Phoenix Reign

Okay, while I’ll still (occasionally) post analysts of Jacksepticeye discussion videos I decided that until there’s something really worth an in-depth analyst that I would post some other stuff in the meantime. 

Long story short I’m a part of the ObiYuki discord group and the lovely and (extremely) talented people have inspired me to start posting some Obiyuki content on here. Since I can’t draw for shit I decided to write some Obiyuki one-shots instead. This will be new territory for me since I am technically an ObiOC writer. 

Before we continue I’d like to point out that this post is NOT sponsored. 

So I recently started using Dabble right after July’s Camp NaNoWriMo session. It’s a paid writing program (However you get a 14 day free trial)

Here’s the link if you’re interested: https://www.dabblewriter.com/

Anyways, for this years NaNoWriMo I’m actually working on 2 projects; Project Alpha (A YA modern fantasy) and Conquest (Book 3 in my Akagami no Shirayuki fanfiction saga) 

This is how I set up my Dabble File

All the way on the right is the word count tracker. Dabble actually has NaNoWriMo integration so you can link your NaNo account with your Dabble account and they update your word count automatically.

I have two books in this file so the way this is set up is slightly different than how I normally set up my books. My notes are separated by story.

I won’t show you the plot grid because I have some of it filled out already (aka SPOILERS!)

In the top left corner you’ll notice that I broke down the first chapter of each book into multiple scenes.  Here’s a better look below. 

I don’t normally add letters when labeling my scenes but since I have 2 books in one file I added the first letter of the title so I don’t accidentally mix up the scenes between the two books. The first number represents the chapter number and the second number represents the scene number

 (Example: 1.5 = Chapter 1,Scene 5)

Why did I choose to use Dabble?

Dabble is a writing program developed by a writer (I don’t think that part needs further explanation) 

I used to use just Google Docs (sometimes Microsoft Word)  but I feel much more organized using Dabble and I can have my notes up on the screen as I’m writing.

Keep in mind that this program is new (Just celebrated it’s 2nd birthday) so it doesn’t have a lot of features but it’s a work in progress. They have a page where you can submit ideas for new features and upvote ones already submitted.

Dabble has a “drag & drop” system so you can easily change the order of your scenes and/or chapters and reorganize your notes if needed.

They recently added exporting to Word which comes in handy because I have a particular editing style that isn’t yet supported on Dabble. 

I personally like that @therealjacksepticeye‘s videos have become a mixture of let’s play, comedic reaction videos, and serious talks. It’s also nice to see that he’s taking care of himself more than just trying to please everyone. In the video he talks about how it was hard for him to draw a line when it came to his work, but I think the fact that he separates Jack from Seán is a way of drawing a line between work and personal time. 

As a writer I empathize with Seán and his struggle to find time for himself when you’re a full-time content creator. I often find myself always thinking to myself “Why are you sitting here when you could be writing?” or “While you’re watching Netflix you be prepping your next project”. I eventually started setting boundaries for myself. I only work in the morning so I can relax at night. Morning work includes: writing, prepping, and even using social media. 

I also like how open Arin and Seán are with each other. Their talk kinda just gives of a therapy vibe (which is a good thing btw). It’s nice that they have such a strong friendship to where they can go to each other and just vent. 

A majority of their talk is them discussing how Social Media can be toxic (even if it’s not intentionally toxic) and how it effects their mental health. 

I think we all can agree that we care about Seán and Arin’s well being more than the amount of content they produce. They’re humans, not machines. 

Basically to sum up Jack’s advice video. 

Jack is only human and is by no means perfect (most of us aren’t) 

Honestly this video was brilliant. He starts off saying that he’s giving “terrible advice on life” when in reality I think it’s the thing we all need to hear.

Self-care is important as it keeps you from burning yourself out.

As much as you want to please everyone it’s just not possible

and as I mentioned before we’re only human. We make mistakes and can sometimes be stupid but instead of letting that consume us we can use it to learn and grow from there. 

Perfection is just an ideal. As much as we want to be perfect it’s just not possible.

Thanks @therealjacksepticeye