January Update 2025! (Patreon)

Good evening everyone, C.H. Darkstrider here with the latest update! There are a few things to unpack in this one, as a lot of things have happened since the last update. So, without any beating around the bush on the topic, let’s get into it.

Starting off with the number of chapters I promised last month, I understand it was a massive undertaking and one I really thought I could achieve. Little did I realize that life took a gander at my plans, had itself a good laugh, then proceeded to slap me upside the head for my audacity.

It was then that life decided to throw a massive wrench into my writing plans by messing with how things were in my familial life. As I have stated before, I won’t go into details about what exactly happened, but it was a hot mess. The only thing I will say is that sides were chosen and… hard choices had to be made. Needless to say, what I knew was turned upside down and handling the situation took a lot out of me.

With what I had left, I was barely able to get things righted to where I got that one chapter released. I did get a good deal of work started, but none of it was finished in time and for that, I’m sorry I was unable to deliver. I guess that’ll teach me to not make plans too far ahead because everything is looking rosy, as I never know when a storm will break.

But going forward, I realized it was also time that I stopped being so hard on myself, listen to my patrons (you know who you are!) and just focus on doing what I can. So, starting now, in the new year, I’m wiping the slate clean on all things I ‘should’ get caught up on.

Instead, I will be focusing on what I can get done and while it may be slower than what some people are expecting, it will be enough. So, as of this moment, I have a new plan going forward and that is to release one chapter a week from now on. It is a bit slower than what I had originally intended, but I feel that focusing on one chapter per week is just the right amount of work I need to be doing.

One thing I am allowing to carryover from last year, which will be released this month, hopefully, is Return of the Blood Reaver Ch. 04. I got the outline already done up and it just needs to be written, which, over the course of the month, coupled with my new writing schedule, shouldn’t be too difficult to accomplish, which brings me to the next topic of conversation.

The winner of the January 2025 story of the month is Wings of Fire Ch. 13! As of this moment, the poll on the January story is officially closed and soon after this post goes live, I will be crafting a new poll for the story chapter of the month for February 2025!

The third thing I wanted to bring up was something I’ve been playing with in my mind for the last few months. I have been toying with the idea of expanding my reach as an erotic writer beyond the realm of sci-fi and fantasy. Everyone here has seen the results of such work in the new story I wrote, Second Chances.

I have been wondering how is it I will grow as a writer and find a bigger audience that would love to support my work. So, I hit up on the idea that I need to go beyond my comfort zone and write in genres that I haven’t before. So that means that some of the ideas I’ve hit up on will also be added to the story choice list for story of the month!

I’ve already touched off on Erotic Couplings via the Second Chances storyline and I am happy to see it was very well received! Some of you might be wondering what other genres I might decide to write in and these ones popped up for me the most; Historical, Loving Wives, BDSM and even some level of… Taboo.

Suffice to say, to do these new sub-genres will take a fair bit of research to get right. So outside of new chapters for Second Chances, it will take a while before I have anything viable to put up in the choices for new story chapter selections. As far as ideas go, I have plenty of those, as there is no shortage of untrod ground in many of these sub-genres. A writer’s work is never truly done!

Trying to become a well-known writer in this day and age, especially with the plethora of people out there stepping up to write their own stories, is becoming increasingly difficult. So, in order to retain my edge and keep ahead of the pack, I need to branch out and become more versatile with my stories and ideas. Stepping outside of your comfort zone is the only way to invoke true growth as both a writer and a person.

Well, that about does it for this month’s update! I hope everyone is doing well going into this new year and that all the resolutions you wish for come to pass in the year ahead! I also want to thank every one of my patrons for supporting me in my desire to become a full time writer! Thank you all for your continued support! May your days be bright and your hardships few and Happy New Year to all! Cheers!