How do you manage to write and screenshot while posting once every few days??
Ooh, new story prologue, exciting!!
Ummm... I don't manage, mostly At least towards the end it was getting pretty tricky, hence why I had almost a week between updates in the last month or so.
Caution: Rambly response incoming
At the beginning, I was pretty pumped, so it just kind of poured out, I was actually a couple of chapters ahead most of the time. Then I had two weeks off work, and could not go anywhere or see anyone because of lockdown #bajillion, so I just wrote and screenshotted furiously, and built quite a bit of a buffer. I think at that point, I had a buffer of 11 or 12 chapters - so that obviously took the pressure off. Meant I could still comfortably update every 3-4 days even though I was only producing one chapter a week.
We got a puppy in September which definitely took away some of my time - have you gotten yours yet? Something to account for, productivity-wise So as autumn went on it became more and more difficult to maintain, but I kind of crawled through to Christmas and then took 2 weeks off writing. After that it was mainly the interludes left and I was quite excited for those, but still it took me longer to make, so...
Tl;dr: That's the most long-winded way of saying that I don't have much advice Let's see, something you could actually use...
Do you write first and screenshot second, or the other way around? Or have you not decided yet with this being your first dive into screenshots? Might be worth trying both methods and seeing which you find more efficient, different people prefer a different process.
Also, I think most people don't mind if your updates aren't that frequent, if they're enjoying the story If anything, if a story updates too often it can be a bit daunting to keep up to date. So just take the time you need, however long it takes you betwen updates.
I will say that having a bit of buffer is nice, since it takes the pressure off and gives you a bit of a safety net. Not too much of buffer though, since then your head ends up being way ahead of your readers. I find that being 1-3 chapters ahead works well for me. I'm definitely planning on getting a bit of a buffer going again before I start releasing season 2.
Wow, sorry for all of that word vomit I hope it was at least mildly helpful-ish lol. Let me know when you start the story, I'll check it out!
@ThePlumbob Thanks for the answer!!
Yes I got my puppy, she is adorable and I love her but cries at night, and often, I feel like potty training is going backwards?? I find time to write and screenshot every time she takes a nap
I write first then screenshot to match the writing, but there might be something in doing it the other way around! I’ll try both out as I go. Hopefully I will build up a buffer too… though looking at the way things are going, that won’t happen for a while… haha.
I’ll definitely let you know when the story starts I’ll probably post on Writer’s Lounge or something. That will be tomorrow. Maybe. Fingers crossed...
@BlackUndecimber Aww yay, you have your puppy They're a lot of work, but totally worth it I'm sure the crying at night will get better over time. Haha I know what you mean about house training, we were quite lucky that our puppy generally prefered to do her business outside from the start, but she does have accidents even now at 7 months - specifically she likes to pee in our bed when we change the sheets
I've tried both and both have advantages and disadvantages. You could also do a mix - I sometimes like to have the dialogue written before I screenhot, but not necessarily the accompanying actions. So for instance with something like '"I like pancakes," Dandelion replied as he sat down.' - I'd only have the I have pancakes portion before screenshotting, and the rest I might add after because bloody musical chairs But it's just about trying out which approach works out best for you
Hi, is this thing on? Oh, it is. Hello. I've been ghosting on this thread since what... Chapter 5? I think? I just haven't spoken yet. I do that a lot. Anyway, here's the latest feedback/praise message draft I will probably never send...
Is the story different from what you originally expected?
Slightly? The ending was a shock for sure, but overall the theme and storyline stayed constant throughout and I like the way you mixed the fariytale theme into a much longer storyline.
What was your favourite and least favourite part of the story?
My favourite was the beginning, for sure. The bit where it's just Cordie and Dandy messing around with pancakes, before everything goes downhill. Least favourite was probably the time jump, because I feel slightly like I was cheated out of 300 chapters of filler. I understand why it was done, though, and it made sense overall.
Do the characters feel distinct enough from each other? Are they believable?
Yes, they do. The character arcs as they change seem really organic as well.
Have your opinions on any of the characters changed since when they were first introduced, and if so, how?
