2017 March Update Post: Bricks · 1:56pm Mar 2nd, 2017
Where do these months go?
Because other methods fail, I've started measuring time in uni assignments. The next hand-in is in ... three? Four? Five weeks time? The term papers are soon after that. Probably weeks, maybe months. I should really check, but it gives me two elastic, inexact units of time to work with. Better than months.
On today's agenda, two much-delayed links to others' works, and one status update. Let's get the words-on-words out of the way first.
I'm still writing.
Done? No? No, okay. Fine. We're doing the overly complicated and flowery version then.
I have a book in my bookshelf. In fact, the astute observer—who would have to somehow gain access to my apartment—would notice that I have many books in and around my bookshelf. Some spill onto my work desk. I have one particular book, though. The book in question is China Miéville's Perdido Street Station.
I talk about this book often because reading it was a singular experience for me. Now, that was over ten years ago, and I'm at this point convinced that re-reading it would be a terrible idea, but I recommend it to people based only on the experience of my first reading of the work. I'm not going into that, because I've talked about my feelings for this book before. Today, I'll be talking about the book for a different reason.
Y'see, the damn thing is a brick.
Perdido Street Station is 220,100 words, says Google. For reference, most average length books—and each of the books of the Lord of the Rings trilogy fits this startlingly well—clock in at around 150k words. Miéville's brick is a big brick.
Why am I talking about bricks? Fair question. I could probably explain how one side of my family's been into construction and architecture for generations, but my expertise never went beyond low-level IKEA stuff.
No, I'm talking about bricks because the thing I'm writing is coming up on that brick-y number, and fast.
Now, we (as fanfiction readers) exist in a space where that's not necessarily impressive. In fact, there are several reasons why this isn't remarkable or impressive in any way: Most large fandoms feature multiple 500k or even 1m+ word works. It's not a record. Furthermore, as I can attest from studies and experience both, length and quality do not necessarily have a positive relationship. Often the opposite, in fact.
What remains an undeniable fact is that it's the longest cohesive work I've ever written. I'm feeling good about that and you can't take that away from me. It's long, getting longer, and I see at most one scene that may be redundant. I see more segments, chapters and ideas that need expanding.
I look forward to sharing it, but realistically, I don't even know if this'll be done before my exams this semester. Now, that's not an excuse—the exams likely needing a very small amount of time and attention—but a prediction. This fic got out of control a long time ago, and only now do I have a real handle on it. I have everything mapped out to some degree, but I can't even say it's "close to done".
Tldr: Unless there's a new definition of "spring", there's probably gonna be a new season of MLP out before this thing hits the non-shelves. And that's fine.
That's an update on writing. Despite all the effort I spend telling you, myself, and anyone who'll listen that I've achieved this transcendental state of "writing for the self", we're probably both aware that to some degree that's a load of hay. Know that there are people out here who'll read (or consider reading) what I write is hugely motivating. Thinking that there are two or three people who'll read these rants that I put non-zero efforts into, that's also exceptionally encouraging.
Thank you. I hope to be worth it in the end with this story.
Other things have happened, too!
Kits, that brilliant bastard demi-troll, updated one of his 2013 stories with new (and amazing) cover art, as well as a lovely polish pass that's left the story the best it could possibly be.
If you never read On a Moonless Light, you owe it to yourself if you at all appreciate comedy and randomness. I really appreciate stories that manage to be off the rails whilst also remaining grounded enough that they don't come across as mashing the keyboard for lol-so-random points. It good.
In addition, Still Waters' eternal war continues. Sometime after the dinosaurs roamed the land—but well before the last ice age ended—he decided to do a comic/graphic novel project of one of my least read stories, Ode to Friendship. It didn't get a lot of attention, but it's very dear to me, and I love him for it.
The linked page is #11 out of an estimated six thousand or so, and it was a particularly beautiful one. If you never got around to reading Ode to Friendship, maybe the comic form is more easily digestible! It's about Pinkie Pie stopping Octavia from eating a cucumber roll, or depression. One or both.
(Also, if you read Twice as Bright, you might appreciate this.)
I think that wraps us up for now, and I've even done a little housekeeping. Go me. I'm going to make breakfast and get cracking on today's writing. I keep thinking that I've said I'll do a post about writing, and I have a lot of thoughts about the creative processes that go into writing a novel (freed from the concept of fanfic: very general stuff), but I never find a way to express it. Hmh.
Awesome. Excited to see this fic sometime, cause your writing is always worth the wait. And that pic is hilarious and brought the whole ending of TaB back to me.
4441617 Hopefully I can finish it before people (as in, the very concept of People) disappear. And yeah, the picture is excellent! I have so many skilled friends, and I love whenever it results in fantastic and funny art like that. I kinda wanna go back and dig up all the other stuff that's happened over the years of silence I've had.
4441658
I'm sure you will.
That could be a fun exercise, maybe encouragement in the form of art.
Way back in the day I drew some Twice as Bright art. Can't remember if I ever posted it though. That fic crazy inspired me lol
Thanks for the update!
4441672 You should link/share! Whenever anyone does any fanart of anything, first point of order should be to show it to the creator of the work it sprung from. That's the best way to get showered with yay and praise!
4442793 Won't stop can't stop, you'll have to suffer one of these every month until—
Until what, huh. Yeah no, see above. Can't stop won't stop.