Untitled (Patreon)

So one final post for now! A couple people mentioned that it might be cool to include a little bit of author commentary about the latest chapter that I posted, so I thought I'd do that. This chapter turned out a little different than I'd expected! Most chapters I have a vague idea of what I want to see happen and I usually put togther a little bit of an outlne so I know what i need to include. This one didn't turn out like that! It was all stream of consciousness. I just started out knowing that I wanted to show how Jen was dealing without Laurie to guide her; at first i figured that she'd obviously be lost and afraid. I thought the chapter might end with their reconciliation, but then I thought, naw, let's leave them as enemies for a bit and see where that takes us! I don't want this story to end up like 'Glee' where we introduce new wrinkles only to resolve them immediately and never explore the possibilities XD So this chapter also introduces a new character, Mallory, who may or may not play a role in the future. I wanted to have someone tease Jen about her size, and I thought that might be a good way to show how helpless Jen is without Laurie there to protect her. I liked the idea because it showed one of the reasons that Jen has always followed Laurie around like a lapdog, because she needs someone to stand up for her. But then I thought, you know, Laurie is so belligerent that she would totally escalate that situation. But Jen? Not so much! If anything, Jen would probably just be confused about why someone is being such a jerk to her. And just by that, Jen ended up turning a potential enemy into a potential ally. I think it shows how Jen deals with life differently and may hint at what's coming down the pike for her. That twist also gave me a chance to add a new perspective to the sleepover. Most of the characters in this saga are pretty ridiculous, and Mallory is sort of a normal foil. I don't think any impartial observer has ever commented on the girls' eating and gaining before, so I hoped that having someone see them binging for the first time would be a good new way to emphasize their piggishness. Everything about this chapter was kind of written on the fly, so hopefully taking a few chances here paid off :)