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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, we’ve 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 you’ve noticed, I’ve 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 didn’t disappoint, which is...kind of a good thing, I suspect?
That aside, with Camelia and Irene’s family struggles coming to a close, it’s time to sit back, reflect on where we’ve been, and what to expect going forward, because there’s still more to say -- although we are reaching what I feel will be a good finishing point.
So, let’s get the ‘bad news’ out of the way -- I’ll 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 won’t be nearly as hectic or jarring. That doesn’t mean there won’t 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) -- I’m honestly not quite sure how to get to those big moments. At least not yet.
Here’s the thing: I know the major beats that the story will follow (at least I’d 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 That’s where I’m stumbling.
I have an outline I’ve been following -- loosely, but it does exist, I promise. :) Irene’s final conflict is, for the most part, going to stay the course, and how Camelia’s conflict will end is also pretty set in stone. I just don’t know how to get from “let’s go back to a problem Camelia’s been dealing with since Episode 4” to “...and let’s put a nice bow on top, annnnd we’re done!” 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, that’s worked out well. This approach was suitable near the beginning when the two of them were still discovering what made the other tick. But they’ve found that answer for the most part, so that approach doesn’t work as well anymore.
I also have to decide how much I want to tie the events of Monsters Don’t Cry into the remaining chapters, as I’ve teased about a few consequences that came from that story’s conclusion, but haven’t determined how deep I want to go in that regard for the serial (outside of acknowledging that these stories don’t exist in their own little bubbles).
If you haven’t picked up on it yet, the third act of Dogs Chase Squirrels will be the final one.
I don’t want to set the remaining episode count in stone yet, but I’m expecting Act 3 will be as long as the other acts (roughly 10-12 episodes). As before, if I feel I’ll need more time, I’ll 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 I’d like to finish, including my first attempt at writing a horror story for Halloween (albeit with some sublimated sexy parts, because it’s me we’re talking about), along with a not-quite-vignette featuring a side character from one of my early stories having a “big” adventure of her own. :) I also have a Christmas-themed story I’ve poked at but haven’t finished yet. It’ll serve as a sequel of sorts to Monsters Don’t Cry, showcasing what’s 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 it’s 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. I’ll 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, I’ve 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 you’ll 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...haven’t quite decided on that yet. I’ll leave the answer as “eventually” for the time being.
Once again, thank you for reading this far, and I hope you’ll enjoy what’s to come as we reach the end of what has been an...interesting year. :)
