Hello Guys, a Quick Update (Patreon)
Content
I've been editing the New World a lot lately, and it's been a very liberating experience. Back whenever I first wrote the story, I couldn't quite nail some of the content I tried tackling. This stemmed from two causes: inexperience and fear. Let me explain.
On the one hand, most of the 'edgier' bits in the start of the story revolved around my inability to properly characterize and showcase emotion. This wasn't from a lack of effort but from a lack of ability. I struggled too much with organizing the Lit-RPG aspects, making everything outside of the fights somewhat hollow.
Currrently, I'm not adding in whole chapters to the story, but I am injecting small sections that show more about the world itself. For example, I'm having Daniel seek out Michael and Kelsey, and that simple adjustment does wonders for the story's pacing and variety. Daniel still fights all the time during the process, yet this tiny shift in focus made the story feel much more real to me.
It also adds a separate point of tension to the story, which is a good thing. I'm also going through the process of fleshing out any continuity errors. It's no secret that many of the ideas I presented in the early half of the story were left abandoned. A prime example was the idea of people dropping codexes on death. Wow, what a terrible idea that I didn't understand the implications of.
Taking those continuity errors out, refining a few tidbits about how elements come to fruition, and adding in more characterization really brings the setting to life. It's what I wanted to do at the start of the story, but I never had the time to. This is where the fear part comes in.
I was really strained for money at the time, and Patreon was my way out. I overproduced content, and that resulted in a poorer quality and artistic compromises I didn't want to make. There's parts I wanted to add but didn't because I didn't have confidence in myself. Well, now I do, and its cathartic in away. It adds to the story in meaningful ways as well.
And yeah, that's why I'm taking my time. This will result in a hit to income for me personally, but that's something I'm willing to do. I also didn't pause my patreon in the meantime because some of you were angry with me last time. It makes sense; you can always cease donations at your liesure. I shouldn't take the choice away from you guys.
All that being said, I know this process leaves you guys hanging. I was thinking that posting the edited chapters to my patreon as I update them might be a way of filling the void in the meantime. It might be a fun refresher for some of you guys, and I think the differences in presentation are meaningful enough that it's worth posting.
That being said, I don't want you guys to expect a new chapter but recieve an edited chapter in turn. It would be a splash of cold water in your faces, and that's not exactly something I'm too keen on throwing at you guys. So, if that's something you guys are interested in, let me know.
Either way, I'm feeling really good about the editing process right now. After ramping up to it, wow, it has been a blast. I'll be staying more in touch as far as updates are concerned.
Stay safe guys, and take care of yourselves.