It's done. Plot Twist in Paradise is officially finished!
I won't lie, those last few chapters were taxing. There were days I was convinced my muse had packed her bags, and moved somewhere with better Wi-Fi. I honestly wasn't sure I'd make it to the finish line.
Turns out she never left. She was just lurking in the background, sipping something fancy and watching me spiral, waiting for the perfect dramatic moment to show back up.
A little scheduling question for you
Now that the whole story is written, I've been thinking about switching from weekly updates to twice a week. I'm still on the fence, so I'd love to hear what you think. Would you rather have more chapters, faster? Or do you want to let the latest chapter simmer for the whole week? Let me know in the comments!
About that break...
So with the book finished, I figured I'd finally get to rest. Put my feet up. Maybe even remember what being lazy feels like.
My muse had other plans.
Before I knew it, I'd written the first chapter of something brand new, without any idea where it was going. I shared it with a couple of people, and the reaction was positive enough that my muse is now standing over me with a riding crop going, "Haha, you're not done yet. Go."
And as a few of you know, once my brain commits to the chaos, there's no letting it go.
Where this one's coming from
Music is a huge part of what inspires me. This pilot chapter (if you want to call it that) came about after I recently read a story that really stuck with me, and there's one song I've had on repeat that's pulling the story in a very particular direction. These lyrics in particular are pulling at me:
My world has fallen
I'm falling to my knees
Woah, yeah, and now I feel my hands trembling
Oh, Lord, ain't no promise I'll breathe again
But I won't back down
But I won't back down
And now, I feel my hands trembling
Oh, Lord, ain't no promise, I'll breathe again
But I won't back down
And when my hands get cold, and I'm on my own
Through the dark, I crawl
And, when my bones feel weak
I will keep running through the fire (I won't back down)
No-no (oh-oh-oh-oh)
Oh, yeah
And now I feel my hands trembling
Oh, Lord, ain't no promise I'll breathe again
But I won't back down
So... how far will it go?
Honestly? I don't know. Maybe my muse will vanish one day without notice and this little experiment won't go anywhere. But I'm going to try and see how far I can get. If it feels like I've got solid footing, I'll keep going.
Wish me luck. And maybe keep an eye on my muse for me. She's got a riding crop now.
Comments
I'd Go for Twice a Week...
...but then, I'm generally here every day.
Eric
Funny
Funny. When I read this, I thought of a different song:
That’s what happens, when the muse shows up. So, no rest for you, young lady!
— Emma
I will...
I will have to look up this song!
Either way
I can go either way. I am a little behind on reading (with stories in open tabs to catch up on) because my muse has been going overdrive too. I keep working on three novel or novella-length stories that I have had going for a while, and various new ones. I also have five mostly written short stories (some of which have some pretty silly premises, but still made stories I think are worth posting), and three stories I have started within the last two weeks, one of which I think will be a three-parter and the other two are still too new to estimate length.
And none of these are going to come out for a while because I have a good stack of finished work. I am having to consider myself whether I want to switch to posting twice a week, and I am only hesitating to do so because my life gets busy sometimes and I do not think I will always find this much time to write.
So far...
The consensus I have got (though very few comments only though) is that i can go either way. I am still in the early stage of the new story. Two chapters done. Still fixing the draft of chapter 2. Maybe I should keep posting weekly for now until I have enough written for the new story so that I dont loose momentum and can keep reader attention. Theres enough left for PTIP that it will take 3 months to post the remainder of the story. I guess if I reach a place in that time that I have enough work ready from the new story that I can consider sharing once PTIP is done. I'll let it simmer a little while longer.
My greedy self would be happy
My greedy self would be happy with daily posting - I'm loving the story. Though I am sort of glad to read that there are enough chapters for another 3 months if posted weekly, I can see why you don't won't a large gap until posting your next story.
Resons!
Thank you! I haven't seen you post any comments on the story but from you comment here I am glad to see that you are following the story weekly and enjoying it. I don't think I would post a chapter of PTIP daily. I mean can you imagine the chaos of posting daily while I also work through the current story? Plus I like to engage with everyone who takes time to post a comment to thank them for all the love and support. I think I have decent momentum with what I am currently working on but I find it really easy to fall down a ditch if I suddenly find myself stuck somewhere. And so many authors who post here can probably relate to that feeling. The more I think about it the more I feel maybe I should just let the weekly postings continue as usual and not worry about wanting to get PTIP out fast.
Posting frequency
Much as I'd love to see this story faster, I very much like the once a week posts. We just binge watched the latest Reacher show, and honestly, I feel remorse at having done so. There are few details that I can remember. By contrast, I can still recall how Ade hesitated upon seeing Renee on the beach plus many more moments of their interactions. It became the highlight of getting up on Friday mornings. So my vote is to continue the weekly postings.
>>> Kay