Your update: Mad World – Chapter Thirty

I am exhausted, y’all. Two full days with the students and my brain and feet hurt like hell. I ended up with the worst kind of teacher’s duty — I have to walk the halls for all of first period. I have decent shoes, but a foot injury makes any kind of prolonged exercise like this painful without sneakers. It’s gonna be a long two and half months.

The good news is that I still managed to finish all my work before I left the day and over the last two days, I finished Fool Me Twice, Chapter 4. I’m hoping to get though 5-7 over the next four days, and if I can manage 4 chapters a week, that puts me right on schedule for October 31. And really — it’s just a matter of 2-3 scenes on weekdays, and one chapter on weekends.  My life gets even easier on Friday because the students get their laptops and almost all of the work is completed through Google Classroom. Less paperwork!

The story itself is starting to move along. There’s a lot of moving pieces, so I’m glad I left myself a lot of time for rewrites revisions. I wrote out a huge backstory that basically does what the show never did — explain the memory crap in great detail. Hopefully that lets me stay consistent. I also hit on a fun subplot for the teens — Oscar is going to exist in this universe, but I hope to make him more interesting.

I appreciated the response to Chapter 29 of MW. These chapters surrounding what happened in 29 and the reactions were some of the most difficult to write and part of where the story got hung up for me in May and June. I’m glad the trigger and content warnings have been helpful. Please let me know if I miss any.

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Your update link: Ebooks

I’m going to be changing the ebook page at some point — I really don’t like the way it’s organized and I feel like it’s kind of a hidden. A lot of readers probably don’t even know I offer them for some of the stories. I just haven’t settled on a way to present it yet. But for now, you can download Mad World, Book 1 in .epub format. I’ll be adding the .mobi and .pdf versions later this week.

I also put up a tentative schedule for the next ebooks — Bittersweet & Mad World Book 2, one a month. Book 2 will definitely be up (along with an option to download both volumes in one ebook). I’m experimenting with how long it takes me to create an ebook for an older story to see if I can manage a new one every month or if I need more time. I have a lot of novels and novellas I’m sure readers would appreciate being able to unhook from a computer and curl up with some fanfiction.

In case you missed it, I posted Chapter 29 earlier this morning. Be aware that it has a trigger warning on the first and last scene. I hope these warnings have been helpful to some readers. This was a dark piece to write and this chapter was one of the most difficult, but nearly as difficult as some of the ones to come.

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Your update: Mad World – Chapter Twenty-Nine (Content Warning).

Not a lot of chatter here because I’ll be back later today with an ebook update for Mad World, Book 1. So enjoy this chapter and if you miss my babbling, it’ll come later 😛

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Your update: Mad World – Chapter Twenty-Nine (Content Warning).

Not a lot of chatter here because I’ll be back later today with an ebook update for Mad World, Book 1. So enjoy this chapter and if you miss my babbling, it’ll come later 😛

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Your Update: Mad World – Chapter Twenty-Eight.

I’m going to keep this short and brief (as much as I ever can) because it’s past 9 PM here and I almost forgot to schedule this post for tomorrow morning. I’m three days into staff development week and loving every minute of my new job. It’s trippy being at my old high school, seeing how much has changed. The hallways still mostly look the same, and one of my old English teachers is still in the same room she was when I was a sophomore in 2000. I’ve passed her room a few times and literally had a moment of thinking, damn it, I’m late for Brandt again!

But this week is not only my first at the new job, it’s also the week my parents are closing on their new house and if I want my house to myself, I need to help them pack and move this weekend. So my four day weekend before classes start isn’t going to be a lot of relaxation, heh.

I haven’t been able to write this week yet — it’s been a struggle getting things set up, getting into some sort of routine, figuring out what my energy level is once I’m home. I’m still not quite in the groove yet – I honestly won’t know until the end of next week when I’ve got things sorted out and I’ve been through a few regular school days. I still don’t anticipate  insane issues with my October 20 deadline for FMT.  Even if I only write half a chapter every day, I might push the first draft out to November 3. But there are going to be days when I write full chapters. If I’m no further along by September 10, I’ll revise accordingly.  I set that production schedule before I got hired for this long-term gig and ended up having to work this week.