Like a lot of people here, my opinion of Cordie soured and my opinion of L was raised by the end. I also started to understand where Morgyn came from more, and went from intense hate to intense dislike by the end.
I don’t really tend to be very descriptive with my scenes. Does this bother you? Would you prefer to have more descriptions?
The beauty of SimLit is that descriptions aren't needed. Anything that doesn't go into the text is beautifully illustrated by your screenshots. Especially when the Magic Realm started breaking around, pictures definitely spoke louder than words. That lightning... wow.
What do you think of the pacing of the story, and the huge time jump we leapt through between chapters 61 and 66?
I said this earlier, but I don't particularly like large time jumps. Cordie changed so much in those four (five?) chapters, I feel like I lost a character and didn't get to see it all happen. But, from a narrative point of view, it worked really well to fast-forward the story to where it needed to be.
Do you prefer 1st person or 3rd person chapters?
I don't have a preference, and I think the combination of both was really powerful.
Any predictions for season 2?/Any mysteries/unknowns that you are still waiting to be answered?
I'm putting these both into one because my answer is the same. What happened to Hawthorne? We just sorta... left her in a mushroom ring. I was expecting something in the finale, but nope, cliffhanger alert. And now she's being hunted... I wonder if that means Verena's back?
Any questions for me?
Two. One - when is Season Two out, and Two - have you ever considered writing an actual book? Blackwell Chronicles reached the right length, and the Bloomer Legacy was waaaaaaay longer than most novels.
@SquirrelTail15 Ooh, hello! Thank you for following the story since the early days, and for grabbing the mic
Slightly? The ending was a shock for sure, but overall the theme and storyline stayed constant throughout and I like the way you mixed the fariytale theme into a much longer storyline.
Nice! I'm glad you feel that way. I'm quite enjoying the fairytale-ness (definitely not a real word), so that aspect is not going anywhere.
My favourite was the beginning, for sure. The bit where it's just Cordie and Dandy messing around with pancakes, before everything goes downhill.
I think you're not the only one who feels that way. Alas, I don't think we can go back to the pancakes now, sadly.
Least favourite was probably the time jump, because I feel slightly like I was cheated out of 300 chapters of filler. I understand why it was done, though, and it made sense overall.
Haha, cheated out of 300 chapters of filler Love it. I have been trying to avoid filler as much as possible in this story, but again, totally get why people didn't enjoy the time jump. It was definitely a choice between sacrificing some time with the characters and sacrificing any kind of coherent plot, as you say, and I already felt like the season had been quite long-winded. Maybe we'll revisit that in flashback land sometime.
Yes, they do. The character arcs as they change seem really organic as well.
Thank you!
Like a lot of people here, my opinion of Cordie soured and my opinion of L was raised by the end. I also started to understand where Morgyn came from more, and went from intense hate to intense dislike by the end.
Oof, the leap from intense hate to intense dislike is more than I hoped for, haha.
Especially when the Magic Realm started breaking around, pictures definitely spoke louder than words. That lightning... wow.
Ooh, I'm glad you enjoyed those pictures! The magic realm lends itself to some pretty neat screenshots. I so wish we had more lots to work with there.
Cordie changed so much in those four (five?) chapters, I feel like I lost a character and didn't get to see it all happen.
That makes a lot of sense, I can totally see how it would feel like we've lost a character since we only witnessed the start of the changes and how they got propelled into motion, and a bit during Hawthorne's childhood. I promise it was more of a gradual change rather than us missing out on a major defining moment - any moments with a significant impact have been included. I think
I don't have a preference, and I think the combination of both was really powerful.
I'm glad you're enjoying the mixture of POVs. I'm sure I'll do season 2 similarly, probably with a similar ratio of 1st and 3rd, unless I'm particularly compelled to get into someone's head
What happened to Hawthorne? We just sorta... left her in a mushroom ring. I was expecting something in the finale, but nope, cliffhanger alert. And now she's being hunted... I wonder if that means Verena's back?
We did sort of leave her and Dandy commiserating about their discovery out in Gibbs Hill, yes. He will catch up with them early season 2; possibly not the very first chapter, but second or third for sure. Whether she's being hunted is unclear, with Alba's focus turning more to Micah...
