The Yearly Holiday Janitorial Update · 5:34am Dec 25th, 2021
*peeks in*
...Is anybody even still watching this space?
So, another year has gone by and I'm afraid, once again, I have little to show for it.
Well... technically that's not true. Actually a lot of things have happened this year, and looking back, it's actually been surprisingly positive. My grandmother got hip surgery that has made her mobile again so I don't have to play constant nursemaid to her and I can actually live my life again.
On top of that, I got a new job that I actually kind of enjoy and allows me to be creative. I'm the creative director at a small media team now, where I help make commercials, promotional videos, instructional videos, that kind of thing. It's not super glamorous or anything, but I (mostly) like the people I work with, and while it can be stressful being creative director, it's rewarding when we finish a project that our clients are happy with.
All in all, I'm not doing nearly as terribly this year as I was last year, so that's a plus.
With that said... I literally can't remember the last time I've written anything for myself... let alone anything MLP related.
Confession time, everybody... I don't know if I'm coming back. I really don't want to just DROP everything I started here. I've had some great times on this website and I've met a lot of cool people here, but I just don't feel the same spark that I did for pony related content anymore.
Maybe it's because the show ended. Maybe it's just been a long time coming, since I stopped following the show after season 3 (which I still maintain is when the quality took an unacceptable downturn). Maybe I just naturally grew out of it. I'm not sure. But the truth is that I've barely even read any pony fanfiction over the last 12 months, let alone written anything.
Which isn't to say I don't want to write. I really do, it's just that, while I by no means dislike my job, it has a tendency to leave me exhausted at the end of the day. I come home every day with very little energy to put into my personal creative pursuits, and instead spend most evenings either reading fanfiction for other series over on Spacebattles, or just watching youtube, anime, or movies.
And it's not that I don't want to write fanfiction, either. I do. It's just that most of the fanfics I want to write are for other series now.
I don't know. I really don't like just giving up on all the stuff I started. I don't like just leaving things unfinished... especially since it's become a habit of mine throughout my life to do just that. Every personal creative pursuit I've ever begun has eventually been left unfinished and unresolved, and I don't like adding to that pile.
I don't know.
There's one saving grace, though. Of all the various fanfiction ideas I've had over the past 12 months, exactly one of them is, in fact, MLP related. And I think it might be a fun project. Maybe if I can get started on that one, it'll rekindle some of the spark for my other projects and I can get working on them again.
I think if I ever start work on my old fics again, though, it's gonna have to start with a rewrite for each of them. Certainly if I ever get back to Autobloom or SSBD I'll have to really go back and thoroughly rewrite and replan a bunch of things. I've come to the conclusion that I should never, ever write ANYTHING if I don't have a good plan outlined from the start. If at any point I have a gap in my outline that says "figure this part out later" then that's gonna be the part that ends up tripping me up somehow.
I'm sorry. I'm sure this isn't the christmas message that everybody wants. I'm sure people would prefer it if I just said "Ho Ho Ho! I've secretly been working on all my fics this whole year! Have a sudden dump of 50 chapters for each of them!"
Alas, that's just not how things have worked out this past year, and that's just not where my brain or passion is lying these days.
Still... don't give up hope quite just yet. There may or may not be something on the horizon.
I won't say too much just yet. After all, I haven't written anything solid yet beyond a frameworking outline...
But just as a little, tiny tease, I'll give a bit of a hint.
It involves Celestia and Luna's least favorite cousin, the "Alicorn of Water and Healing," dropping by Equestria for a very unwilling stay.
And she's so very...
...very...
...useless.
Merry Christmas! I’d love to see an ending, but do whatever you need to do. I’m happy you found a good job and that your grandma is well.
It's good to hear from you, especially given that it's mostly good news. Do what feels right, whether or not it's the Pone-osuba story. Here's hoping you enjoy whatever you choose.
Still watching, still watching.
Gkad to hear you have gotten your live back and a job you like. I am sad that you probably won't write for your stories on this but you can't work against your inspiration but I do hope you will come back to them one day bit if you decide to move to other pastures, do signal us of your new projects maybe we will be interested to read those too.
Happy holidays.
Still here to read what you say.
Have a socially distanced hug. *Hugs*