Post #22 · 1:05am Mar 31st, 2019
So it turns out I'm not dead. Now that that's out of the way, let's move on.
I had an interesting time at work today; I had to install a set of lowering springs in a Tesla Model 3, which was quite... er, interesting. The work itself wasn't bad, actually, it's all the bullshit electronics that put me a bit on edge for having to work on it. Don't get me wrong, it's neat to see it and drive it, like how the ignition key is basically a card (like for a hotel room) that you wave at the B pillar (the black strip between the driver's side front and rear windows) to unlock the car, and then inside, you just set the card on the center console and drive away. There is no instrument cluster or gauges; just a smooth dash with a big tablet in the middle that controls pretty much everything, including popping the hood (or storage compartment, since there is no engine) by touching the front of the little car displayed on the screen.
I took pictures of it to post up for you all to see, but at the last minute I decided I probably shouldn't be posting some random person's car on the internet, so...
Anyway... who gives a shit?
I have been working on the story, despite my lack of presence here - aside from coming on most days to check my feed, etc. In reality, I've been spending fewer hours than ever on it, BUT... new chapters have been coming out at a much faster pace, since that is all I'm currently working on. Staying focused on just that has proven to be very productive.
For comparison, I was looking back at my publish dates starting in early November of last year, and I found that from then to the end of January when I put the story on hiatus, I published seven chapters. As you may know, I publish a chapter whenever I finish writing a new one, so - after taking onto account that 'Twilight Sparkle Gets Railed on the Hood of A 1981 Dodge Diplomat 1 & 2' were published on the same day, meaning I only completed one new chapter for that one - that means I wrote six chapters in three months.
Since going on hiatus at the start of February, I have completed ten new chapters - and I did that in only two months. This is a massive increase in production, so yay for that.
But holy shit, I'm gonna have a ton from proof-reading to do. Oh well, I plan on doing that as I publish, once the story is active again.
Last night, after two almost weeks, I finally finished Chapter 142, leaving about seventeen more to write. It still seems like a lot of work in my head, but if you stop and think about it, it took sixteen chapters just to set this story's premise into motion, so seventeen really isn't that much. A lot still has to happen though, so it feels like a lot is left to me.
And it gets pretty dark, folks; these recent chapters have taken me places I really didn't expect to go - some of it planned, some not. Hopefully it's as compelling of a read as I'm hoping it is.
Anyway, Chapter 142. This is one of the main reasons I'm posting this blog tonight, because I wanted some feedback from you, my trusted readers, in regards to chapter length. Now, generally, I try to keep my chapters under 10K words so I'm not burying you guys under a mountain of shit, but as you know, some events just take more than that to be told in a way that does them justice - especially the sexy stuff.
If you read my stuff, you know I tend to get a bit wordy when it comes to clop scenes. This is especially true when it comes to scenes with more than two people, like 'It's Gonna Be A Long Night,' (chapters 76-79) which spanned four chapters and 30K words because it involved a dude and three girls.
Chapter 142 involves even more people (although narrative wise, it's nothing like 76-79) and after getting everything into the chapter that I had been planning since 2017, it topped out at 24.5K words. In the past, I've had chapters that hit 15 or 16K words and gotten no complaints, but I worry that going north of twenty is pushing it. (my wide thinks it's too big, but she hasn't actually read it) Normally, when they get this big, I just split them up, like 'Twilight on the Hood of the Diplomat,' which would have been over 20K if left intact. I hate doing that, though, because the mood/energy is lost between chapters if they're published a few days or a week apart; that, and you guys have to wait for the next part to see what happens. I could also publish them on the same day, like I did with 'Twilight,' but then really, what 's the point of splitting them up?
The problem with 142 is that I really wanted it to happen in one chapter. I knew, because of the chapter's content, that it was going to be long no matter what, so I figured rather than try to cut things out and risk making it feel rushed, I just let it flow; lots of banter between the characters, wordy descriptions of dirty things, etc. It's a fun scene, and I think you guys will like the concept of it, but dammit... so many words! Obviously I'll be proof-reading it before it gets published, so I'll have a better idea if the pacing is good throughout - which is kind of impossible to tell during writing. Reading it afterward gives me a better perspective on the scene, and I can add more where it feels rushed or trim the fat from the parts that drag, but I figured I'd see what you guys thought before I go much further.
What do you think? Does chapter size matter to you? Does it getting annoying/sickening to read that much sex at once? (cuz I'll tell you, I start to feel a bit rapey pushing this much of it at the reader - the sexual stuff doesn't start until 7K words in, BTW) Plus, by the end of writing all that, I get a bit stir crazy. My fingers were shaking by the time I finished it; it's like being some kind of crack-head.
Anyway, I wanna hear your thoughts on this. In the meantime, why don't we show some love to some of those edgy-as-fuck bands from the '90s?
Tesla ...he cute little thing
Thanks for the update as always waiting for your words
I'm thinking you should leave the chapter as it is. Don't split it up. I've had issues like that myself, where splitting a chapter ends up ruining the mood. Though that may be a bit of my own bias showing through, because I love reading longer chapters more than I do shorter ones, for whatever reason.
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Yeah I think that’s what I’m gonna do. There’s no place I can split it up without messing up the mood, like you said. It’ll be a long ride, but I think it’ll be worth it. 👍