So yeah, usual thing, sorry I'm so late with the next chapter. Work has been positively exhausting this week. But I'm back to work on it, and I'm hoping I can put in the new chapter for approval tomorrow.
Hey man, no need to apologize! We all work at our pace and life does have a way of getting in the way. I haven't had a chance to sit down and work on the Rachel story-line in quite a bit for the same reasons!
I'M NOT DEAD! Not an April Fool's joke, I just wanted to check in. There will be something new soon, I promise.
So I managed to finish the newest chapter. I'm going to proofread and post it over tomorrow. This took WAY longer than it should have, so now it's time for ED'S LIST OF EXCUSES!!!! [Insert applause and/or booing here] 1. Work. This is the easiest one. I work in television post production, and we're starting to see May Sweeps / Seasons Finales come in, as well as the first slate of summer shows. So that's been fun, keeping me really busy. 2. Internet TV. Daredevil Season 2, Bosch Season 2, and House of Cards Season 4 all happened pretty much at once. But now I finished two of those, and I limit myself to one episode of House of Cards per day so as to not give myself a heart attack, so that's time I now have back. 3. I started playing Trails in the Sky SC. This was actually the biggest time sink, because hot DAMN that game is good. I have a friend who's been bugging me to get into Falcom games for a while. I did Trails FC last year, and decided to start SC a couple weeks ago, and... yeah, that was not a game I could put down for anything other than my paycheck, except for a break to watch one of those shows listed above. Now as of yesterday, I actually beat the game, and I don't think I'll be going back in for a second run through to finish my Steam Achievements just yet. So I have time to write again! 4. Good Old Fashioned Writers Block. 'Nuff said. That said, as of yesterday I got my ass working again, nailed down about 600 words between yesterday and today, and got my plot rolling again. Let's hope I can get my schedule for this project working again.
So something funny happened after I got home from work. I done got inspired. And I got to writing. And I got to writing so damn much that A: I missed Blindspot, and B: The chapter I was writing got so big that I had to split it into two parts. Which means that barring proofreading, I've already finished the newest chapter. I'm going to proof it over this week, and hold off posting until Thursday or Friday to build some anticipation. The bottom line is, I think I got my mojo back, guys.
In Defense of a Bad Plan, an essay by Jack Edwards. So I've gotten two comments, a PM and a Reddit message confused about Alex's plan in the most recent chapter, and what she hoped to accomplish with it. Here's the thing, the plan is deliberately bad. And by that I don't mean Alex thinks she has a bad plan, I'm sure she thinks her plan is terrific... you know, other than outright admitting it's stupid when pressed by Sherry. But as a writer, I knew that the only way this was going to work - and I knew this months ago when I outlined this out, make no mistake - was if Alex's attempt at scheming were about on par with Cersei Lannister's. Which is to say, she fucking sucks at it. If this were an action movie, she'd be the brute of the team, whose first and really only effective solution involved the direct approach, and when she tries to go a different direction, it backfires spectacularly. In this story, it means her decisionmaking is just plain not up to par. This is an intentional decision on my part as a writer. You can tell, because Sherry is basically telling her (and the audience) that what Alex is doing is stupid, she's rolling her eyes and trying to figure it out at any turn, and the only thing that gets her on board with the plan is Alex's promise to give Sherry sexual control for a day, because Sherry is the only character more sex-obsessed than Alex is. As a writer, I've been writing Alex with very specific character flaws, which I will now share with you so you get why I had her come up with a hare-brained scheme such as this one. First, I've been writing Alex as though she has mild, undiagnosed ADHD. This is evident by both her constantly being distracted by things, but also by her occasional moments of laser-tight focus. On the things she wants to pay attention to, like when she first discovered how Sexworld detention works, she bored down on it like a homing missile, and didn't even notice the woman she has a massive crush on walk out of the building and up next to her. On the other hand, we've seen her get antsy when she does one thing (or one person) for too long. Second, and I fully admit this is a character flaw that I borrowed from my cat of all places, she has a tendency to fully commit to decisions even when she realizes they're bad ones. There have been two times in the story where this flaw has gotten her in trouble; her challenging her math teacher, and