Extended Writing Update

Chapter 9's pre-beta edits are so close to done T_T I've got 1/3 of the final route left to do, and I'm hoping to get it finished this week. I've fixed so much of it, including some bugs I found and it's just overall so much cleaner now. I'm breathing a sigh of relief over it. I reworked a lot of small things that together add up to a much better chapter and narrative. The ROs are noticeably more useful in the mission, and I tie in what happened with the assassin in a more natural way.

I also added some build-up in chapter 8 that sets things up more nicely via a few conversations. Reading over it again, I'm so glad I consolidated some of the conversation. It's a lot less info-dump-y now and a lot more "here's relevant information without jumping between so many topics it feels scattered."

I can't wait to be editing chapter 10 next. There's a RO scene in there that I absolutely hate and desperately want to rework 😂 The premise is good but I need it to be less painfully dramatic. Ah well, that's why it's called an alpha, right? lol. Jokes aside, I find I often have to write something as cheesy/overdramatic before I can make a better version of it. Powerful emotions are often difficult to write without making them seem like overkill, and if I keep waiting to get it right on the first try, I'll never write it at all. So I guess that's what editing is for.

This week also had me making the move according to the poll results to change "Fey" to "fae" and I like it so much better. I'm happy that people were overall in favor of the change! It's a subtle one, but it makes me happy to use the word I liked as a kid reading books about these magical beings.

Overall the pre-beta work is progressing faster than I expected. I'll be interested to see where I'm at, come August. I think it'd be wonderful if I could release the beta that first week, though that might be a tad too ambitious to achieve. I'm going to aim for that though, with the thought that if I do then I'll still get a lot done. I'm so ready for the game to be out in the world, have I mentioned that? Oh, I have? Like 8247198 times? My bad xD

Here's this week's preview - a new dialogue addition from my edits this weekend ^_^

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"Wait," Wren catches my arm, taking the stone from my hand. "I'm all for experimentation, but 'throw rock at dangerous thing' rarely goes well, in my experience." 

"Spoilsport," I make a face at (wren_himHerThem).