How to tell the story?
Aug 18, 2009 0:08:22 GMT -8
Post by Marbletoast on Aug 18, 2009 0:08:22 GMT -8
So. I have been developing the lives and stories and worlds of my pony characters since I was about eleven years old (prior to that, I just played with ponies and didn't really have any consistent characters. I stopped playing for a while, and then picked them back up again, only to learn that, during my non-pony years, some very persistent personalites had hatched in my wee little brain and were just itching to latch themselves on to my toys). Once I ran out of toys to embody my characters and stories, I moved to drawings, and then to writings, and finally ended up with a semi-coherent universe of characters and happenings.
When I was in about...mmm. Eighth grade or so maybe, I was developing this List. It was ALL my (and my cousin, the other half of this nearly life long project) characters, alphebetized by first name, with their descriptions. There were over 600 of them, all told. It was stored on a floppy drive, unfortunately, and like they always do, that one corrupted and I lost everything on it. Since then, much has evolved and developed and changed and regressed again in this -dom of my head (I hesitate to call it a Ponydom, because they stopped being traditional ponies sometime in high school, when they became anthropomorphic pony-esque beings [inspired by Quacker County, if you'll recall], and most recently they've been morhping into humans). I have no doubt that the total count, if I were to try collecting all their names again, still hovers around 500 - 600 names (not even a quarter of which are main characters, no worries, but all of whom I know well enough to name, describe and place).
So here's the dilemma. I have been telling their story in only little posies for years and years. My cousin and I even developed the term to describe what we did--we wrote Pieces Of StorIES. And that was all. Never any full fledged plots. Never any beginnings and endings. Just vinettes (some of which were dozens of pages, admittedly). Which means no one but she and I ever got to know them. And now they have mostly come to me to develop, because she is very busy with life and marriage and school and all those things adults do. (Pptpttth, so she's my YOUNGER cousin. x) )
I have no idea how to tell their story! Stories, rather! There are so many, and they are all connected in many ways, and they don't really follow a Beginning Middle End sequence, because they are more like a record of the lives of these people living in my head. @__@ But they are so much a part of my brain that I cannot just ignore them.
Today I had a brainstorm (brainfart maybe), which is why I am posting all this ramble here. xD I could approach it via a sitcom-esque style. Like...write short stories that build on each other as sort of episodes, or something. I don't know if this is functional or even interesting. Basically I am just flailing around because, after fourteen years of hearing them crab at me, I am ready to get them onto paper!
*gaspflail*
And NO ONE wants to read a complete work that consists of that many plotlines and characters. >.O
When I was in about...mmm. Eighth grade or so maybe, I was developing this List. It was ALL my (and my cousin, the other half of this nearly life long project) characters, alphebetized by first name, with their descriptions. There were over 600 of them, all told. It was stored on a floppy drive, unfortunately, and like they always do, that one corrupted and I lost everything on it. Since then, much has evolved and developed and changed and regressed again in this -dom of my head (I hesitate to call it a Ponydom, because they stopped being traditional ponies sometime in high school, when they became anthropomorphic pony-esque beings [inspired by Quacker County, if you'll recall], and most recently they've been morhping into humans). I have no doubt that the total count, if I were to try collecting all their names again, still hovers around 500 - 600 names (not even a quarter of which are main characters, no worries, but all of whom I know well enough to name, describe and place).
So here's the dilemma. I have been telling their story in only little posies for years and years. My cousin and I even developed the term to describe what we did--we wrote Pieces Of StorIES. And that was all. Never any full fledged plots. Never any beginnings and endings. Just vinettes (some of which were dozens of pages, admittedly). Which means no one but she and I ever got to know them. And now they have mostly come to me to develop, because she is very busy with life and marriage and school and all those things adults do. (Pptpttth, so she's my YOUNGER cousin. x) )
I have no idea how to tell their story! Stories, rather! There are so many, and they are all connected in many ways, and they don't really follow a Beginning Middle End sequence, because they are more like a record of the lives of these people living in my head. @__@ But they are so much a part of my brain that I cannot just ignore them.
Today I had a brainstorm (brainfart maybe), which is why I am posting all this ramble here. xD I could approach it via a sitcom-esque style. Like...write short stories that build on each other as sort of episodes, or something. I don't know if this is functional or even interesting. Basically I am just flailing around because, after fourteen years of hearing them crab at me, I am ready to get them onto paper!
*gaspflail*
And NO ONE wants to read a complete work that consists of that many plotlines and characters. >.O
Like wee flowers! 
And one of the four canons is actually another realm. And stuff. But yes.
Unfortunately, I don't think it's work for my personal stories, since they are all involved in each others lives extensively, but what a neat project that would be, connecting lives via one or two lines, and stuff! It sounds very experimental and full of potential, even if it wouldn't be quite right for my situation....