Q: Is the new (not-weekly) schedule working?
A: I have mixed feelings about it.
First, updating weekly for an entire year (52 weeks) felt like it was a great accomplishment for me. There was only one time that I stumbled, and I think that the story turned out better because I went back and took the time to correct the error. But other than that, I updated weekly for a solid 52 weeks. I think that's pretty good, for a story that was only supposed to be about a mutual awakening of sexual and emotional attraction between two characters. (Actually, the plot originally was going to be what amounts to a one-shot, based around Chapters 9-13.)
Second, I really needed a break after what happened with Chapter 50. I got a little bit burnt out over that one, and I think the readers could tell. Looking back on some of the earlier chapters, I can see where I rushed...but I was still willing to go the distance with weekly updates. And I'm glad that I did.
But now I'm ready to take it a little bit easier.
The story has entered its penultimate conflict at this point - an external one, but still necessary to the advancement of the characters' relationships as I've plotted them.
And it's not an easy moment to write.
I've planned this confrontation since I was less than halfway through the story as it currently stands, and knowing that the story is coming to an end has put some subconscious brakes on my progress. I still love writing these characters and these moments, but I can tell that I'm backpedaling and treading water because I just don't want the story to end.
It sounds selfish and conceited, certainly (I admit that)...but it's also the longest, largest, most convoluted thing I've ever written, and that's including a thesis. I'm so in love with Chie and Yousuke and Kuma and all of the others that I just don't want to let them go. I don't want to end the story in a half-dozen chapters. I don't want to see this crazy ride come to a stop. And I think that's what really prompted me to take a more relaxed schedule for my updates, this close to the end.
I feel bad for those readers who have stuck by the story for so long and came to enjoy (I hope) seeing new chapters from me every week. But I've got to do this for myself as much as for the readers. And I want to make this one last, like a smooth, cold beer. Or a tender, juicy steak, which may be more appropriate, given the tastes of my protagonist.
Yes, there are other stories to write, even in this same somewhat-alternate universe I've fashioned for my personal Persona 4 timeline. There's "1000 Words", and "Fireflies and Snow", and even "Breaking Point" - which, if all goes according to plan, will be ready to go not too long after 1 More Chance! comes to a close in 5-6 chapters.
I'm not alone in my enjoyment of the pairings I've presented (though it sometimes feels that way), but I want to have one of the better stories out there about them. So please don't take offense that I'm taking my time with this. I just want it to last.
23 April 2010
16 April 2010
Q: WTF is up with Souji?!
WARNING! Spoilers through Chapter 55 ("Broken Bonds")!
If you have not read Chapter 55, please do not read this update!
If you do want to read, roll over the following text.
Q: The common question this week (already; I just posted the new chapter on Wednesday) seems to be:
Why the hell is Souji acting this way?!
A: All will be revealed, most of it next chapter.
In somewhat more detail, I've been dropping hints that there was something not-quite-right with Souji since Chapter 46 ("Bushi no Kokoro"). Actually, I've been hinting at his issues since his physical introduction in this story, but readers would have had to have been reading REALLY closely to notice it, so I consider that the source of this conflict first came up in Chapter 46.
Everyone has their own personal demons (or, in this case, gods) with which they've got to contend. (And that's a hint for you.) In my story, a Persona represents a higher ideal of what a person can become. When you face your Shadow and you accept yourself, you open yourself to your Persona. When you face the truest part of yourself, your Persona evolves - just as you evolve - toward the greater ideal of your creation. For seventeen-year-old Chie, that was Suzuka Gongen, a fierce and fearsome demoness of cunning and strength.
But not everyone in the Investigation Team took these steps during the year of the Midnight Channel. One of them got to skip all of that just by signing a contract. (That's hint number two.)
Now, the contract is fulfilled; Souji says as much in Chapter 46. The Compendium of Personas is closed; he doesn't have access to it anymore. (He tells the others this outright, too.) But he's still got his own Persona, right? I mean, that can't be taken away from a person; it's part of who he is. (And there's hint number three, and the rest will have to wait until Chapter 56.)
I had been afraid that I'd been beating readers over the head with all of the hints that I've been dropping for the last several chapters, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe I've been too subtle about this whole thing. Not that it really matters, of course, since most of the details regarding this will be revealed in Chapter 56, which at this rate should be in a little less than two weeks.
I hope I haven't given away too much of what's going on in the story so far. But much of the feedback I've received is from readers who seem like they're floundering for clues, so I decided to write this one up.
If you have not read Chapter 55, please do not read this update!
If you do want to read, roll over the following text.
Q: The common question this week (already; I just posted the new chapter on Wednesday) seems to be:
Why the hell is Souji acting this way?!
A: All will be revealed, most of it next chapter.
In somewhat more detail, I've been dropping hints that there was something not-quite-right with Souji since Chapter 46 ("Bushi no Kokoro"). Actually, I've been hinting at his issues since his physical introduction in this story, but readers would have had to have been reading REALLY closely to notice it, so I consider that the source of this conflict first came up in Chapter 46.
