Extended Writing Update

I'm equal parts pleased and frustrated with progress this week. On the good side of things, chapter 10 is very close to beta-ready, in about a third of the time it took me to do chapter 9! (Which makes sense, given that chapter 9 has 3 separate routes) On the frustrated side, I wanted to be done with chapter 10 today 😅 I'm hopeful I'll finish it this week though, so all's well.

The thing that's taking longer is revising the Keo romance scene in chapter 10. I realize I'm my own worst critic, etc, etc, but I've been debating restructuring the entire thing. I'm trying to navigate so many emotional landmines in terms of Keo's psyche here and figuring out the best way to do it is a challenge. I'm trying to strike a balance between "exploring emotions" and "god this is cheesy" 😂 I honestly have no idea if I'll succeed, and it's the first time I've felt that way about something in the plot. I take comfort in knowing that I'm extremely happy with the romance overall, though. Keo's such a sweetheart and I love them. Their romantic arc has not gone the way I expected and I'm interested to see how that'll change the vibe of book 3 in particular.

I spent time on Wren and Rin's chapter 10 romance scenes too and I'm really happy with the edits I made. Wren's scene in particular was both better than I remembered it being and has also been improved a lot. I talked with a writing mentor of mine about how I'd gotten it really close to where I wanted it but something was missing, and they gave me some amazing pointers that got me to a place where I knew what to do! It was great. Writing is so often a solitary pursuit, so being able to work with other writers and learn + share tips is something I value even more than I normally would.

And the other big thing I did was - once again - removing some info-dumping. I realized I was addressing a character's motivations in two separate choice options across two halves of a chapter, and in one spot it fit well and in the other it detracted from the main topic of conversation. So, in the bin it went! I kind of generally consolidated some of the dialogue in chapter 10's main route as well, including adding in a really fun backstory hint for some side characters. I enjoyed that more than I expected to actually lol. There's a group of characters I'm mildly obsessed with because they're sort of the previous generation's version of MC & company. Someday I'm hoping to write a few short stories about their struggles and victories <3

Here's this week's preview :)

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A hand, strong and warm, settles on the small of my back. "Come," Keo says by my ear. "We are with you."