Dev Update #41 (Patreon)

A bit over halfway done with the script review/final edits, and have about 1/3 of the render marks in. In case you missed it, I do have to add 2-3 smaller scenes to improve the story's flow. There is a poll for patrons to vote on as for who they want to get those scenes (ends at 6PM Eastern tonight). That is the short version. The longer version is that the story for Chapter 7 onward has had numerous rewrites and changes. I am not going to get into specifics, as almost none of it was anything I have talked about. But let's talk about why it took almost two months to go from over 80% of the script done to 100%. Turns out it is not because I'm a slow writer.

Around mid-October, I was wrapping up the story for Chapter 7. That took longer than I wanted, especially since I deleted and rewrote several scenes since Chapter 6's release, but it was close to being finished. But I didn't like it. I am confident I'll grow to hate the story I've made for Chapter 7, but hopefully that is months or years later, when I am a much better writer. My reaction after reading through the overall plot I had planned and tweaked for Chapter 7 was that it was just blah. Was it the worst I've ever done? No, but too much of it felt like I was trying to fit artificial quotas for certain content and it just seemed so obvious and rote. There was nothing to really propel the story, other than relationship progress and moving a few key storylines along.

However, thanks to some burnout symptoms, a busier than normal day job, and just needing time to sit down and really think it through, it wasn't anything I could correct right away. It needed reworking, but every time I tried to just adjust some smaller things, it still felt off. Until…I woke up one morning in mid-November around 4AM and realized what I needed to do. I was worried about your reactions if I emphasized certain parts of the story and characters and de-emphasized others. I still worry a bit about that, but things clicked. I finally had a framework for an interesting story with twists and turns, as well provide an opportunity for real character growth. Most importantly it provided some very different ways to resolve some big things. I wrote thoughts down for about an hour, went back to sleep, and then worked on the rough outline for Chapter 7 all day. Since then, the next chapter has received adjustments, had scenes deleted, and many more scenes added. But these were all to fill out the story, improve flow, and answer questions that came up as I wrote other scenes.

I have either removed, massively rewritten, or entirely added about 65 scenes for Chapter 7. I think that only 5 of the scenes I planned for Chapter 7 originally actually made it in with few changes. If you look back to the new progress graphic I released this past weekend, you'll see that there are nowhere near 65 scenes in Chapter 7. That is how much work I put in that no one will ever see. And that is definitely a good thing. At one point, I was a bit worried I was going to pull a George R.R. Martin - I'd never be able to deliver anything thanks to constant rewrites.

I look at the story for Chapter 7, and I finally like it. I don't even know how the hell it is going to end anymore, but I've done my best to avoid any problematic plot elements that force me into something. The story is interesting, and I want to see where it goes. I hope you all do also, once you get to play it in a few months. I am not going to pull any "Red Wedding" theatrics with the story, but it is going to get a bit dark. We already went to some of these areas, though briefly, with things like Valentina's backstory. But there is much more to explore, and let me assure you I've cut a LOT of dark stuff I thought about including. Chapter 7 of To Be A King is definitively Roy: dark and full of conflict one minute and inappropriate humor and sniping between characters the next. Oh and boobs (not saying I have those, but I always have to include them). Before I wish you a merry weekend, let me tell you that whatever you are thinking happens, you are probably wrong (winking emoji).

Have a great final weekend before Christmas, everyone! I'll be skipping dev updates for the next two weeks, but I'll be back in 2022 with a new dev update. While I am taking some extra time to relax this holiday season, I will be finding my way to work on To Be A King's next installment(s). Thankfully story work and coding is the perfect thing to do on a laptop while you try to avoid family.