Apr 2024 Dev Diary (Patreon)

HEWWO!

These past 2 weeks have been a weird mix of feeling stuck, problem solving and just going through with my instincts. While the setup and foundation for Meatier Showers 2024 feels pretty solid, pages 10 - 12 out of 24 - where the midpoint basically is - was troubling me a fair bit. It was challenging to discern on a creative level what those story issues were, especially with the disruptions back in March. Now that a functional degree of my editorial eye has been restored, I think it's safe to share my thought processes and creative decisions moving forward.

Because of various life developments, the fact that I'm expecting my house end of April, need to uproot and move in May, then starting university in June - it all felt like I needed to pin everything I wanted to do Meatier Showers (as a series) into this one 2024 project - to the point that there were very weird turns and developments that really wasn't coherent with the intended main themes.

Storyboarding is Story Re-boarding

Somewhere along the way of thumbnailing and drafting my pages, I thought it would be a great opportunity to wedge in Pridestar's origin story as a character. This unfolds over pages 10 - 12, in the midst of what should've been a comforting, safe, kink space and scene. The characters suddenly drop whatever they were going to do and careen off with a lot of backstory, exposition and just general head-scratching moments.

I think at this point, I had to be honest with myself that 1) I was trying too hard to impress upon the reader that I was smart and had a lot planned for the characters ahead of time and 2) desperately trying to squeeze everything into this one chapter so I didn't have to work on a standalone chapter to focus on something that I wasn't sure was going to work or not.

Stick to the Plan

There was a lot going on and my editorial self had to pull aside my creative self for a conversation of what we really wanted out of Meatier Showers 2024. The page numbers indicated above may be confusing as I'm constantly shuffling and rearranging the order of events into something that flows better and makes sense. As for now, pages 10 - 12 will be the initial growth arc. Everything else beyond that point will be escalating events. Whether or not we'll still hit 24 pages is subject to change. For now, I am fairly confident with the first 12 pages at least with this current iteration.

Once the 12 pages have been properly revised and drafted, I'd like to compile everything into a prototype e-book and send it out to everyone supporting the project for a first-pass reading, and perhaps open the floor to what the direction for the remaining half would lead to.

New Working Title

At the end of the day, the most natural headspace I needed to be in for this project was to create a sense of joy, safety and comfort exploring its original themes. The "STARGAZER" working title would thus be better left for the color compendium project slated for 2026.

The STARGAZER story elements have been scattered throughout the series since Pridestar's arrival to Meatier Showers - essentially speaking, a C-plot of sorts that ties all the individual chapters together. It's a plot that isn't on the forefront of the series, but strives to make sense of it all.

Suggestions & Poll

That leaves us back to Meatier Showers 2024 that needs a new working title - something that I'd like to open up to readers and project supporters like yourself to contribute and suggest. For now, right of the top of my mind would be Meatier Showers: Bulk Order - since both Pridestar and Snares (the lifeguard lion) end up ordering too much food. If you have anything to add, please feel free to suggest them in the comments below, after which I'll compile them for a poll later next month!

Stay swole and take care!

Snares
Apr 2024