Welcome to Crimson Glass

This is a General Hospital fanfiction archive that concentrates on the pairing of Jason Morgan and Elizabeth Webber. You will also find a lot of stories that feature Sonny and Carly Corinthos, Patrick Drake and Robin Scorpio, and Nikolas Cassadine and Emily Quartermaine. The stories are written completely by me, Melissa (LissieLove) and features novels, short stories, and other GH-related material. It has been online since September 19, 2002.

If you don't like Jason and Elizabeth as a pairing or you have any fondness for the character of Franco, then you should probably click the back button and continue on your way. Happy travels. I hate Franco. He is a lying, violent, sociopathic piece of shit, and I hope this character gets yeeted into the sun. Thank you.

Update Blog

September 16, 2020

Your Update Link: A Shot in the Dark – Part 3

Thank you so much for the response to Monday’s Flash Fiction update! I really thought that scene would be harder to write, but I was able to get everything in. I don’t write a lot of Brenda, and I tend to write her a bit more silly and comedic than I probably should, LOL.

I have a ton of channel updates coming this week — updates for Fool Me Twice and Mad World’s vlogs as well as a new Crimson Suds episode about Mike’s storyline (I’m actually watching a draft of it while I type this post so it might even be up later tonight).

I finished my read through of Book 3’s beta draft, and I’m happy to say that up until the last few chapters, I don’t need to do more than a lot of line editing. The final two chapters need a lot of work, which I figured since they were a late pull from Book 4’s draft and I was tired towards the end of the process. It was hard to know exactly what I’d need to do with those chapters since I hadn’t reread the whole thing in order since I started the draft.

So we remain on schedule for the October 6 release date, and I’ll have the first of your two preview chapters next Monday or Tuesday.

Book 4 is going to need more work than I thought it might, but I really don’t know just how much.

I’ll see you guys tomorrow with some channel updates, then on Friday with the next Flash Fiction!

September 14, 2020

Your Update Link: Not Knowing When – Part 3

Happy Monday! In theory, we’re FINALLY on the evening schedule for the weekday updates. In theory. You know my life — it’s weird.

We’re back to 2002, and I am actually writing this update before I start the Flash Fiction at 7 — a little peek behind the scenes, lol. I type this post before I write so it’s all set up and I can post as close to the time when I finish writing as possible. I mention that because I know what I’m planning to write in about fifteen minutes, but whether or not I’ll get to all of it will be an interesting achievement. I’m really excited at least about the first scene because it was not precisely the plan for this story. This plot element was going to happen slightly later, but then I thought — huh — wouldn’t it be interesting if it happened because of this and not that?

I know that’s vague. Go read the update, then come back and think about it. It should make sense.

However, I will admit — I am slightly nervous about being able to actually nail the emotional inspiration I need to truly pull this off, so if you get literally ONE scene in this update, it’s because I agonized over it for 50 minutes, lol.

ETA: I MANAGED EVERYTHING!!!!! 

In other news — I am working my way through Book 3’s Beta Draft, making my final round of notes. It’s taking longer than my initial read through back in August despite only needing to read 25 chapters. That’s because this edit is really focusing on word choice and emotional beats. I’m happy to say that in the first 14 chapters — I’ve only found one scene that needs to be entirely rewritten and everything else is tiny changes. If the rest of the story pulls out that way, then I won’t have to put so much energy into the final draft. I have high hopes 🙂

The Facelift screencapping project is going slower, and I’m gonna be honest — it’s because I’ve hit the section of Liason history where Liz starts to get REALLY annoying about Zander, and I’m just not in the mood. Also, my edits include all of Jason’s scenes that summer and it’s harder to nail down dates because my YouTube playlists are just the Liason scenes, so it’s taking a bit longer. I’ll get back into it!

September 13, 2020

Your Update Link: The Ghost in the Girl, Part 2

ICYMI: A King’s Command – Part 2

Hope you’re having a great weekend! I’m trying to take a bit of a break this weekend — I started rereading Book 3 yesterday and will be working on that later today. I’m editing videos and working on my script for my next Crimson Suds episode — I’m tackling Mike’s storyline and even going to try to edit some clips into it. I’m going to *try* — that should be up tomorrow or Tuesday depending on editing.

I’ll see you guys tomorrow!

September 11, 2020

Your Update Link: A King’s Command – Part 2

Happy Friday! This should be last Flash Fiction that’s off schedule. My niece is sleeping over tonight, but she’s the last one who’s old enough, LOL, and I just had the other niece two weeks ago. They go through phases of thinking my house is the most amthe azing place in the world. Which — spoiler — it’s not. So we’ll be good in six months.

