Weekly Progress Update [20/JUL] (Patreon)

Hellooo, hope your weekend is going well ✨

I took a couple days off this week from writing to enjoy some of the summer weather and pace myself a bit. The upcoming week is full of rainstorms though, so I'll be locked up at home to do more writing for sure haha ⛈️

For this week I worked on some of the variations that take place at the start of the chapter and a little further into it as well, specifically the ones dealing with Kham and Eshkar.

Kham's potential relationship with the Crown is a really interesting one considering how many angles it can take in the story, especially with regards to the variations in it. There are of course the two straightforward ways of determining the dynamic: in CH12, those who went straight to Eshkar vs those who got a meeting arranged via Kham. But even within those two paths there are further variations.

Those of you who took the Kham route but did not give her any concessions regarding Eshkar, insisting that he be tried in Arsurian court, are on a slightly different path with her compared to those who basically handed Eshkar over to her. Similarly, those who took the Eshkar route can choose to keep things secret from her and approach Queen Nis, or get Kham involved directly, but the latter of those two will mean a rather tense relationship considering the Crown will essentially be blackmailing her 🤪

In any case, during the big Road Trip of the upcoming chapters, those on the Eshkar route (regardless of what they chose regarding blackmailing Kham or not) will get to drag him around as an important prisoner/bargaining chip. Just imagine the Crown and their buddies having fun and Eshkar just miserable in the background the entire time lmao.

For those on the Kham route though, you will get some extra time with her at the start of CH14 before the Crown leaves for the expedition. And your main LI may or may not have opinions about that 👀

I don't expect these variations to drag on for very long, however: there's going to be a lot of plot threads regarding Marabad reaching a climax by the end of ACT I before we move onto Şevan, which includes the Kham subplot.

I've also been thinking about the pacing of this chapter in relation to the story act we're in, and I think it's likely to end up a rather lengthy one if I want to wrap ACT I up by CH15 🧐 The variations will definitely inflate the wordcount, but those aside, to give you an idea: the average chapter is around 25-30 passages. If I want to keep to my original schedule, then CH15 will likely end up being around ~60 passages.

I'm a little concerned that trying to stick to an arbitrary number like that might mess with the pacing of the story and make the Road Trip feel rushed, though. So if necessary I might change my plans and extend ACT I and the Road Trip to CH16. We'll see how it goes as I write!

That's all I have for you this week. Those on a tier 3/Crown membership on the Patreon can expect X's snippet for their CH13 POV to drop around the coming Friday!!

Catch you next time 💖