Just a reminder that Patreon tiers were revised — the ebook for Mad World, Book 2 will be released on Sunday, September 1 on the Crimson Adored tier if you’re interested.

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Your Update: Mad World – Chapter Twenty-Seven. Please note that the final scene in this chapter has a trigger warning attached as Elizabeth deals with her rape. The whole story has a content warning, but I’m labeling specific chapters where I go into more details than some readers might be able to handle.

I’m looking forward to this week’s content — the scene in question for Chapter 27 was actually written two years ago, during the first draft of Mad World before I turned into a trilogy. I’m glad I finally get to release it.

As most of you read this, I’ll be in the middle of my first day at my new long-term substitute position. I’m pretty excited to start — this week is all staff development, and I’m looking forward to seeing my classroom, the curriculum, and getting settled before classes start next Tuesday.

Writing wise, I managed to finish three chapters of Fool Me Twice last week. I had hoped to write through Chapter Five, but I only got through Chapter Three. That’s not a big deal honestly — the first week or two of any project takes some time to get going. Every story has its own voice and momentum, and something like FMT is probably going to need some time to settle in. Since I came back to writing in 2014, I haven’t written anything for GH set later than 2006 other than Damaged which doesn’t really count in my eyes since I changed so much. I’m getting a handle on the voices of Liz and Jason after all this time has passed, and doing the work GH refused to do — figuring out exactly who Drew and Sam are.

I also launched the new tiers for Patreon and revised the benefits there. There’s a few more things in the works, but most of the benefits are what I suggested earlier this month. The support levels range from $1-10 and there are a few different rewards at every level. This support has allowed me to keep the lights on at Crimson Glass and I’m hoping to expand into creating more promotional materials for my stories. I liked the promo I made The Best Thing back in the day, and I know there’s video editing software out there I can use to make similar ones.

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Your Update: Mad World – Chapter Twenty-Seven. Please note that the final scene in this chapter has a trigger warning attached as Elizabeth deals with her rape. The whole story has a content warning, but I’m labeling specific chapters where I go into more details than some readers might be able to handle.

I’m looking forward to this week’s content — the scene in question for Chapter 27 was actually written two years ago, during the first draft of Mad World before I turned into a trilogy. I’m glad I finally get to release it.

As most of you read this, I’ll be in the middle of my first day at my new long-term substitute position. I’m pretty excited to start — this week is all staff development, and I’m looking forward to seeing my classroom, the curriculum, and getting settled before classes start next Tuesday.

Writing wise, I managed to finish three chapters of Fool Me Twice last week. I had hoped to write through Chapter Five, but I only got through Chapter Three. That’s not a big deal honestly — the first week or two of any project takes some time to get going. Every story has its own voice and momentum, and something like FMT is probably going to need some time to settle in. Since I came back to writing in 2014, I haven’t written anything for GH set later than 2006 other than Damaged which doesn’t really count in my eyes since I changed so much. I’m getting a handle on the voices of Liz and Jason after all this time has passed, and doing the work GH refused to do — figuring out exactly who Drew and Sam are.

I also launched the new tiers for Patreon and revised the benefits there. There’s a few more things in the works, but most of the benefits are what I suggested earlier this month. The support levels range from $1-10 and there are a few different rewards at every level. This support has allowed me to keep the lights on at Crimson Glass and I’m hoping to expand into creating more promotional materials for my stories. I liked the promo I made The Best Thing back in the day, and I know there’s video editing software out there I can use to make similar ones.

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Your Update: Mad World – Chapter Twenty-Six.

Going to try to keep the babble short today because I’m not feeling well but a few things happened this week. One, I started the first draft of Fool Me Twice. I’ve written two chapters, but I haven’t been able to write the last two days because I got sick again. Almost as sick as I was in July when I basically died for five days. I went to the doctor this time, and I already feel better. However,  I hadn’t planned to lose so much time and I already can’t write tomorrow because of an appointment, so that’s three days lost.

