interested in seeing the future of Wavelengths!
I know I’ve been a bit on the quiet side lately, save for the stories. There’s been a lot going on in my personal life (isn’t that the excuse all writers on here give? Ah well, means I’m in good company). A lot of extreme stress, family chaos, work intensity with a sprinkle of severe depression thrown in for variety’s sake. But I’ve been writing. However, I haven’t been working on those Followups as much as I wanted to. I’ve got a few I really want to do soon. And hopefully, I will. I’m not sure which will be first, but I’ve got at least two that deserve full Followups. Both of which made me cry. One for being so damn happy and the other… for being so damn personal.
Ever read a story that seems like it was written just for you? That it hits so close to home it’s frightening? No? Maybe it’s just me. Then again, I’m crazy. I don’t think anyone around here doubts that.
Then again, you’re reading my stuff, so you aren’t exactly doing great on that sanity scale yourself. 
Well, I think that’s it for now! I’ll be going through my final audible edits this weekend and hope to get The Cloudsdale Report out to you by Monday at 12PM Pacific. Now that I’ve finally passed that darn bug that made me go through moderation with History, I finally have control!
So I’ll see you all Monday to finish the Applications trilogy!
Why isn't it tomorrow yet! Must reaaaad!
Okay, seriously, I need "Sparks" in my life right now. I got chills just reading the description because I know you will make it an amazing ride.
Wow, just wow. And judging by earlier stories, i'm sure you can pull all those off.
.
And thanks for the answer who will be the Drumknott to Celestia's Vetinari
4255540 You must have missed the evil Starlight/Snow Frost up there.
4255571 To be honest... even I get chills with that synopsis, because I also know it really doesn't do it justice. While I want to get the "Infatuations" Arc done before I release it, it's going to be hard. But releasing it early would be like hopping into the fourth season of Babylon 5 without watching Seasons 1-3. You'll figure out what's going on... but it's just so much more powerful when you've been on the journey to see the destination.
4255638 Thank you kindly. And yes. Raven is indeed the aide, though she's not quite as unflappable as Drumknott.
4258453 I did! Also I totally misread and didn't see the 'monday'.
Now, don't forget what we talked about!
4259298 Hey now, you're going to have to wait for that agreement until Wavelengths!
4259620 Fair enough! Just making sure it wasn't forgotten!
4259622 I have added it to my Scrivener data workshop notes for Wavelengths. It shall be remembered! I keep my silly and ridiculous promises!
4259623
Good, good...