One - when is Season Two out
My guesstimate is some point in April, but don't hold me to it. I have plenty of ideas, but not all of them can be done within the same story I need to sit on them for a bit to figure out which ones feel "true." So I'm a bit hesitant to set an exact timeframe. I promise I'm working on it, though!
Two - have you ever considered writing an actual book? Blackwell Chronicles reached the right length, and the Bloomer Legacy was waaaaaaay longer than most novels.
Ooh. I have. I've always wanted to write a book, but I never felt like I had enough of a book-worthy idea, or enough of a story to tell. Which probably does sound weird when you look at the number of chapters in this thing, haha.
Oh, did you read the Bloomers too? I'm actually not sure which is technically longer, the Bloomers have loads of chapters, though an average chapter there, with the exception of the last generation, was somewhere between 500-1,000 words, while most BC chapters are over 2,000. Ok, that probably still equates to a higher word count for the Bloomers, but that story is certainly more high level and not very plot-heavy, whereas BC is probably the more "book-like" of the two. In a very loose sense, it's still not that book-like
Funnily enough one of the reasons I keep referring to the arcs/parts as "seasons" because it felt a bit weird to call it "book 1" and "book 2," but you're right that BC season 1 has over 170,000 words (educated guess going by the average word count per chapter), which could technically be a novel if that was based on word count alone. So... figures.
Edited for formatting and because I cannot spell.
I have the same issue, haha!
Thanks again for taking the time to answer these, I really appreciate it
@BlackUndecimber Aww yay, you have your puppy They're a lot of work, but totally worth it I'm sure the crying at night will get better over time. Haha I know what you mean about house training, we were quite lucky that our puppy generally prefered to do her business outside from the start, but she does have accidents even now at 7 months - specifically she likes to pee in our bed when we change the sheets
I've tried both and both have advantages and disadvantages. You could also do a mix - I sometimes like to have the dialogue written before I screenhot, but not necessarily the accompanying actions. So for instance with something like '"I like pancakes," Dandelion replied as he sat down.' - I'd only have the I have pancakes portion before screenshotting, and the rest I might add after because bloody musical chairs But it's just about trying out which approach works out best for you
Haha that sounds cute, until it happens to you I guess xD Can I get pictures?? Puppy tax...
I, too, like pancakes!
I will very likely be doing some sort of mix, as I keep going back to change the writing while screenshotting. Maybe in the end I'll do everything at the same time
I've finished the prologue but... I forgot about all the extra stuff I have to do like setting up the blog... so tonight! I will definitely! Post! The dang! Prologue! Good thing I only have to do the set up once...
@BlackUndecimber Aww yay, you have your puppy They're a lot of work, but totally worth it I'm sure the crying at night will get better over time. Haha I know what you mean about house training, we were quite lucky that our puppy generally prefered to do her business outside from the start, but she does have accidents even now at 7 months - specifically she likes to pee in our bed when we change the sheets
I've tried both and both have advantages and disadvantages. You could also do a mix - I sometimes like to have the dialogue written before I screenhot, but not necessarily the accompanying actions. So for instance with something like '"I like pancakes," Dandelion replied as he sat down.' - I'd only have the I have pancakes portion before screenshotting, and the rest I might add after because bloody musical chairs But it's just about trying out which approach works out best for you
Haha that sounds cute, until it happens to you I guess xD Can I get pictures?? Puppy tax...
I, too, like pancakes!
I will very likely be doing some sort of mix, as I keep going back to change the writing while screenshotting. Maybe in the end I'll do everything at the same time
I've finished the prologue but... I forgot about all the extra stuff I have to do like setting up the blog... so tonight! I will definitely! Post! The dang! Prologue! Good thing I only have to do the set up once...
I'll PM you some when I'm on my PC
Haha maybe that would work, taking them as you go - one way of making sure you're getting exactly the screenshots you need
Nice! Yeah new blog setup can be a bit of pain. Sounds like you're almost there though!
