So I made this post on the cog forum thread without realizing most of you here in tumblr would never see it, so here it goes again.
Happy New Year to everyone following this game!
I hope you all have a good start into 2026. I can proudly say that after a solid month of not only stress but also writer’s block, I’ve spent part of this day working on Press Play. I’m currently at a very emotionally taxing point in the story, i.e. Love Dagger’s party where the band performs. It’s pretty heavy and not the easiest to write for me, but it’s like a knot unraveling in a sense. I just hope I’m handling it well. Anyhow, that particular segment is almost over now, and I’ll sure be glad when I’ve finished it.I have some goals for this story for 2026. Namely, I want to double the word count for Press Play. I don’t know yet to how many chapters that will bump up the story, and to what percentage it will be completed by then. That would be too difficult to decide, so I think word count is a good and achievable goalpost.
Unfortunately, I still don’t know what to do about the Patreon. To be honest, I’ve really enjoyed my time without it. It was rather taxing to write all of the side stories, and it might have contributed to my writer’s block. I don’t think I can reopen it again just yet. If I decide against it entirely, I’ll simply set everything to public and hope that those who supported me aren’t too disappointed. Either way, I was extremely grateful for the extra money. I just think my writing would suffer if I kept that up.
Furthermore, I have been thinking of sharing one of my side projects with you guys. I write more than you probably expect. I have like four to five different things I’m working on, some of that is even linear fiction. Of course, the majority of my time has been spent on Press Play, as shown by the word count haha. However, there is a secondary IF project that is now sitting at a stunning 55k words.It’s something I write on when I need relief from the heavy, realistic and more grounded themes of Press Play. It’s fantastical and whimsical, and mostly just escapism for me.
However, I’ve started coding it cause I want to make it playable for an IF writer friend of mine whom I blabbed about it to and who is now very excited for it. So a part of me is thinking, if I’m showing her, maybe it’s worth showing a few more people? However, I’m afraid of “ruining” it for me by making it public. Like, it would become work instead of escapism. Especially since I am very sure it wouldn’t be nearly as popular as Press Play and then people who don’t get that I need this will go “why aren’t you working on Press Play more? Why are you wasting time on this crap?” So yeah.
All this to say, I’m up to a lot of stuff. I hope I can finish the rest of chapter 4 soon and get it to you maybe in two months or so, if all goes well. I don’t wanna give lofty promises, hence this vague prediction.
Keep well and let’s all hope for a good 2026!
