Issues I Have Writing for the Mane 6
Aug 24, 2013 3:04:22 GMT -8
Post by Al1701 on Aug 24, 2013 3:04:22 GMT -8
I have a problem writing for the Mane 6 and the Friendship is Magic universe in general. I've tried, I've attempted to plan some things out, and I inevitably abandon the endeavor as folly.
Part of my problem is Equestria itself. For being a fantasy world, Equestria is rather mundane. The vast majority of the kingdom is ordinary in terms of its landscape, flora, and fauna. All the non-sentient fantasy elements are isolated to the Everfree Forest and ponies avoid that place like the plague. The non-Equine fantasy elements are also presented as almost universally bad.
This pains me as a writer as there's really only one flavor of fantasy in Equestria beyond the ponies themselves: the dangerous woods where the monsters live. That's boring and really cuts down on the potential for adventure.
However, I really don't feel like Characters themselves really don't match my style of writing. They're built for slice of life. Their flaws work really well in the misadventures around Ponyville, but not on a grand adventure.
Just looking at Twilight Sparkle, my problem is her mental inertia. She can barely improvise. That's a bad thing in my style of writing where anything can happen and the characters have to adapt. Those are situations Twilight struggles and if the stakes are high...well it won't end well.
There's some other problems too. Pinkie Pie is a riot to watch and fun to write short stories of comedic antics for, but she's a little too off the wall for a serious adventure. Applejack is too set in her ways and set in place. Rainbow Dash has been written as a bonehead though she did get a little better in Season 3. Fluttershy and Rarity and kind of like Applejack as they're set in place. The Mane 6 are also a little too developed so there's not a lot of wiggle room and working around these things.
Part of my problem is Equestria itself. For being a fantasy world, Equestria is rather mundane. The vast majority of the kingdom is ordinary in terms of its landscape, flora, and fauna. All the non-sentient fantasy elements are isolated to the Everfree Forest and ponies avoid that place like the plague. The non-Equine fantasy elements are also presented as almost universally bad.
This pains me as a writer as there's really only one flavor of fantasy in Equestria beyond the ponies themselves: the dangerous woods where the monsters live. That's boring and really cuts down on the potential for adventure.
However, I really don't feel like Characters themselves really don't match my style of writing. They're built for slice of life. Their flaws work really well in the misadventures around Ponyville, but not on a grand adventure.
Just looking at Twilight Sparkle, my problem is her mental inertia. She can barely improvise. That's a bad thing in my style of writing where anything can happen and the characters have to adapt. Those are situations Twilight struggles and if the stakes are high...well it won't end well.
There's some other problems too. Pinkie Pie is a riot to watch and fun to write short stories of comedic antics for, but she's a little too off the wall for a serious adventure. Applejack is too set in her ways and set in place. Rainbow Dash has been written as a bonehead though she did get a little better in Season 3. Fluttershy and Rarity and kind of like Applejack as they're set in place. The Mane 6 are also a little too developed so there's not a lot of wiggle room and working around these things.