I am done breaking down Fool Me Twice by chapter — right now it looks like it might 32 chapters — but that will likely go up by 1 or 2 by the time I’m done. Next, I’m going to be soundtracking so that I’m ready to write on October 1. This weekend, I’m going back into the Beta Draft of Book 3 — can you believe we’re less than a month away from release???

And finally — I released the first episode of my new GH commentary series on YouTube, Crimson Suds. In the first video, I critique the kidnapping and ELQ take over series, drag Sam, and demand justice for Monica, Bobbie, and Skye — and Brook.

September 9, 2020

Your Update Link: A Shot in the Dark – Part 2

ICYMI: Site & Story Status – September 2020

Fool Me TwiceHappy Wednesday! I’m back on my evening schedule, but uh — *sheepish grin* we’ll be updating Friday in the morning. I know, I know, but I’m having my other niece sleepover and she will not tolerate me ignoring her for an hour so that I can write. I swear — next week, we should be good.

I worked A LOT on Fool Me Twice over the last few days, and I think I should be able to finish up the chapter breakdown today or tomorrow which is ahead of school. Chapter breakdown was going so well today that I ended up not getting to Mad World Book 4 at all — but that’s okay. I’ll be able to work on it on Friday. Fool Me Twice, Book 1 looks like it’ll be around 35 chapters, give or take one chapter or two. That could still change once I get into writing it, but I’m really happy with how it’s structured so far.

There are some places where I think I need to adjust as I write, but I definitely think I’m giving myself a lot of options. Even more — a few subplots have developed I wasn’t planning. I had one thought for the teens, and it’s going in a slightly different direction but I really like it. I’m also surprised by how the Liason storyline is working out — it means shifting some things for Book 2, but I’m not mad about it. Moving the start date from December to mid October means that some things would happen earlier than I thought, so I’m going with it for now.

Note: Apologies for the framing and lighting in this video. I filmed it around 9 at night on Sunday, and I ended up cutting off my head from the frame — and the whole thing filmed with me way off center so I had to crop and scale a lot. LOL. I’m learning, I promise!

 

General Writing

  • Hello! Apologies for this update being delayed by a little over a week.  I had a rough August and trouble sleeping for two straight weeks which really messed with my productivity. I wanted to wait for my medication to kick in and get back on track before I sat down to think about what else I want to do in September.
  • I haven’t been able to lock up a long-term teaching position yet this year, and both my school districts are closed for the month of September because neither passed the Covid building requirements.
  • That means I’m home at least for September unless something changes. That’s good for the writing, lol. And don’t worry about me — I kind of half expected to be in this position and I started saving in May for it. I’ve got enough in my savings to get through November, and well — let’s just hope things look different then.
  • As for the writing, I’m feeling pretty productive these days. As long as I listen to my brain and take days when I should and take breaks, it’s been pretty easy to just sit down and write when I want to write.

Site & Channel

Channel

  •  I need to film new updates for Mad World and Fool Me Twice, I know. I had two videos made but I didn’t get a chance to edit them and they’re enough out of date that I want to update them.
  • One of the things I do I want to finish is the Channel section on the site with each video having a page so I can be ready to do transcripts when I can get to them.

Site

  • I’ve been working like crazy on the Facelift the last few weeks. I made an EPIC checklist that I still add things to but it has pretty much everything I want to do. This list is definitely more for me than you guys because it keeps my brain organized.
  • One of the big projects I’m working is organizing my screencap collection by scene and date. The reason I want to do this is I want to make lots of graphics for my stories, but I tend to use the same screencaps over and over again.
  • Plus — my screencaps have been in folders where there are thousands in one folder which Photoshop struggles to open effectively.
  • This just makes my life so much easier and I’ll be able to get to the rest of the Alternate History overhaul faster. For example, the newest 2001 Flash Fiction, The Ghost in the Girl, has graphics because I had already organized 2001 by date and it was super easy to find them and use them.
  • I re-launched my soap commentary blog with daily snark recaps and a weekly commentary column: Crimson Suds.

Story Updates

Mad World

Book 3

  • Book 3 was completed on Saturday and posted at Patreon for my $5 and above supporters. It’s 25 chapters and around 156k words. I’m taking the week off to let it sit before beginning my final round of edits for typos, inconsistencies, and flow.
  • I’m so happy with how this new material is coming together. When I separated Book 3 from the new Book 4, I had about 90k words — I’ve added 50k to this draft with a plan to add 10k more before I’m done.
  • Patreon Release for $7 supporters is October 1. I’m trying very hard to get Patreon supporters a better preview — optimally, I’d like you guys to be a month ahead of release, but so far it hasn’t been possible.
  • The general release is October 6 to let me catch any last typos and schedule all the chapters.

