Have some fan fiction news after the break.
And for non-fic readers, feel free to ignore this one!
Fanfic Caps
First off, there seems to be a sudden surge in Fanfiction readers. Google Docs are capping out pretty frequently. Honestly I think docs are still the best method, especially with the chat room/editing on the fly, but feel free to send an alternate Deviant Art/Fanfic.net link with it so people don't have to wait.
Fanfic Quality
Pre-readers are doing an awesome job, and lots of authors have returned after being sent off for editing with vastly improved works. Some lesser stuff still slips through (usually stuff I skim, it's not their fault!), but for the most part I think we have a really good balance going. People are definitely more picky than they were 4 months ago!
Fan fiction Training Grounds
Midnight Shadow has opened up a fan fiction training grounds on Ponychan for everything the pre-readers turn down. If you guys are interested in helping out, feel free to jump over there and give some advice! Or post your own stuff!
Epic Length Fics
We have a LOT of these coming in lately, and I'm still deciding on how to best spotlight them. Obviously 1 shots will always get more "spike" readers, but the 10,000+ word behemoths tend to spawn micro-communities and fan art all over the place, which is always a good thing. Maybe I'll create a subsection for long stuff? Or maybe a permanent slot on the sidebar for in-progress multi-chapter stories? I don't really know yet! Something will be done though! Feel free to suggest it in the comments!
More Pre-readers
I am always looking for more to join the group, though I'm limiting it a bit more this time. If you have at least 3 stories posted here with 4+ stars, feel free to send me an email if you are interested! Some stories are still overlooked (Mainly obscure crossovers) so the more the merrier.
41 comments:
If I ever get the urge to write, It will be 10k+ words in length. I can't write short stories. xD
ReplyDeleteAs an author of big-ass multichapter still-in-progress behemoth, I sign with all my hooves addition of a sidebar with Epic-Huge-Fics to follow ;) Also, I am still reading few of them, and it would be nice to have them in one place to check on.
ReplyDeleteWhile we're on the subject, would you have any suggestions about potential places for people to IM about recently posted fanfiction? I really love the community atmosphere of chatting with people in Google Docs about a story we're reading, but the orange flashing is pretty irritating for people who only want to read and sometimes Google starts kicking people because of dumb glitches.
ReplyDelete(sorry if this double posts - I forgot ED sometimes likes to eat my comments unless I'm replying to someone else)
@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteI think docs is the only site with built in chat for it sadly.
Maybe I can set up an IRC channel for it? Might be a neat idea. I'll look into that.
@Sethisto
ReplyDeleteAn IRC for anything Pony would be amazing!
As another author of a still-in-progress behemoth (just passed 100k words with Chapter 14), I would love a sidebar that allows me to easily find other, similar works.
ReplyDelete(PS: fireant, which work is yours?)
Google docs works wonderfully for me. It really helps with my proofreading team.
I'm writing a fic myself. I'm gonna try to submit and see what the prereaders have to say about it once I finish. Its going to be my first fic so I don't expect it to get posted.
ReplyDeleteI'm definately gonna check out that training grounds though.
i LOVE the reference to an earlier banner on the new banner!
ReplyDelete@Danfish77
ReplyDeleteif you're looking for a general pony IRC, there's #mylittlepony on irchighway.net, or #brony on geekshed.net
seth's just talking about one primarily for fics
@Kkat
ReplyDeleteI can't say now! It would be shameless advertising! Also, my 10k words so far in two meagearly chapters looks silly now with your 100k words in 14 chapters ;)
Well, probably THE internet is FULL of fics, that my HOUSE can storage for now. (Gently nodding towards the words written in Cap xD)
Being someone who doesn't so much prefer to write obscenely long fics as much as is completely incapable of writing shorter ones...I like the idea of making a separate column for epic fics.
ReplyDeletePersonally I dislike reading unfinished stuff in general, so the most important thing to point out for me re:Long Fics would be *finished* ones.
ReplyDeleteoh crikey yes, now it got eqd'd, please help out on ponychan! I'm only one little reader and extra help with editing and offering advice would go down well.
ReplyDeleteI'm in favor of a sidebar for regularly updated, multi-part epic stories. Especially now that new episodes are no longer coming out, it will be the closest we'll have to new, regular material to enjoy. Also, for finished ones, maybe some sort of section, or just a tag, in the fanfiction archive would be enough I think; to put those on a sidebar would start to get unwieldy after enough of them got finished.
ReplyDeleteJust my two bits :)
Hey, Seth, sorry I haven't been doing as much pre-reading as of late... finals, you know?
ReplyDeleteBut I'm getting back into the game.
The guys from Sensual Fiction General on ponychan got themselves an irc channel over on caffie.net, I think it's #equestria.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I've *just* submitted the beginnings of an epic-length fiction (just under 5000 words right now). I've never let anyone read stories of mine before. Gah, I can't wait to hear if it's a good read. Here's to me pacing in front of my computer for the rest of the day!!
ReplyDeletehttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1rsbhIHoZhtcEBNS0hFzSAdJb9u30KUDQgvxmgWX2Qig/edit?hl=en&authkey=CJPGy-QJ#
ReplyDelete^ Behemoth.
I'd gladly be a proofreader if I had any stories on here.
ReplyDeleteThe problem isn't that I don't know a good story when I read it (alright, maybe sometimes my attention span fails me) but more that I can't come up with any inspiration for my own.
But anyway, where's Trollestia's keyboard?
~Display Name
Ooooo! The possibility of a tab devoted to epic-length stories is tantilizing to say the least! I always love looking into the epics on this site seeing that, in my eyes at least, they have more weight behind them than the short stories.
