It’s your story, not mine, so you don’t really need to provide me with suggestions 
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Finished a chapter that took forever because I’m unmotivated. Looked at notes to see what to do for next chapter. Realized I missed an important detail and have to redo the chapter. hhhh.
I want to edit, but my brain says “Nah, you want to write a new story.”
Uhm no, stop 
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I thought I got a hang of the 500 word and now I feel like idk what to do How much detail do I keep in or take out? How do you figure that out?
If it was something that frustrated you to keep our, you add it?
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Started my editing. It’s so weird. I havent looked at this book since around December 2021, and my writing has improved so much even from then.
I may have a lot to add that the publishers didnt even tell me about 
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Aww that’s so cute! 6 wow!
Definitely I understand. I think its what you like to read and write
So if yours is something older, then that’s your calling. I found mine coincidentally and after a good research (which I still am doing) but the more I research and read about age ranges, the more I’m convinced I’m a children’s/middle age writer
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I can be quite impressing! I felt my difference like 3 months apart so imagine like 6 months or a year! Definitely it feels way odd but much more rewarding to know you’ve come a loooong way 
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I’m not even sure I could tone it down to CS Lewis levels, which is definitely a dated style of writing to kids, even though the stories are really well done.
definitely it’s SO WEIRD I’m like: “Why did I write that” so I’ve changed a few bits and pieces they didnt tell me about. I just hope they dont mind XD
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Just finished chapter 12 of Fireman’s Girl, the midpoint chapter, and I am sitting at 26K words. That’s pretty nice!
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Reading over the last few chapters of my Wattys entry to mark it complete, my heartstrings were pulled hard.
I guess it’s good my own book leaves me longing to return to Underland and relive the adventures Eryn had and the relationships she built.
Also, the ending reminded me of two spin-offs I was going to write.
- While Eryn went off to Underland, her bff Celest also went off somewhere
- The origin story about the two people who are tasked to keep the balance of the world for eternity and how they’re related to the queens of Underland
If Eryn went to a Wonderland-inspired place, where can Celeste go in Narnia-fashion?
I did originally think she could go to the lost city of Atlantis, but I ended up writing a completely different story for that.
I’ve already written an Oz-inspired story, so that’s out.
What other portal fantasy can I create? What else is in the public domain? Any ideas?
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I’ve been making good progress on my latest chapter, around 12k words in with 3k more to go, as I reach the 100k mark for book 2 of my series. Even though 100k words seems like a lot, I feel like I’m only around 20% of the way through my book. Introducing the new cast of characters has definitely caused the word count of my book to soar, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s been tough trying to create good personalities for the new characters so that they don’t get forgotten easily. Hitting the 100k mark has also made me realize just how much I slow-burned the romance between my MC and his love interest because right now, they’re still developing their friendship.
I’ve also been attempting to get book 1 of my series Wattys ready. I’ve got a 750 word summary, but I do worry that it’s a bit all over the place since condensing 180k words into such few words will inevitably be a mess, especially since I’ve got a bit of an ensemble cast. I’m mostly happy with it though, but I might revisit it if I have time. In a couple of days after I finish the chapter I’m working on, I’ll probably begin fixing up grammatical issues and revamp the opening three chapters, and after that, I think I’ll submit it.
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(Sigh) getting more comments on the first 2 chapters and one is in direct contradiction to Nick’s feedback, calling all the plot ‘on the job’ stuff hooks, and actually complaining that Harris thinking about personal stuff and having an internal feud with his boss makes him unlikable. And that’s after I took out his (suggested by Nick) unwillingness to save the victim.
Like, did I sabotage my own book by follow Nick’s advice?! (Hits head on the wall).
Frankly, I am not sure what to do, except I won’t show my next book’s chapter 1 to Nick. I don’t think he’s out to get me or anything, but maybe he just doesn’t have the feel for what makes a captivating romance.
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phew
Chapters 1-10 of my to be published book have been edited, expanded and sent to them as required. It was the largest chunk that needed working on, so a weight has literally been lifted today. My husband took my son out for 2 hours earlier so I could just work in peace for a little bit.
My mental health has literally been down recently; so much stress, and honestly though the editing is the least of my concerns, it’s been weighing heavy. To get that done even after 15 minutes has cleared my brain a little. I feel so relieved.
Asked them about cover timelines, I’ve been waiting for them for so long, and it’s the bit I’m most excited about.
Now to sit and relax for the rest of the day, I’m so so tired. Then back to the grind tomorrow!
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Okay, with some more comments, I think I can see the problem I can attack to make Harris likable in chapter 1–it is a MUST or the book is dead on arrival. I think I might have triggered the negative reflex people get when your character criticizes another character without people seeing that character act negatively. While Harris (my main) perception is important, I will dial it down significantly in chapter 1. It will be a more bland, but hopefully, the character will become more instantly likable, despite his wounds. I will try to rework it so he comes across still as deeply wounded, but more of a dare-devil.
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Honestly, if you have a reader that specifically gets your stuff, or reads a good bit of your stories, it might be a good idea to ask them specifically what they think of those two chapters, so that the 3rd opinion comes from who you are as a writer, what draws them to your writing.
I’ve been thinking for a long time that the chemistry of a couple (what is supposed to make a good romance) isn’t something that can just emulate the beats of a romance story, although they can be found within that confined a space.
What I find happens, and this is 30 years of reading regency to modern and YA/NA, is that there is a ton that fits the pattern where the personalities of the 2 characters are non-existent. And people fawn all over it because of 2 things:
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They are the MC. The personality of the woman doesn’t have to be there because the reader is supplying the personality. The older I get, the less I can do that. I’m not the people I read.
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For the ML, all he needs is:
A. Be called “hot” somewhere, don’t even have to describe him, at all.
B. Say the things women want to hear in a relationship, but otherwise sound like every guy I’ve heard in my entire life , but with less “stupid”. They are about as flavored as a water chestnut.
I’ve seen stores that make it big that really aren’t that different than this. But I’ve also seen those with personality make it, too.
So what I’m concerned with, when the characters are mentally engaging is that too much adherence to formula will kill the natural behaviors of the characters. From that angle, yeah, Nick might be problematic to automatically go with.
Or most simply: does strict adherence to the plot mess with the character’s natural behavior?
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My whole story is written from male lead’s pov, so he has to be likable or go home.
It’s harder to pull that off in a genre that’s got a lot of haters.
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I found new fairytales to retell 
Have you heard of The king’s son who feared nothing by the Brothers Grimm? Or The six servants? Or Princess Mouseskin?
Anyway, I was thinking the best way to get at Eryn’s bff Celeste is to turn her into a mouse or rat because she’s so full of herself. It will be portal fantasy into a world of humans, but she’s going to be a rat.
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