I've finally stopped procrastinating for long enough to turn my character age chart into something a bit more presentable. So for those of you who were interested, there's a link on my blog (along with some vague rambling on when to expect season 2): Update (but not really)
I notice that Micah is not aging and this question is maybe a bit nerdy 🤔
I had understood that Verena is a "child" because she is so ancient.
Do vampires get "younger" as the years go by?
Will Micah also end up as a child if he exists long enough?
Vampires in BC don't physically age at all, their appearance remains exactly the same as it was at the time of their death. So for instance their hair won't grow any longer, but they actually can't cut it either, because if they cut it it would just reset to how long it was when they died. Without getting too into it, this is also the reason why Hawthorne's existence was possible in the first place
So in Verena's case, the reason she looks like a child is because she was turned into a vampire as a child. Her mind is centuries old, though.
Note that the above doesn't really apply to Hawthorne, since she's only half-vampire and is very much alive, so unlike the undead vampires, she does age.
I hadn't considered the possibility of "Benjamin Button" style vampires, that could be an interesting premise! Although that would technically make them not immortal, so a whole other set of problems
Thanks for clarifying this question
I think I misunderstood Verena's prehistory when I read the story....Maybe I was a little superficial because I do not like her very much
@MonaSolstraale It was a good question The circumstances of Verena's turning were never discussed in the story so it's definitely a bit of an unknown. But yes, she never got to "grow up" in the first place, hence her appearance. It has some perks for her purposes, I suppose
Verena!
Faba got her necklace back. Dandy rarely had such a troubled face during s1, and Gah! Micah looks so darn good... must. resist. vampiric. allure. Is Morgyn positioned with a gap from the rest for a reason?
So.. does that mean BC S2 is coming soon as in soon soon like, soon-soon-soon? (Yep, that makes so much sense.)
@mercuryfoam Soon-soon indeed! I did say April, and I won't make you guys wait too long into the month I do have a date in mind, but I'd rather at least have chapter one done and dusted before I properly announce it. But soon-soon!
Verena is back, yesss
Ha, it does seem to suggest that L Faba may be getting her necklace back Ah yeah, Dandy is a bit preoccupied - I suppose I can't blame him considering where we left off with him. Glad Micah's still got it Morgyn... maaaaybe I was actually going to have Micah and Cordelia swapped but I didn't think Cordelia would want to stand next to Morgyn. Not sure Micah does either, though.
Looks like there's more clues in the banner than I realised
Ooh! No rush! Best be fully prepared than under
Lol Cordy is stuck in a weird place. And she rather stand beside Verena than Morgyn. That's saying something...
There's not that many clues, not nearly enough. But I appreciate the eye candy(ies) until the grand reopening.
Lol Cordy is stuck in a weird place. And she rather stand beside Verena than Morgyn. That's saying something...
Lol I know, those options In fairness, I'd like to imagine she was stood next to Hawthorne and Verena sort of landed in the middle out of nowhere and derailed everyone, heh.
Ok guys, I have a date for 'soon.' The first instalment of season 2 will be dropping 1st April - and no, this is not April fool's
I will say we'll most likely be on weekly updates from there on to keep things manageable for myself; I may be able to up the frequency if I get super-inspired but I'm allowing myself some wiggle room
Your screenshots are gorgeous! I like your writing style, and I also like the mystery in the beginning with the mother going off to what at first seemed like some sort of witches' coven. Woah, dude! You look at a girl and immediately want to sacrifice her? The bit with the mother's death and Grim was super spooky. Loving the time-jump with Cordelia at the end, she's so pretty!
Thank you so much! Oh yes, Cordelia's mother was involved in some... interesting activities. Clean slate for Cordelia now, fingers crossed! Thank you for reading
Interesting to see Verena and the vampires again! I wonder what will happen if she finds out about the plasma fruit... I doubt she'll like it very much since she enjoys killing humans, but I'm afraid she'll try to take the plasma fruit away from Micah and Hawthorne.
I feel kinda bad for Cordelia, not being able to find a place in the households around Gibbs Hill. I guess that's the plus-side of wandering the woods, the animals don't judge. Ahh the Sylvan Glade is so pretty! Ooh the elf is cool! I really like that you made the elf play a trick on her; the sprites, elves, etc. I always imagine to be trickster types, with a set of morals beyond human understanding at times. At least he lets her camp out a bit. The ending to 1.3 was a nice cliffhanger, but I'm glad that so far Dandelion has proven himself to be a good guy at least.
