Hope you all had a Happy New Year!
Quick check in regarding progress for the new story and how it is shaping up, for you original readers.
TLDR: Aiming to publishing at the start of February with daily chapters all month.
UPDATE: February goal was missed, but still grinding the chapters. Book still coming… at some point.
----------------------------------------
Update: I’ve had hardly any time to write since the holidays, and am prioritizing releasing good chapters rather than quick ones. Once I get up to ~20 in the backlog I’ll get the new story up with a bunch of chapters immediately.
----------------------------------------
From here on, I just wrote a bit about my progress, changes and included a list that I wrote to guide my outlining process. The spoilers are mostly just plot points about the old story, but at least one is an essential part of the rewrite. Getting time to really solidify my goals should make for a much more exciting and full story, especially considering this one started with no planning whatsoever. I hope you enjoy this as a fun teaser if you are interested!
After my holiday break, I've only just started writing. For the most part I've spent quite some time doing detailed world building (solidifying geography, naming species and creatures, general lore) and solid outlining for the first few arcs (almost 50 chapters worth).
The story is going to have a more serious tone instead of what I felt was forced comedy at times. It’s not changing to grim dark or anything and I still want to include some humor, though.
One of the changes that reflects this is the narration, no longer will Leo be speaking to us as the audience.
In the original, beyond the reader interactive polls, the biggest extents I had it affecting him was getting bonus chest if the someone posted the answer to a riddle or something in the comments and getting access to a Class that he ends up not taking.
Things I'm cutting that weren't working/don't fit after my reflection on the story:
- 2nd person narrative. No more talking to the reader. Intriguing, but it wasn't central to the plot so it was cut.
- Comedy. I was trying too hard to make comedic situations, if I see a place for something naturally funny, I'll keep that. For the most part though, it will be a standard drama/adventure.
Somehow there was a plot point in the original where he was attacked by something super harmless and low leveled, like a squirrel. He was going to be far from a Class Stone so Leo had to avoid accidentally killing it since he'd level up to the next tier and wouldn't get to see all his Class options. Essentially, cringe forced humor that I couldn't even bring myself to write.
- Reader interactive. I still will include polls, but it wasn't feasible for one per chapter, nor was it necessary for all those minor decisions. I will be keeping all the past decisions though!
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
One of the polls I was super happy about was whether to use a health potion he found. Seemingly innocuous decision, but if he used it Leo would have enough energy to find a bonus prize in the Class Trial and if he saved it he'd be able to heal the squirrel (from the last spoiler) and not level up away from a Class Stone.
Things will remain or be adding or altering in the story:
- I’m keeping Leo as the only main character (with the provision for an interlude between each arc) and it will remain in first person.
- Additional lore epigraphs. I love giving readers a wider taste to the lore I've created in the world, and originally tried to do that with a section of Leo's book. I've figured it would be better to tailor information that wouldn't really affect Leo, included as a quote/cited form at the start of every chapter.
Here's my plan to structure extra information:
- Pre-chapter author notes will rarely be used. Maybe to announce starts of arcs or something? Idk
- Lore epigraphs are in-universe context for something in the chapter or tangentially related. Ranging from a single sentence quote to a few paragraphs of block text. Not essential to the plot so able to be skipped if that particular subject is boring, but will give extra depth to the story. Please let me know if there are any inconsistencies with Leo referencing epigraph information that he shouldn't know.
- Post-chapter author notes will contain out of universe context and other notes. One in particular that I've already written is a bit on the etymology and story implications of a name I use. They will also contain info for any polls and general comments.
- NAMES! and dates. It may not have been a huge issue for the 6 published chapters before, but within my lore I had nothing named. I went through my notes and took the time to give names to mountains, forests, oceans, duchies, kingdoms, empires, families, clans, species and monsters, so the aforementioned lore and general plot should be much better. (I could always use more tho so I will use any suggested ones!)
- Chapter length. Instead of 2,000 - 6,000 word chapters I'm trying to keep them lower (maybe 2,000 words of content) so it flows better and I can update more consistently.
Content changes
- Manipulating the System. The actual act of manipulating the System will still be possible, but it was so far removed from Leo I will be cutting the mass of information on it. Any explanation will be included as a quote introducing a chapter.
- Specifics regarding choosing Classes. A central plot point later was him not making it to a Class stone in time which seemed ridiculous. That is removed along with all the specific '24 hours to choose'. (Now, it is just tradition to choose right away and if you don't it will be really hard to make it to the next tier).
- More Leo background information! I've been integrating his history into conversations more so he can be flushed out as a character more.
- Class Stones are becoming System Hubs (Village Stones)! Lots of lore there, but imagine a giant fucking obelisk that rises out of the town square whenever enough people live nearby. And becomes more powerful with larger population centers.
- System Quests are now a thing!
- A specific reader interactive poll is becoming an incredibly important plot point for the story. Trying to make it a bit of a mystery for a sub-arc so read the hint at your own risk:
Poll Question: Dungeon entrances disappear when they are conquered, but what really happens to the extra dimensional space?
Winning Answer: The pocket dimension detaches from physical plane and floats through the ether, a timeless space, until it gathers enough energy to reopen.
Thank you for checking in and (hopefully) being interested in the new release. I'll publish one final update with the link and the synopsis at the end of the month. Once we get going, I might be deleting/archiving this initial story since there isn't much of a reason to keep it on RR.
Thanks for the support! See you soon!