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Two acts down, one to go. What's next?
🕑 Added 2020-09-16 22:00:02 +0000 UTCThe road towards completing Dogs Chase Squirrels has been long and fraught with periods of struggle, but through a lot of perseverance, weâve made it to the end of the second major act of the serial. This arc was a tough one, both for the cast and for myself, and as youâve noticed, Iâve been taking more frequent breaks in order to recharge and get the creative juices flowing. I expected this to be the toughest part to work on, and it didnât disappoint, which is...kind of a good thing, I suspect?
That aside, with Camelia and Ireneâs family struggles coming to a close, itâs time to sit back, reflect on where weâve been, and what to expect going forward, because thereâs still more to say -- although we are reaching what I feel will be a good finishing point.
So, letâs get the âbad newsâ out of the way -- Iâll be taking another break. (Yes, the muse is rolling her eyes at me as I write this. Another break? Gasp, shock.) This break, however, is a planned one, for several reasons.
For one, just like the second act felt different from the first, the third act will have a different feel from the second, and I want to approach it with a fresh set of eyes. While the emotional roller coaster has hit some sharp peaks and valleys, the rest of the ride wonât be nearly as hectic or jarring. That doesnât mean there wonât be some tough decisions for Camelia and Irene to make in the near future. These decisions will ultimately decide where their relationship ends up, and I want to give it the attention it deserves.
Second (and this is going to be the tough one) -- Iâm honestly not quite sure how to get to those big moments. At least not yet.
Hereâs the thing: I know the major beats that the story will follow (at least Iâd better know by now). I know how the story will end. The trick is figuring out how to bridge those moments together to hit those beats Thatâs where Iâm stumbling.
I have an outline Iâve been following -- loosely, but it does exist, I promise. :) Ireneâs final conflict is, for the most part, going to stay the course, and how Cameliaâs conflict will end is also pretty set in stone. I just donât know how to get from âletâs go back to a problem Cameliaâs been dealing with since Episode 4â to â...and letâs put a nice bow on top, annnnd weâre done!â yet.
Since the beginning, Dogs Chase Squirrels has always been a story with a set destination, but a loose and curvy path on how to reach that ending, and I think for the most part, thatâs worked out well. This approach was suitable near the beginning when the two of them were still discovering what made the other tick. But theyâve found that answer for the most part, so that approach doesnât work as well anymore.
I also have to decide how much I want to tie the events of Monsters Donât Cry into the remaining chapters, as Iâve teased about a few consequences that came from that storyâs conclusion, but havenât determined how deep I want to go in that regard for the serial (outside of acknowledging that these stories donât exist in their own little bubbles).
If you havenât picked up on it yet, the third act of Dogs Chase Squirrels will be the final one.
I donât want to set the remaining episode count in stone yet, but Iâm expecting Act 3 will be as long as the other acts (roughly 10-12 episodes). As before, if I feel Iâll need more time, Iâll take it, but I anticipate being finished around the end of the year, or just after the beginning of the next.
So what does that mean going forward? A bit of good news -- I do have one episode drafted and ready for proofreading, so once I pick the serial back up, I expect to hit the ground running. I also have some other projects Iâd like to finish, including my first attempt at writing a horror story for Halloween (albeit with some sublimated sexy parts, because itâs me weâre talking about), along with a not-quite-vignette featuring a side character from one of my early stories having a âbigâ adventure of her own. :) I also have a Christmas-themed story Iâve poked at but havenât finished yet. Itâll serve as a sequel of sorts to Monsters Donât Cry, showcasing whatâs happened to some of the main cast after the events of that novella.
And I'm planning all of this between my real-world obligations.
So, yes. Busy, busy, busy.
I know itâs been a struggle for all of us this year, and all I can say is thank you for your support and your patience with me. Iâll do my best to make the wait worth it, and end the serial on a satisfying and memorable note. :)
And for those of you still on the fence and wondering why this vixen keeps rambling on about her little romance story, good news! To help increase interest and to give you a more suitable sample size, Iâve decided to make the entirety of the first act of the serial free for everyone to read! This will take you all the way up to Episode 14, versus the original free trial of 3 episodes, so youâll have plenty to dive into! The second and unfinished (as of this writing) final act, however, will remain Patreon-exclusive, so I hope those of you who are curious will give it a shot and may consider supporting to read the rest. Expect those episodes to go public in the next few days; I'll post a new announcement when that's done so I'm not blowing up my supporters' mailboxes with a ton of updates. :)
Will these episodes go live on FA at some point? I...havenât quite decided on that yet. Iâll leave the answer as âeventuallyâ for the time being.
Once again, thank you for reading this far, and I hope youâll enjoy whatâs to come as we reach the end of what has been an...interesting year. :)
