#sunbound progress update

i think going chronologically, the next scenes i'm writing are the branching scenes for when sparky can meet 2 out of the 5 ros depending on which part of the company building they go to. i'm not sure how long this will take me but i am excited to see where the characters take me on this much awaited reunion for each pair.

just writing that down has me exhausted but excited. hope i get a productive week! it's quite cold now so it's easier to just sink in bed and sleep all day but thankfully i'm not as mushy brained as previously.

the starting part is a little difficult for me at the moment since i kinda want it to feel like a celebrity quiz on a magazine but some things i want to ask (like sparky's gender and sexuality but they could still be closeted in present time) are a bit tougher to write into that format. i might keep it as a standard set of questions for now and then rewrite it into a quiz-like format when chapter 1 comes. or maybe by then i'll have a different idea on how to make the questions feel like they're part of the universe.

i also need to revise the "start" -- it's where readers can choose details about sparky and the gender-selectable love interests so the prologue starts with those already set (genders of ros can be picked later on if readers choose that option). i have this one also written down in full now but it's also still a little wonky. it's short anyway so it'll be easy to revise.

so far, prologue is looking to be around 5k words which was my goal anyway. but it miiiight be longer once i revise since i tend to add more stuff with revision. i might try to revise this weekend so it'll only be bug testing for next week (which will be very minor) or i might revise next week if this anxiety and brain fog persists for a little more while. either way, i'm 100% sure i'll have it ready by 7-7.

in the meantime, i’m writing bit by bit for chapter 1. this book is surprisingly very different from tro. i mean, obviously it’s different because the genres are different, but it’s stylistically so different too. since it’s framed as a docuseries with bits and pieces of “off camera” moments, there are some scenes that don’t even feature sparky. there are montages, interviews, filmed scenes, all that. i really struggled a lot at first figuring out how to style each specific kind of scene so they’re distinct from each other (not to mention past vs present timeline) but writing it now with the setup i have in mind, it’s a different experience. not bad, though a little challenging. also incredibly satisfying.

i’m also listening a lot to arirang (bts’ album) and pureflow pt. 1 (le sserafim’s album) and the lyrics and everything are really inspiring me despite the agonizing heat right now. into the sun and need your company especially are such good songs for the ideas i have in mind.