when she sexually propositioned Pat between classes. She'll make a decision and go for it regardless of the consequences. So what does that mean for siccing Sherry on her brother? She came to some conclusions about her brother's presence, whether or not those conclusions are correct is immaterial here, and she decided to "do something about it," however nebulous that concept may seem. So she ropes in someone she clearly sees as a sexual role model, who instantly realizes that this is is a bad idea, but by the time Alex realizes it herself, she's already committed to it. She's put her chips in the pot so to speak, even if her hand is terrible. And finally, as perceptive as she is, she gets stuck in her own head a LOT. We've seen her ruminate on all sorts of things and make some weird conclusions. This gives her an advantage in piecing together information when she chooses to, but it's not really an advantage when looking at people's motives. In her mind, her plan revolves around jealousy. She came to the (incorrect) conclusion that Emily was flaunting Pat to her. So the best way to handle the situation is to remove access to Pat from who she now sees as an aggressor. Obviously this is very flawed thinking, and she's clearly forgetting several precepts of Sexworld life, but in her mind, this is basically Operation: Make Emily Jealous. Again, this is a terrible plan with no real basis in Sexworld reality, for reasons which either should be evident or will become so once this story arc reaches its culmination. And that's the crux of this whole thing. Alex is not a perfect person. She's absolutely going to come to incorrect conclusions. And those incorrect conclusions will get her in trouble. And if we're lucky, it'll be sexy trouble. tl;dr: Alex's plan is terrible in-universe and ON PURPOSE. Chill, guys.
Hot damn, I second Shenude, edwards21 you are an absolute boss at this! This is a degree of character development I feel I don't see often in sexual fiction, especially choose your own adventure types. I am thoroughly impressed!
I see no reason, why you should have to justify your story decisions. We should feel lucky that you continue to write. Btw. I'm not dead yet and I will continue to write on my arc, sadly there are other commitments at the moment.
Indeed. Side note: is it permissible to talk about Sexworld stories I have commissioned elsewhere over here?
I appreciate the sentiment, but I generally prefer it when people know what the fuck is going on. And as self-aggrandizing as it may be, I like talking about my writing process. It helps me get it formulated in my own mind. I might do a couple of featurettes as we push towards the end. Like I'm thinking about a post with some pictures about my visual inspiration for these characters. How I see them in my mind's eye. Is that something you guys would be interested in?
I certainly don't mind. DO EET. *shrug* Some forums I've been on are pretty strict about keeping off-board business off-board. So, anyways, I've been commissioning erotic fanfics from an excellent writer for a few years now; mostly superhero stuff, but a few few for various TV shows and movies. Now, frequently, some pretty big changes happen between me offering the commission and the commission being presented, which I generally don't mind because the result is still excellent. The main problem is that this writer isn't really into the Sexworld concept, so quite a number of what are supposed to be Sexworld fics end up as something different.Also, I order so many commissions that some stories basically have one or two chapters and then go fallow for loooong stretches of time, especially. Anyways, the upshot is, I'm considering linking some of the Sexworld-y fics I commissioned from this person, partially to share with you, partially to get you guys to offer comments on said fics (which tends to make the writer more prone to work on them), though I prefer to keep hidden the fact that said fics are commissions, much less commissioned by me ('specially since I'm pretty sure some of 'em are double-dips). Would you guys be up for that?
*Sigh* Gotta split up the next chapter again. I have a major event coming up (and let's be honest, anyone paying attention knows exactly what that event's gonna be), and in my current outline, that'd happen in the middle of the chapter I'm working on now, which is a mega bad place for it. Which means I have to extend out the existing chapter, which is hard to do since it's a bubble (takes place in a limited area with limited characters / set pieces). I hate writing myself into a corner like this. I won't lie, I'm not the world's biggest fanfiction fan. But this site is all about collaboration and creating stories borne from someone else's beginnings. I can't promise they'll be my favorite things ever, but if you want me to give feedback, I'd be happy to.
Hey guys, just wanted to say hi and that I'm contributing and going to be contributing branches off of edwards' story.