This is me overthinking as usual, but I like the idea of Glimmerbrook being quite 'out of the way' as well, with only one way to get there. Makes me feel like people don't go there because of a fear of magic, or spellcasters retreated there due to an outside fear of magic or something. I love how playful Dandelion is running through the rain. The 'why does anything surprise me anymore?' line made me laugh so hard. I like having Keisha and Ethren's designs in place of Faba's and Simeon's, it's an interesting touch and to me the two Sages have a more 'knowledgeable'-looking vibe to them. I absolutely love how they bicker with each other XD Let's hope the magic can help Cordelia get rid of the sprites!
Comments
Ooh, new story prologue, exciting!!
Ummm... I don't manage, mostly
Caution: Rambly response incoming
At the beginning, I was pretty pumped, so it just kind of poured out, I was actually a couple of chapters ahead most of the time. Then I had two weeks off work, and could not go anywhere or see anyone because of lockdown #bajillion, so I just wrote and screenshotted furiously, and built quite a bit of a buffer. I think at that point, I had a buffer of 11 or 12 chapters - so that obviously took the pressure off. Meant I could still comfortably update every 3-4 days even though I was only producing one chapter a week.
We got a puppy in September which definitely took away some of my time - have you gotten yours yet?
Tl;dr: That's the most long-winded way of saying that I don't have much advice
Do you write first and screenshot second, or the other way around? Or have you not decided yet with this being your first dive into screenshots? Might be worth trying both methods and seeing which you find more efficient, different people prefer a different process.
Also, I think most people don't mind if your updates aren't that frequent, if they're enjoying the story
I will say that having a bit of buffer is nice, since it takes the pressure off and gives you a bit of a safety net. Not too much of buffer though, since then your head ends up being way ahead of your readers. I find that being 1-3 chapters ahead works well for me. I'm definitely planning on getting a bit of a buffer going again before I start releasing season 2.
Wow, sorry for all of that word vomit
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Yes I got my puppy, she is adorable and I love her but cries at night, and often, I feel like potty training is going backwards?? I find time to write and screenshot every time she takes a nap
I write first then screenshot to match the writing, but there might be something in doing it the other way around! I’ll try both out as I go. Hopefully I will build up a buffer too… though looking at the way things are going, that won’t happen for a while… haha.
I’ll definitely let you know when the story starts
Winter's Alchemy | Britechester After Dark - Forum thread
I've tried both and both have advantages and disadvantages. You could also do a mix - I sometimes like to have the dialogue written before I screenhot, but not necessarily the accompanying actions. So for instance with something like '"I like pancakes," Dandelion replied as he sat down.' - I'd only have the I have pancakes portion before screenshotting, and the rest I might add after because bloody musical chairs
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Is the story different from what you originally expected?
Edited for formatting and because I cannot spell.
I think you're not the only one who feels that way.
Haha, cheated out of 300 chapters of filler
Thank you!
Oof, the leap from intense hate to intense dislike is more than I hoped for, haha.
Ooh, I'm glad you enjoyed those pictures! The magic realm lends itself to some pretty neat screenshots. I so wish we had more lots to work with there.
That makes a lot of sense, I can totally see how it would feel like we've lost a character since we only witnessed the start of the changes and how they got propelled into motion, and a bit during Hawthorne's childhood. I promise it was more of a gradual change rather than us missing out on a major defining moment - any moments with a significant impact have been included. I think
I'm glad you're enjoying the mixture of POVs. I'm sure I'll do season 2 similarly, probably with a similar ratio of 1st and 3rd, unless I'm particularly compelled to get into someone's head
We did sort of leave her and Dandy commiserating about their discovery out in Gibbs Hill, yes. He will catch up with them early season 2; possibly not the very first chapter, but second or third for sure. Whether she's being hunted is unclear, with Alba's focus turning more to Micah...
My guesstimate is some point in April, but don't hold me to it.
