State of the Scribe: May 2021

Hope everypone had an awesome April! I know mine was intense. After a schedule with only a single day unused, it’s interesting to step back to something a little slower. There’s not a lot new with the calendar this month, so this might be a shorter update. Let’s get to it!

First, I have to mention the Fine Print hardcover project! This Indiegogo fundraiser has already surpassed its goal, so there’s no longer and risk about the project not surviving. If anyone hasn’t heard about it, you should check it out here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fine-print-hardcover-publication#/

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The book will be a full color hardcover, with about 480 pages. I’ve written an epilogue taking place about a year after Tracy’s final decision that shows what their life has become and where ponies have ended up. I think it’s pretty fun, but I think that about the whole story, so…

I also released an unexpected story last month, a FiO story (yeah, for the contest) about the end of the universe and how CelestAI might prepare for it. I’m not expecting to actually win anything in a contest that big, but it was a ton of fun to write, and dig down into some of the scientific subjects involved with ultra-long timescales. You should read it here if you haven’t: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/493970/memory-of-forever

Next, you’ll see that Fractional Salvage is ending this month. Tomorrow, in fact. Sometime soon I’ll post another blog post with a PDF download of that story, and some of my thoughts on writing it. That client also asked for a sequel, which happens to be the commission I’m writing now, so I’ll probably be posting that next month.

Optimal Game Master also ends this month, which will be the end of another of our long-running stories. I only have 3 weekly slots right now, which are occupied by Forbidden Places (updating 16k a month) and Anemoia.

I’m using the writing time I would use for my previous 4th slot to write my own novels now, as I talked about in my yearly update. I still plan on publishing several of my own books this year, though I’m not sure I’ll be able to do 4. That’s still developing.

Look out for a new story coming next month as I finish writing Anemoia (though I’m backlogged in chapters so it will probably continue all the way through June either way) There should also be another 6 (at least) new chapters coming to Fine Print. That might mean tinkering with some revisions as well, though those will be small enough that I won’t say anything.

Other than that, we just have the usual suite of Monthly stories going on my Patreon.

Dreamlands, which tells the story of a brave little batpony who wants to save her race by rescuing Nightmare Moon from the moon.
Frames of War, a Warframe crossover set in a world where the Tau system colonized by the sentients includes Equus.
Return to Sender, set in the same universe as Message in a Bottle, exploring Harmony’s rocky first contact with a truly alien race.
And the Tall Tale of Sweet Sauce, the comedy starring a mysterious pony who escapes back to Equestria after a long banishment on Earth.

There’s also another Minific this month, which I’ll not spoil but probably mention in the calendar for next month if anyone misses it.

Guess that went a little longer than I might’ve expected. I’ll just end by saying thanks to everyone who’s stayed with me through this adventure. I know ponies won’t last forever, but it’s been awesome to get to write about them for so long. I look forward to telling a few more awesome stories before the lights go out.

-Starscribe