Progress Report

I just finished an amazing writing session!

Work has been tough this past week — people are starting to take time off for their summer vacation, so everything has been much more stressful, but! I had today free, and I took advantage of it.

The words were pouring, my fingers were flying over the keyboard, and I'm almost done with the romance version of Alessa's conversation! I added a few more choices to the first draft which, of course, turned into more branching dialogue trees, but I love every single one, so it's not as if I'm mad. Honestly, the most challenging thing about hers and Hadrian's scenes was the number of little nuances they could take depending on choices made in Book One — which will only get bigger and bigger the further into the story we go.

Hadrian can act bolder if you encouraged him in Chapter 7 or more reserved still. Alessa can be hesitant if you didn't take her hand at the end of the first game, and so on and so forth. As your relationship and the characters themselves evolve, I have to write more variations, which I enjoy very much, but I stress over not forgetting anything! That's why actually outlining the game was such a great thing to do. Who would have thought that planning in advance would make the trek easier? 😋

Apart from that, I also went ahead and answered all (almost all - just had a few more questions asked) of the Q&A! It was so, so much fun!!! It's the first time really answering questions about most of the other ROs, and my God, it has been so liberating. It's also been such a great practice exercise to get in their heads and write more like them. I felt like I fleshed out some of them a bit more - which will undoubtfully help a lot in-game. Some of the scenarios I write as Bonus Stories will definitely make it into the games: Alain's truth or dare, for example, will feature in it. Neia's soft touching, The Pirate's conversation about loneliness.

And now, some of the answers in the Q&A.

Those are all things I want to use, in one way or another, in the actual game.

I've also been thinking of the romance routes for each RO and...🤭 Oh man, there are some scenes I cannot - cannot! - wait to write!!! So many secrets I've been keeping close to my chest, it feels like it'll burst out at any minute. But alas, one must be patient. You can't have the finished meal without the preparation and cooking. It is all part of the process.

Anyhow! Sunday I'll look into the wonderful feedback of my alpha testers — since Saturday is my 'no work, no writing' day. I'm very nervous to read their thoughts. Isn't this supposed to get easier with time and experience? 😭 But I still feel so damned nervous!!! Alas, it must be done.

The Prologue is why this post is a poll and not a simple text post, like always. I want your opinion! Would you rather I post the prologue this month — after I'm done with the edits — or would you rather wait until chapter 1 (and possibly 2?) are done to play them all at once? I fear that just the prologue (although it is a 113k word chapter) is not enough content, and since the first game came out last month, you have enough to "occupy" yourselves with as I keep writing.

But, I'll leave it up to you.

The goal for the next week? Write every single day, and finish Alessa's romance version.

The day's heat is starting to dwindle, and I think I'll go for a swim with my dog, Nero. A pity my cat doesn't like to leave the house, I'd love to show her the sea. Have a great weekend! ♡