It is underway+question+the future! · 7:50pm Feb 29th, 2012
Hey all,
Just writing here to give y'all a progress update. Yes, I missed my hoped-for release date: between my submission to EQD and the length of the upcoming part itself, it never happened.
But that's the good news: like Reminiscence before it, I'm likely gonna have to split this upcoming part as well. Revised name for Ditz and Spitz Part Five: The Best Young Flier.
Anyway, it is getting cranked out. We're at 3,332 words and have a ways yet to go. If I keep it as one part, it's likely to break my previous word record of 4,182 currently held by part 3.
So, onto the question. This is one of those doozies that just completely stumps me: Do ponies have arms or front legs? I know as quadrupeds, they should be front legs, but since they aren't dedicated quadrupeds and frequently use their front legs as arms...confusing. I'm leaning toward arms: gorillas often travel on all fours, but people still refer to the front limbs as arms.
Our final item, the future of the story as related to EQD! As I stated in my previous post, the issue of an official, cannon Derpy caused some submission issues.
DISCLAIMER: I do not approve of the episode retraction. As posted in an earlier journal, I believe the show writers should only have to focus on what the viewers will like, rather than worrying about what will upset the viewers. If they do have to worry about that kind of thing, a show can quickly stop entertaining its viewers.
That being said, it has been done, and I might as well take advantage of it and keep calling her Ditzy. I haven't heard back from the EQD submissions yet, but it is possible (possible) that renaming Ditzy to Derpy may no longer be necessary for submission.
I honestly have less trouble with switching Ditzy's crazy dialogue (the other main issue). It is confusing to a number of readers, it isn't too vital, and the plausibility of my current plan for it is...shaky.
I'm obviously not going to go into too much detail here, but I would most certainly like to here from you if you want it kept as is. I've only heard from the one side who could take it or leave it, and I strive to examine all points of view.
Hopefully, I'll get part five out before the end of the week, but again, no promises.
P.S: The idea of switching her dialogue is not new. I have been thinking about it for some time. This simply brought it out into the open.
The referenced journals and my past journals can be found on my deviantart page here: http://poinger.deviantart.com/
Common parlance uses front legs or forelegs, yet anatomically speaking, they're properly called arms. Use of that term might confuse readers unfamiliar with equine anatomy, however.
As for Derpy, Derpygate has worked in your favor. I'm asking you, as a pre-reader, to change the dialogue (and address whatever other issues there might have been) and resubmit. She can be called Ditzy as far as I'm concerned. I'd really like to see this story up on the blog, personally.