I also got a full-time job at my local high school as a long-term substitute until November. This isn’t going to impact my writing schedule since I was already going to be a full-time substitute. This is actually a lot better — it’s more money, it’s my own classroom for almost three months, and I get to teach. I’m going to be happier, it’s still close to my house, and I’m more likely to get a lunch and prep period in a long gig which means I can still write at home.

I may need to push the end date for Fool Me Twice‘s first draft to October 31 rather than October 20, but I built in that extra space just in case something like this happened.

I hope you guys like this chapter. Next week’s updates are a doozy!

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Your Update: Mad World – Chapter Twenty-Five.

My Babble

Next, on Saturday, I finished the last of my major revisions for Book 2 which include a brand-new chapter and a revised final chapter (converted from an epilogue. Book 2 is thirty-one chapters. The last two chapters are slightly shorter than the rest of, so I’ll be posting 49 & 50 on November 7 and keeping my original completion date.

With Book 2 finished (*happy dance*) I’m moving on to Fool Me Twice. I’m still ironing out the scene breakdowns, but I started the first draft yesterday, building on the sample chapter. Right now, it’s about 37 chapters. That might shrink by a chapter, but it’s more likely it’ll grow by a chapter or two. That’s no real worry. I’ve scheduled nine weeks to work on the first draft. That’s 4-5 chapters a week, and I can usually get a chapter done a day when I’m in the groove. Which means I have a built in 2-3 days to play with every week for illness or schedule insanity.

A lot of changes coming in my life this upcoming school year — I finished my graduate degree last May and part of the reason my writing productivity has increased is because I no longer have to shuffle reading and studying which is something you have to do even in during the summer in a rigorous program. If you don’t follow me on Twitter (#crimsonglass for writing related posts), you might not really understand how much I’ve written this summer, so let me be specific:

By May 20, I had only completed eight chapters of Book 2. By May 24, I had made it halfway through Chapter 29. I was stuck on 29 for a while — you’ll see when I post it why it was so difficult to approach, and then 30 was even harder. I got sick and then needed to buy a new computer, so I really wasn’t able to get a lot of writing done. By June 19, I had only written through Chapter 33.  In the last two months, I wrote seventeen chapters, revised all 31 chapters, and then wrote about 15k more words to add additional material to the first draft.

You guys, I wrote A LOT this summer. Even more than last summer. And I still managed to relax, take a week off here and there, and do a full revision before you guys even read the majority of the story. Book 2, when put into Microsoft Word, is 424 pages long at more than 163,000 words.

I also really paid attention to my writing process — what works for me, what makes me feel like I’m set up for success and it’s let me set the realistic deadlines that have been working so far.

Upcoming Plans

So this week, I’m looking to write Chapters 1-5 of Fool Me Twice and finish formatting the ebook for Mad World, Book 1. Patreon supporters will get Book 1’s ebook on August 24, but the rest of you guys will get Book 1 on August 31. Book 2 will be available for Crimson Adored subscribers in ebook on August 31, and then for Crimson Fan subscribers on October 31. Everyone else will get Book 2 on November 7 when I post the final chapter. I will also have an option to download both books in one file at that point.

On September 1, the new tiers will go live as described in this post with the exception of Crimson Obsessed. Right now, the reward to request a story isn’t particularly realistic. It’s important for me to get on my production schedule and adjust it accordingly. I also won’t be making Flash Fiction a priority right now. That’s something I like to do when I’m not posting or writing much, but right now — I’m doing both so it’s less fun for me to feel like I have to write flash fiction.

I’m hoping *crosses fingers* to be in a position with the next two projects to be able to post three times a week (MWF) which would be great for everyone. I could do 3 chapters now but honestly, I’d rather stretch out the posting time so you go less time between project posting.

I know this was a long post and I appreciate any one who managed to get this far!

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Your Update: Mad World – Chapter Twenty-Five.

I have some minor announcements and writing updates over at Crimson Glass’s main update post so check that out if you haven’t already.

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