Weekly Update - 12/27/23 (Patreon)

Yes, I know that's yesterday's date in the headline, but just go with it, okay? 

I feel like I may actually get fully caught up this month, so I'm going to keep on hammering on things. There's going to be a chapter of Breakpoint in the next few days, and another chapter of Fertile Grove to alpha readers, new chapters of Devil's Details and Fertile Grove to just their commissioners, the next chapter of QT:Aisling's Antics off to its commissioner and then I'm... on schedule. 

Holy shit.

This, of course, means I'll never get all that writing in just three days, but it'll be closer than I've been in a long, long time, so that'll feel good. And it still means I need to bust ass in January, since I'll be somewhat on vacation for part of February. The family invited me out somewhere warm and tropical, someplace I've never been before, and so I agreed to head out. I'll have the laptop with me, and will be getting... some writing done during then, but I'm also going to be on vacation, so if I'm a little sporadic during that time, hopefully you'll forgive me.

I'd been working on QT2:19 since late November, and dropped it Christmas day, just before I headed back to a plane to take me away from the cold of the Midwest and back to my beloved California. I'm back home now and have been enjoying the warm weather once more. With it, I've also started work on QT2:20, which as previously stated will be the only QT2 chapter for January, because it's going to be monster sized, probably the length of 2-4 normal chapters, as we witness Andy Rook's wedding day. The tradition of Big-Ass Chapter Twenties is something that lingers in QT stories, which means I'll have to think up something suitably epic for QTPT20 which isn't all that far away, now that I look at it...

There's also a new QT commissioned work that I completed the first chapter of that I'll start unveiling in a few months' time. I want to have several chapters banked and done before I start letting them out to Patrons, and then hold them to my standard six month Patreon exclusivity before they start rolling out publicly. 

With that comes another piece of news - AT THIS TIME I AM NOT TAKING ON NEW COMMISSIONS. A handful of long-term commissions are getting close to wrapping up, and I want to check if those commissioners will want to continue with new projects at the current rates, rather than my original rate, or if they need to take a break for a while, either of which is totally fine.  As demand for my time has gone up, obviously so do my rates. When I set the rates for commissions, I generally guarantee that rate for a full 12 months, or sometimes for the length of the project (for some projects that are scoped out to 18 months or less). The key is to avoid taking on too many commissions, thus the moratorium for at least a little while on picking up new ones. Commissioners with more "open concept" commissions are sometimes offered much longer or open-ended contracts, like QTPT and Neon Stonehenge, mostly because it's more of just targeted writing instead of working with someone else's specs/characters/concepts/needs.  It's not to say those projects are better or worse than the others - just there's less back and forth, because I've got less rules to follow. I'm sure I'll open up commissions again at some point, but if you're thinking about commissioning a work at some point, maybe start drafting up everything into a concept doc, so you can pitch me what you want with as much or little detail as you think is necessary. Keep in mind, I reserve the right to turn down any commission for any reason at all, or even no reason, if it's just something I don't think I can make work or have an interest in writing. If you've got a concept you're ready to commission, you can always reach out to me (preferably before you upgrade your subscription level to a commissioner stat) and we can talk out what your options are. It's not that I don't enjoy having more money coming in - I just need to not push myself beyond my limits.

In the rush to get myself packed and prepared for Christmas, I also forgot to send anything to the public sites last week, which means this week, it's going to seem like I'm practically raining stories to the free sites, with 4 releases coming out. Public release schedule is going to be:  12/30 - BTS 7, QT2:9, Amor Ex Machina 1, QTAA 2; 1/6 - Threadbinders 6, QT2:10; 1/13 Pack 5, Threadbinders 7; 1/20 - Devil's Details 9, QT2: Intermission 2 (10.5); 1/27 - QT:AA 3.

We're all still working on our parts for building out a bigger Quaranteam hub page, and I'm just as guilty as everyone else in being behind schedule for writing out my parts, but I've also been working to codify and structure the process for allowing and working with QT spinoff writers so that there's guidance and help, and that everyone's working to fall within the parameters of what I will and won't allow for Quaranteam related stuff. Special thanks to Break and Agathon who are taking on the roles of Captains, people who I trust to help shepherd the universe as a whole, and to help keep tabs and make sure we're being consistent in terms of methodology and chronology. When I started writing the original Quaranteam back in May of 2020, I don't think I anticipated it would grow to what it's become, so some growing pains along the way are to be expected, and that's true for the hub page as well. It's coming; we just ask for a bit more patience. 

Final bit of news - I saw Wonka a few days back and am delighted to say it was pretty good! Not Gene Wilder levels of sublime perfection like the original, but I enjoyed it enough to recommend you see it. The first act could use with a little less ponderance and a bit more zip, but once it settles into its rhythm, it's quite enjoyable. 

Thanks for making 2023 a great year for everyone over here at House McTaggart. I've enjoyed writing for you all, and look forward to continuing these stories for years to come, and those of you who have joined the Discord, it's always a delight to chat with you, even if I don't always give you the answers you're looking for. If you're partying on New Year's, party responsibly and don't drink and drive, lest you meet with a fate as bad as DuoHalo.