Book 4

  •  I’m starting a light edit on Book 4 this week. Having finished Book 3, I want to plan the big structural changes in Book 4, so I can make sure Book 3 flows into it well while still feeling like its own narrative.
  • Book 4 will go into full beta draft revisions in October. I’ll do the big round of edits — major additions of new scenes and new chapters in October, then the second round in November to polish it up.
  • The general release is in December, probably December 8.
  • If you read the first draft of both books (Patreon Supporters $3 and above), Book 3 ends with the wedding and Book 4 begins the day after.
  • I don’t have a ton for you guys on Book 4 because I haven’t really played with it too much, but I have some really fun changes and expansion ideas. I’ll have more information for you in October’s video.

Flash Fiction

Revisions

  • Thanks to a vote at Crimson Glass, Desperate Measures is the first Flash Fiction series that I’m revising into a novella/novel. At the moment, it’s around 55 scenes which puts it into novel word count territory.
  • I’m not sure how long it will take to write it, but it’s definitely the flash fiction I need to rework the least — I’ll be able to clean up big pieces of scenes, but I’m also adding more teens, more context, and building in more Liason scenes.
  • After DM is completed, I’ll have enough vote for the next revision. Because DM had such a huge win, I want anyone who voted for DM to have a chance to ask for the next revision.

New Series

  • I’ve launched all of the new series, and so far, I’m feeling more confident. I’m taking an hour to write these entries so that they’re longer which hopefully makes up for not updating twice a week. I learned so much from the first round of fiction, and I’m hoping that I won’t need to do so much revising in this round if that makes sense. I’m trying to write these and plan these to minimize the editing needed to pull it into a mainstream story.
  • In the video, I talked a bit more at length about Not Knowing When being set in 2002, and what I’m hoping to bring to it. I haven’t written this specific time period (October 2002) since 2002, so it’s fun to get back into it since my perspective has changed.
  • For A King’s Command — I had some readers who were surprised that I was rewriting it. In fact, some of you seemed disappointed. I’m so sorry for any misunderstandings. The way I approach flash fiction has changed since I wrote the first version, and I had written myself into a corner with the old version. While I’m happy to revisit old ideas from earlier flash fictions, I will always be rewriting them.
  • The 2001 rewrite has its first short story planned — I have 2-3 part story set after the Face of Deception photoshoot. I don’t know yet if it’ll be 2 parts or 3 because it depends on how long it takes to write it. This is the first story I’ve written set in this period of GH, mostly because I wasn’t actively watching and by the time I got into Liason, The Canvas writers had written about it so well I wasn’t sure what I could add. That being said, I’m more comfortable with my own voice and what I bring to a story, so I’m dipping my toe in.

Fool Me Twice

  •  I’m working on chapter breakdown, and I’m really looking forward to writing this one starting in October. There’s so much great stuff that I’ve planned which makes me very happy that I took a minute and reset after last year.
  • Moving the starting point to Jason’s return is really letting me work in the teens better as well as open up a more interesting revelation of Jason’s identity and set up other characters.
  • I don’t know yet how long Book 1 will be, but I should know by the end of the week.
  • I’m not that nervous about going into the first draft of this while working on a beta draft of Book 4. I’ve learned a lot about my process, and I’ve also learned to be very patient with myself in the first few weeks of an alpha draft. I don’t need to write a chapter every day — which was the pressure I was putting on myself back in April.

September 7, 2020

Your Update Link: Not Knowing When – Part 2

In Case You Missed It: The Ghost in the Girl – Part 1

Happy Monday! I have a baby-sitting thing later today, and while I should be home by 7, I wasn’t positive and I really didn’t want to miss a chance to write the next part of this today. The group of scenes in today’s post and next week’s are the first scenes I got in my head for this story, so it’s always fun to write the stuff that inspired you. I should be back on the 7 PM schedule Wendesday.

I hope, with the story I posted yesterday, that you guys are enjoying the new round of series 🙂

I’m going to be digging (lightly) into some plans for the beta draft for Book 4 of Mad World this week, and finishing up my 2002 screencaps. I worked on June today, and man — I got annoyed Elizabeth all over again. Jason put up with some real bullshit from her ass back then. LOL. It also gave me some ideas for other early 2002 stories, but they’re on the back burner for now.

I know I still owe you a September status update — I filmed it last night, and now I just have to edit it and update the post. I’m hoping to have it done tomorrow, but definitely by Wednesday. Have a great day!