ReplyDeleteI would gladly become a pre reader if it helps the comunity
ReplyDeleteTo do so, wich info of me do you need? please consider me because i have been lookig for a way to help the comunity :)
There IS a little IRC channel pretty much dedicated to fanfiction already, but as I said, it really is small right now.
ReplyDeleteIf anybody cares, it's #Equestria on irc.caffie.net
Why is today celestia day?
ReplyDelete@Midnight
ReplyDeleteYou have my.
Er.
Eyes.
I'll drop by later for help.
I wouldn't mind seeing separate update bars for finished stories/one-shots and running series. Personally speaking, there are times when I feel like a quick dose of Pony, and other times when I feel like diving into something far bigger than myself.
ReplyDeleteThe former category likely needs this the most because given the blog/archive format, once a one-shot slips off it's oft doomed to obscurity. :) It's half the reason why so many fanfic writers nowadays split their stories up--as a virtual bump. (The other half, naturally, is that both authors' and readers' time is simply limited.)
As for the series/epics, self-explanatory. I personally like being able to keep up on ones I've found at a glance, and I honestly only get to sometimes skim this place to find new stories every so often.
I have no idea how cluttered this would make the sides, though, so take my suggestions with the usual grain of salt. So glad to hear that the stories are becoming more popular (and still being constructively QCed), however! It truly is the 90s all over again. ^_^
Huh. 10,000+ is epic length? My fic is already up past 13k and I expect it to hit 18 by the time I'm done, and I spent the last couple days fretting over how short it is. XD
ReplyDeleteI refuse to release it until it's complete. Nothing like having to stop in the middle of the story because the author decided to take a month's hiatus.
But I think it'll be worth the wait.
I love the direction fics are taking right now, and find myself wanting more pretty much every day!
ReplyDeleteI'll cast my vote for a multi-chapter sidebar, there are several in progress fics that I would like to keep track off more easily.
10k is epic?
ReplyDeleteHahaha. Well, this is a young fan community, what with the first season just ending. The tone will change when (if) 100k fics start to appear, much less 500k Epics-with-a-capital-E.
It'll be interesting to see if compilations are maintained using google documents for stories of that length.
Confound these ponies, they drive me to fanfiction!
ReplyDeleteI'll.. say something more substantial, and with my real name, once I have some work I'm satisfied with to release..
The longest story I've ever written is an incomplete behemoth of 33 chapters and 100k words, and it'll likely remain unfinished due to my standards of writing having increased since then.
ReplyDeleteBut I would love to take my hand at writing a good Pony fic for the folks, since I love writing, the hardest part is coming up with an idea that satisfies my own desires for what a fanfic should be. But the achievements hunting is going to begin soon, so I have plenty of motivation to think up story-lines right now.
I've been burned by that on-the-fly editing thing google docs does. Stupid document didn't update with all my edits until after the article went up here, even though I made all the edits before submitting anything to anyone more than twelve hours before.
ReplyDeleteOf course, my bad experience is just one of a great many experiences. Personally, I'm going to post to my DA account from here on out, partly to obviate the editing screwups, but mostly for the persistent comment system.
You people are crazy fun. I thought Ponyfiction would be something horrible, because of this whole fanfiction stigma, but I'm actually enjoying reading your stuff, for example Number 12 or Slender Mane.
ReplyDeleteI hope to see a Ponyville x Luke Bavarious crossover.
Gah - it's been over five hours since my last comment (and since I submitted my first story). Forgive me if I'm breaking some form of etiquette, but I'm dying here:
ReplyDeleteSomebody please read my fanfic!!
It's a [Normal][Maybe grimdark] tale soon to be involving a vast chunk of Ponyville.
Better yet, I hunger for constructive feedback - so if you can chuck some my way, I'll use it to improve.
Sorry everyone, I don't want to spam - especially on Sethisto's blog. I'm just so nervous waiting for the first reader!! Tension! Argh!
So for my short story, are there like, people who are gonna pre-read that? >_>
ReplyDeleteWith the first season over, I think we're going to need some good FanFics aren't we?
ReplyDeleteYou know what? I'll get to work on that.
@B-Man
ReplyDeleteThat's usually how it works, yes. Don't worry, it's not so bad.
@Phoe
ReplyDeleteAny idea of the turnaround on submitting these things? I submitted a story several hours ago but I've heard nothing back.
I wouldn't be panicking, but the FAQ said the pre-readers took a few hours tops to come back with comments. :(
I'm super desperate to have anyone read my fiction. I've never shared any stories before!!
I am currently writing a very looooong story which is taking a lot of time. I would hate to have put in all the work just to have some people read it for one day...
ReplyDelete@ParallaxMLP
ReplyDeleteIt'l come through eventually, give it some time.
The separate section for the longer stories is a great idea! Maybe ask people to indicate what fanfic their art/peripheries applies to on submitting.
USE DERPYMAIL.ORG BRONIES! It's teh best mail!
Working on a epic length fanfic.
ReplyDeleteA bit nervous, since it will be first time I actually wrote something that long.
Past attempt always ended in some plot block issues that I can't get across...
@Bosstone
ReplyDelete10k words is epic in the sense of people who have likely never encountered a truly long story.
Note that I got into facfics through things like Undocumented Features: Stories where one _part_ can be in the 30-50k word range.
(e.g. The first 'movement' of Symphony of the Sword[1] is 34k words, each Symphony has 7 movements plus some smaller chapters and Gryphon et.al are currently working on Symphony #5.)
[1] http://www.eyrie-productions.com/UF/FI/SOS/