Everyone has their own personal demons (or, in this case, gods) with which they've got to contend. (And that's a hint for you.) In my story, a Persona represents a higher ideal of what a person can become. When you face your Shadow and you accept yourself, you open yourself to your Persona. When you face the truest part of yourself, your Persona evolves - just as you evolve - toward the greater ideal of your creation. For seventeen-year-old Chie, that was Suzuka Gongen, a fierce and fearsome demoness of cunning and strength.
But not everyone in the Investigation Team took these steps during the year of the Midnight Channel. One of them got to skip all of that just by signing a contract. (That's hint number two.)
Now, the contract is fulfilled; Souji says as much in Chapter 46. The Compendium of Personas is closed; he doesn't have access to it anymore. (He tells the others this outright, too.) But he's still got his own Persona, right? I mean, that can't be taken away from a person; it's part of who he is. (And there's hint number three, and the rest will have to wait until Chapter 56.)
I had been afraid that I'd been beating readers over the head with all of the hints that I've been dropping for the last several chapters, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe I've been too subtle about this whole thing. Not that it really matters, of course, since most of the details regarding this will be revealed in Chapter 56, which at this rate should be in a little less than two weeks.
I hope I haven't given away too much of what's going on in the story so far. But much of the feedback I've received is from readers who seem like they're floundering for clues, so I decided to write this one up.
05 April 2010
Q: Commonality
Q:
I need to ask: How do you feel about common plot threads between different authors' stories?
A:
Does anyone have a good one? Seriously, I'm asking.
This story being a fan fiction based upon a game, there are a lot of plot points that are going to pop up that occur in similar fashion in other writers' stories. The idea of facing oneself is one of them, of course, as is the idea of people having Shadow facets that come back to haunt them. This story has both of those, naturally. That isn't my problem.
My problem is that the plot points that I've been trying to develop over the past 54 chapters are happening in other stories, published prior to my chapters or at the same time, and I'm not certain what to do about it.
I've spent a long time (the better part of a year!) trying to fashion these subplots to fruition and conclusion, and I don't think that I can go back and change them now. I don't think I want to do that. (Actually, I know I don't want to do that. It would mean scrapping the last 400 pages or so, and just ending the story after the Duel chapters.) But will readers who cross over with other authors (or the authors themselves) read what I've written and think I've stolen their ideas?
I admit that reading other stories that tackle the same conflict have taught me what I don't want to do for my own story, but I really want my story to have the appropriate impact for the characters involved. And I really don't want my story to be viewed as an also-ran or a copycat. I truly came to these ideas on my own (led by the game, of course), and I've put a lot of work into making them, well, work.
Without revealing anything here (because the conflict hasn't been brought fully to light...unless you've been paying attention to every single phrase with a magnifying glass), I will say that readers who follow more than just my story will come to recognize some familiar issues to other stories'. I'm afraid that I just can't help that. I'm trying to create the issues in a way that's logical for my characters, and I'm trying to create equally logical solutions, as my characters would come to them.
I really just want to write a good, solid story. I'm sorry if it ends up reading like something you've read before. Perhaps I just need to keep repeating to myself that there are no original stories anymore...all that's original is the way I decide to tell my story. I can only hope that readers get some enjoyment out of it, too.
I need to ask: How do you feel about common plot threads between different authors' stories?
A:
Does anyone have a good one? Seriously, I'm asking.
This story being a fan fiction based upon a game, there are a lot of plot points that are going to pop up that occur in similar fashion in other writers' stories. The idea of facing oneself is one of them, of course, as is the idea of people having Shadow facets that come back to haunt them. This story has both of those, naturally. That isn't my problem.
My problem is that the plot points that I've been trying to develop over the past 54 chapters are happening in other stories, published prior to my chapters or at the same time, and I'm not certain what to do about it.
I've spent a long time (the better part of a year!) trying to fashion these subplots to fruition and conclusion, and I don't think that I can go back and change them now. I don't think I want to do that. (Actually, I know I don't want to do that. It would mean scrapping the last 400 pages or so, and just ending the story after the Duel chapters.) But will readers who cross over with other authors (or the authors themselves) read what I've written and think I've stolen their ideas?
I admit that reading other stories that tackle the same conflict have taught me what I don't want to do for my own story, but I really want my story to have the appropriate impact for the characters involved. And I really don't want my story to be viewed as an also-ran or a copycat. I truly came to these ideas on my own (led by the game, of course), and I've put a lot of work into making them, well, work.
Without revealing anything here (because the conflict hasn't been brought fully to light...unless you've been paying attention to every single phrase with a magnifying glass), I will say that readers who follow more than just my story will come to recognize some familiar issues to other stories'. I'm afraid that I just can't help that. I'm trying to create the issues in a way that's logical for my characters, and I'm trying to create equally logical solutions, as my characters would come to them.
I really just want to write a good, solid story. I'm sorry if it ends up reading like something you've read before. Perhaps I just need to keep repeating to myself that there are no original stories anymore...all that's original is the way I decide to tell my story. I can only hope that readers get some enjoyment out of it, too.
02 April 2010
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