So a while ago I started talking with a fan. They don't write often and I like having someone to talk about my work with since this is not something I openly share IRL. He of course wondered how things were going. I showed him the draft of what I had so far, as well as telling him where things are going. About how the plot arc I was working on up to the Opulent Mall was something I was beginning to have serious doubts about, and yet having trouble coming up with another one.
If anyone wants to see what that general plot arc would be, you can read the epilogue part 1 where I speed run through what would have been another 6-8 stories to finish off the series. The idea was to also create a part 2 with the original original plot arc that I abandoned way back around part 10.
But back to my talks. We talked through things but one of the things that made this different was that he offered to write the ending himself. We had discussions about where it should go and what it should be. I rewrote some parts to try to fit together smoother with a less extreme end to the party. Then something came up in my life and I basically put all that aside for a while. After long enough I just wasn't thinking about it. He tried to reach out but I only really skimmed them. Then I got an email, followed by notification of new comments, that he had finished the story and had put it up. It's my fault that I wasn't contacting him and had I been keeping up I would have read this was his plan. The story is in fact largely what had been part of my draft, written by me.
However, while he took many of the ideas we talked through, many more are new to me, and he envisioned having whole new arcs before reaching an end.
The selfish instincts of being an author makes me want to say no, the fate of the characters must be mine to dictate in full! But the practical side of me knows it has been years since I've last published, and I can't promise if left to my own I ever will.
So if anyone wants to get that, it is about 60% my own words but I don't personally like the direction it was going at the end. I've had a few messages with him and we may need time to sort out differences if I'm to keep letting him write the rest for me.
I hope everything is good for you. And im still waitin an update from you. Take your time dont pressure yourself. Have a nice day.
ReplyDeleteLooks like he's charging for it as well - it's listed as premium, three dollars to read. I hope you're getting your fair share of that?
ReplyDeleteYes. Rest assured, whatever proceeds there may be will be split fairly.
ReplyDeleteHello Jess,
ReplyDeleteFirst, I think this installment is well thought out and written and sits better with you than some of the harder ideas I had when we talked some time ago. Second, I apologize for not keeping in contact with you about you more then the story.
It looks like he's put up a $3 paywall on it. Was that run past you, or is someone pulling a crafty one?
ReplyDeleteTruth be told, I had a crack at writing a little of this, too. My part was just a fragment, barely a page; somewhere between 3 and 4, I think. After Lea had got the cabin and had shown it to Andrea, but before the others are brought along. It's never seen the light of day, but I'm sure it's buried somewhere, either in the notes app on my phone, or on my PC...
So you are saying you won't do it, huh? Around part 10... That's right after the cabin thing and Zainab becoming nearly the main character.
ReplyDeleteWell, I can tell you my theory. The friends would do something to nullify Sophia's contract. Maybe buy it themselves.
Zainab and Lea would fight over Andrea's attention. Zainab would have the upper hand at first because she's more aggressive but later fail because she's too selfish.
At some point the four/five friends would become involved in another serious mess, worse than the cabin thing. They would suffer a lot for a time, maybe months, but all would end well. Traumatized but keeping it together.
In the last chapter at least one of them would become a permanent sub in a consensual relationship, possibly Megan. Maybe with another member of the group. Andrea and Lea would end up with a girl, possibly together. Sophia with a guy. Zainab would land on her feet wherever that was. Ravi was not in the story. One less asshole in the world. Who cares?
Am I close?
While that's a good idea, no it's not like what I was thinking. Zainab was originally going to be a very different character, more self centered and less warm. She was going to eventually seduce and once back at her royal home, enslave them into a harem. Lea would have gotten Sophia's contract and the two would end up rescuing their friends while getting Zainab brought down for it. In essence she would have bene the villain but as I actually wrote her I found I was writing a very different person. I felt she had more more depth than my original plan had called for. So the way she eventually came out in 9/10 (which I wrote together) seemed like I'd either have to rewrite her to fit the old (and let's be honest, more boring/typical) plot or figure out something else because the person I was writing didn't feel like someone who could play that role.
DeleteIt's funny because when you look for it you can still see in some 9/10 scenes where she's still meant to seem cold or self-concerned, the very controlling, not caring much about anything but her own life. Demanding Andrea bend down in the middle of a public street, how controlling and boundary-pushing she was about the date that she knew was Andrea's first time with a woman, but a lot of it ended up just looking like she's an ultra-domme and the flavoring around the details of those events hides it some. Then by 11 I'd basically gotten to really like this other kind of character, still demanding and self-centered but on longer to an absolute fault. That she still cared about things, and even had breaking down some of that a big part of her character growth, so I needed to come up with another path and so while I didn't totally abandon the "save from harem" thing, it was totally reworked and with different people.
I been debating on whether or not I should pay the 3 dollars or not. I do have to ask: Can someone write a story that takes place in the same world that you made? Can this blog be a bit of a guideline for it?
ReplyDeleteOh..
DeleteThat's something I haven't considered, trying to gear this to a "verse" of sorts. I'll be thinking about that.
Good Morning Jess,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed all of the parts you wrote and I did enjoy the collaboration you did. I keep checking back to see if you have continued hoping for another chapter. You are a really good writer and you have created a unique world with a lot of different directions your story could go. I hope you have eventually have time to dive back into writing and are able to add more to your story, even if its a smaller mini stories from within the world or with the 4 friends. Thank you again for sharing your talent.