September 6, 2020

Your Update Link: The Ghost in the Girl – Part 1 

I’m so excited! This is literally the first story I have ever written set in 2001! I’m anxious and nervous to dip my toe into this time period because I wasn’t watching actively due to high school — it was my junior year and I don’t think I ever slept between classes and activities. I vaguely remember the Face of Deception and Carly getting recast, but I was out of the loop and Mom actually stopped taping on the VCR for a few years around this period.

I didn’t watch GH almost at all from the summer of 2000 through the summer of 2002 and it’s been harder to get caught up with that time period because YouTube didn’t exist at the time, and I’ve never really prioritized going back to watch it.  The Ghost in the Girl is the first of a few things I’ve planned for 2001, and I’m really excited to dig into these new stories.  I included a thorough show recap to orient you to the time period and specific scene.

In other AMAZING news, I finished the beta draft for Mad World, Book 3 yesterday and posted it at Patreon for supporters $5 and above. I’m insanely proud of it, but I’m also glad to have a bit of a break, LOL. I’m taking this week to look at the construction of Book 4 so I can make the final round of edits for Book 3 starting next weekend. Starting the week of September 22, I’ll be posting a sneak preview of the first chapter — then another chapter the week after before releasing the entire book on October 6.

See you guys tomorrow with the next part of Not Knowing When!

September 4, 2020

Your Update: A King’s Command – Part 1

Happy Friday! This is an early update because I have a wedding this evening — and Monday’s update will probably be in the morning as well because my sister-in-law asked me to baby sit so she and my brother can go to dinner for their anniversary. I never get to see my babies enough, so I’m not passing on that chance — but we’ll be back on the schedule again on Wednesday.

This flash fiction series reworks an idea I had when I originally launched Flash Fiction a long time ago, and it was definitely the most requested of all my older series. I hope you guys enjoy this 🙂

I only have a few chapters left to edit for Mad World, so I’m super excited to be finishing that up and moving into the final round of edits. I can’t wait for you guys to read it it next month! I’ll probably be posting the first chapter or two as a sneak peeks when we get closer, so stay tuned for that!

In other knows, I posted the summary for Sunday’s 2001 flash fiction — I mentioned that these will be shorter stories and ficlets, and I had finished organizing my 2001 caps the other day so I was excited to get use some of them. I’m going to preview them here for you:

The Ghost in the Girl

Set March 2001. After Elizabeth storms out of the Face of Deception photoshoot because of Carly’s attack and Lucky’s failure to support her, she turns to Jason.

Status: Not Yet Published
Genre: Romance
Type: Flash Fiction Series
Characters: Jason, Elizabeth, Lucky, Emily, Nikolas, Gia, Carly, Sonny
Couples: Jason/Elizabeth

And here’s the banner:

September 2, 2020

Your Update Link: A Shot in the Dark – Part 1 

Hello! Welcome to the second of the four new series. I’m so glad you guys liked Not Knowing When — it’s definitely fun for me to go back to that time period. I honestly haven’t written anything directly set after Elizabeth left the penthouse in October since 2003. I’ve spent a lot of time writing 2003 (A Few Words, Mad World), rewriting 2002 entirely (Bittersweet), 2004 (The Best Thing), and of course, 2006 (All We Are and For the Broken Girl), so it’s really fun to go back. And I haven’t written Brenda in YEARS so this one is going to be fun.

Today’s entry continues my Collect Your Regrets universe where I rewrite terrible Elizabeth stories. In the first story, I rewrote the maternity lie, and in this one — you might have guessed which story I’m rewriting by the ending of Darkest Before the Dawn.  I just remembered that I won’t be updating Friday night because I’ll be at a wedding, so I’ll update that one in the morning. We’ll be kicking off the Scottish historical

In other news — Mad World is zipping along great. I just finished Chapter 71 today. I’m going to be writing 72 and 73 the rest of this week, then editing the last two chapters on Saturday, which means I’ll be dropping the beta draft for Book 3 on Sunday morning. I can’t wait for the Patreons to read this new version. I’ve already added 40k and reworked a lot of beats. After that, I’ll be going into the final round of edits to clean up typos, grammars, and any other consistencies. I’m still working on Fool Me Twice, but I’m in good shape to start writing that one in October.

I also started Desperate Measures last night AND organized all of my 1999-2001 Liason screencaps by scene and date. I’m starting 2002 tomorrow, and this is going to make graphics and the rest of the facelift so much easier. I’m excited for that. I also continued working on the checklist, and most of the Bittersweet subsite is done. I just have to add the Character descriptions, and redesign the ebook cover.

I haven’t heard back about the job yet — the districts are crazy busy right now, so hopefully within a few days.