Ooh. I have. I've always wanted to write a book, but I never felt like I had enough of a book-worthy idea, or enough of a story to tell. Which probably does sound weird when you look at the number of chapters in this thing, haha.
Oh, did you read the Bloomers too? I'm actually not sure which is technically longer, the Bloomers have loads of chapters, though an average chapter there, with the exception of the last generation, was somewhere between 500-1,000 words, while most BC chapters are over 2,000. Ok, that probably still equates to a higher word count for the Bloomers, but that story is certainly more high level and not very plot-heavy, whereas BC is probably the more "book-like" of the two. In a very loose sense, it's still not that book-like
Funnily enough one of the reasons I keep referring to the arcs/parts as "seasons" because it felt a bit weird to call it "book 1" and "book 2," but you're right that BC season 1 has over 170,000 words (educated guess going by the average word count per chapter), which could technically be a novel if that was based on word count alone. So... figures.
I have the same issue, haha!
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Haha that sounds cute, until it happens to you I guess xD Can I get pictures?? Puppy tax...
I, too, like pancakes!
I will very likely be doing some sort of mix, as I keep going back to change the writing while screenshotting. Maybe in the end I'll do everything at the same time
I've finished the prologue but... I forgot about all the extra stuff I have to do like setting up the blog... so tonight! I will definitely! Post! The dang! Prologue! Good thing I only have to do the set up once...
Winter's Alchemy | Britechester After Dark - Forum thread
I'll PM you some when I'm on my PC
Haha maybe that would work, taking them as you go - one way of making sure you're getting exactly the screenshots you need
Nice! Yeah new blog setup can be a bit of pain. Sounds like you're almost there though!
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I had understood that Verena is a "child" because she is so ancient.
Do vampires get "younger" as the years go by?
Will Micah also end up as a child if he exists long enough?
Vampires in BC don't physically age at all, their appearance remains exactly the same as it was at the time of their death. So for instance their hair won't grow any longer, but they actually can't cut it either, because if they cut it it would just reset to how long it was when they died. Without getting too into it, this is also the reason why Hawthorne's existence was possible in the first place
So in Verena's case, the reason she looks like a child is because she was turned into a vampire as a child. Her mind is centuries old, though.
Note that the above doesn't really apply to Hawthorne, since she's only half-vampire and is very much alive, so unlike the undead vampires, she does age.
I hadn't considered the possibility of "Benjamin Button" style vampires, that could be an interesting premise! Although that would technically make them not immortal, so a whole other set of problems
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I think I misunderstood Verena's prehistory when I read the story....Maybe I was a little superficial because I do not like her very much
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Faba got her necklace back. Dandy rarely had such a troubled face during s1, and
So.. does that mean BC S2 is coming soon as in soon soon like, soon-soon-soon? (Yep, that makes so much sense.)
Ha, it does seem to suggest that L Faba may be getting her necklace back
Looks like there's more clues in the banner than I realised
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Lol Cordy is stuck in a weird place. And she rather stand beside Verena than Morgyn. That's saying something...
There's not that many clues, not nearly enough. But I appreciate the eye candy(ies) until the grand reopening.
Lol I know, those options
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I will say we'll most likely be on weekly updates from there on to keep things manageable for myself; I may be able to up the frequency if I get super-inspired but I'm allowing myself some wiggle room
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Until It Breaks (Complete!) | Tribe Arayeo | Discovery (Complete!) | Vee is for Vortex
Julyvee Twitter | Julyvee Youtube | A Quick Guide to SimLit | PARTY IN THE USA
Origin ID: Julyvee94
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This is me overthinking as usual, but I like the idea of Glimmerbrook being quite 'out of the way' as well, with only one way to get there. Makes me feel like people don't go there because of a fear of magic, or spellcasters retreated there due to an outside fear of magic or something. I love how playful Dandelion is running through the rain. The 'why does anything surprise me anymore?' line made me laugh so hard. I like having Keisha and Ethren's designs in place of Faba's and Simeon's, it's an interesting touch and to me the two Sages have a more 'knowledgeable'-looking vibe to them. I absolutely love how they bicker with each other XD Let's hope the magic can help Cordelia get rid of the sprites!