#blchat

I know I’ve been quiet for a while, so I just wanted to fill you in on what’s going on.

School ended a couple weeks ago, and I’m still trying to recover from all the insanity leading up to graduation. Honestly, I’ve been procrastinating working on anything because I’m too tired to do anything. But I think I’ve given myself enough time to recover. (To the point where half the time, I don’t even feel like being awake because I’m bored out of my mind. Don’t think it’s depression, but I’ve just not felt like doing anything...)

But in all honesty--and I’ve been thinking about this for a while--I don’t feel quite as motivated to work on my comics. And sure, motivation isn’t everything, but it feels like I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. That’s not exactly surprising, since I do that all the time, but I don’t want to keep working on these things if no one’s going to read them.

Now, obviously I know some of you guys do read Voidtale and AskBlue, and that’s fantastic. And I also know that people do enjoy my stories, even though my self-esteem says otherwise. That said, working on 2 comics, trying to write a book, and building an author platform is extremely taxing. I mean, how many times have I taken longer than a month to get my life back in order before going back to do the same thing and barely lasting more than another month?

I’m...really bad at multitasking...

Of course, I still want to finish out what I have planned. So Voidtale will get to its end eventually. I’ve had everything planned out for months, it’s just a matter of getting there. I’ve still got 4 more parts planned, but I’m going to get them done as fast as I can.

As for AskBlue, I don’t have any idea where I was going with the Error arc, I just wanted to make those two meet. And since I’m out of asks I can use anyway, I will not be continuing AskBlue for the foreseeable future.

Now that we’ve got the comic matter out of the way, I’d like to mention that, for now, How to Writing is on hold until further notice. While I’m proud of what advice I’ve given, I also know that I’m still just an aspiring writer with only a couple years or so of actual experience in writing original stories and content. Sure, fanfiction has helped me grow as a writer, but I need to carve out my own little niche in the writing industry before I start telling other people what I know. I don’t have nearly as much experience as I’d like to in order to start the series up again.

But don’t worry, it will be returning eventually--I have to market myself as an author, after all. I just need to have the background knowledge to do it.

And as for Burning Lies, I’m working on it. I’ve rewritten the prologue through Chapter 4 so far, and am right in the middle of Chapter 5. Everything has been completely redone. Villains have better motives, other characters are more multi-faceted, descriptions are better implemented, languages have been written. Hell, I even made up a few words that I use on a regular basis now.

That said, I need a few beta testers, just for the first few chapters. I’m trying to get a feel for what people will think of the story, and all the main points are pretty well established after Chapter 4. I know I have a few friends that have already read what’s been done, and also the previous drafts, but I could use a few extra, unbiased opinions. If you’re interested, I have the WIP page up and running on my writing blog. There, you’ll find the general synopsis, a sample, and a blurb.

Obviously the entire book hasn’t been completely rewritten yet, but it’ll at least give me a clue as to what I need to work on. Message me if you’re interested.

That looks to be all bases covered, so I’ll finish up this longer-than-intended post. Thank you all for understanding and patience. You’re all wonderful human people, and I love each and every one of you. My messages are always open, so if you’re bored or just want someone to talk to, I’d be happy to talk.

Why? Well, if I said, it’d probably be in a long, boring rant that nobody cares about, so I won’t.

I’ve been in a funk lately, that’s all. I mean to get things done and they don’t happen. Other things come up. As much as I’d like to finish my book and draw my comics, life doesn’t always give me a chance to do it, which sucks.

That being said, things are starting to come up, and if I want to stay sane, then I’m going to need to take a break. This month, I’m going to try and finish up Part 3 of Voidtale, but that means that AskBlue is taking the sideline. Partly because VT takes more effort, partly because I’m out of asks, but that’s a thing that’s going to be happening. Hopefully I can finish the part before Thanksgiving, though there are no guarantees.

Next, I’ll say some things about my book under the cut.

Burning Lies just surpassed 30,000 words, which is a HUGE deal to me.

So, as a sort of celebration, I will be posting snippets of what I have so far based on words you all send me! Keep in mind that this is almost entirely unedited, so it’s not going to be perfect. Also, plot elements will be omitted for the sake of the story.

Anyways, just have fun with this! I’ll take the first five asks I get with a word that’s somewhere in the story.

To start off, though, here’s a bit from what I just wrote (just cuz I think it’s funny :P ):

I’m a person making a thing. A blog thing. Most people would know me as TheRealAndian, but this is now my writing blog--for all the writing things. I’m currently working on the rough draft of my first novel, Burning Lies. If you’re curious about anything, I’ll be posting updates or pictures involving my many characters.

So I didn’t have anything last week, and I’m not going to have anything this week, either. And I have no idea about next week.

Chapter-wise, Burning Lies should be 28-30 chapters.

And yes, this is planned to be a pentalogy (5-book series) which will follow 2 sets of people that meet in the final installment. Books 1 and 4 will follow Kaetren’s story, and books 2 and 3 will follow a character named Ashley.