#thatupdate

(Also a short update.)

Hey all! I've been gone for a while, I know. I've been trying to keep active in the midst of finding work and life being well... life. So the short and quick version of this is, I'm back-ish!

I have decided to really buckle down and have a try at building up my writing habits. With a couple of months filled with some horrendous experiences I won't detail here, I have realized what I want to do more than anything is writing. I have been attempting the process for the passed couple of weeks and the results have been more than I had expected.

Last month's goal is more or less having a decent amount of work done on all WIPs. And while that can seem overwhelming. I think the way I had set this up this time could hold results. So prior to my recent experiment, I've been writing with the goal of finishing one thing with no deadline (probably not the best method now that I'm thinking about it.) So what I decided to do now is to have a deadline along with tentative goals by the end of the year(NaNoWriMo) and some taking place during the first half of the new year (AroWriMo).

Some of these goals range from solid word counts to more abstract concepts in writing but for transparency (and accountability, really) I'll share them below.

Poco-A-Poco (Webcomic)

Poco-A-Poco is a web comic I set out to make at the beginning of the pandemic. Hoping to create something while in lockdown. It has been abandoned for a couple of years but I have decided to work on it to help build my discipline.

The goal for the last two weeks was to create a total of around 30 "pages" for the web comic. Thinking pages for web comics are often subjective and since I have a passion for graphic design. I felt it would at least work as a warm up when working on it.

The goal after September would be to work on a "page" daily for Poco-A-Poco. Just to build a rhythm and if I manage the time, some day update the comic with what I have worked on.

By the end of 2023, the total should amount to around 122 "pages".

By April 2024, the total should amount to around 243 "pages".

@bybyebitheway

Bi The Way is my ocean punk baby. Also started in 2020 and has had the unfortunate ratio of one chapter released per year it's been alive. With my new motivation with these goals, I decided BTW needed a concrete goal to hit. This was not only to build discipline, but also to build stamina in my writing sprints. I will be trying the Pomodo Method when writing BTW chapters along with the modified Kitchen Timer Method.

The goal of these past few weeks was to write around 4 chapters. I really attempted to give my all these passed few weeks, but haven't managed to work on Bi The Way. However, knowing I had planned beyond these two weeks made me feel better about the initial failure.

This October, I plan on playing catch up on BTW and other WIPs I fell behind on. By the end of this month, I plan on having written 5 chapters along with the four chapters that carry over last month. I feel like the carry over factor will help in building that stamina in terms of writing. After all, the only reason I had set 30 pages in two weeks for Poco-A-Poco was to build in routine. I'll talk more about that later on, but for now my goal with BTW is to have written 4/5 chapters each month. Each chapter having a minimum word count of 1,500 words. BTW will have a hiatus in November for NaNoWriMo.

By the end of the year, I would like to have around 14 chapters.

By the end of April 2024, I would like to have around 30 chapters.

@tobeaspected

To Be Aspectec is another product of the pandemic and also my first dive into AroWriMo. Having failed to achieve what I originally wanted for AroWriMo multiple years in a row, I plan to finish at least one character interaction just in time for next year's AroWriMo.

The goal for the last two weeks was to have two "scenes" written for TBA. With the goal being more subjective and similar to my goal with Poco-A-Poco pages, I opted to have a definition set for what counted as a scene (for my overthinking sanity's sake). A scene would mean any amount of writing needed before the player makes a choice. (Oh I forgot to mention TBA is an interactive fiction piece, didn't I?) Besides the quantity, anything else was up to me.

By the end of the year, I would like to have 6 "scenes" written for TBA.

By the end of February 2024, I would like to finish one "volume" of TBA. A volume would be a total of two characters and all their interactions, including endings.

By the end of April 2024, I would like to have 10 "scenes" written.

@thehuntersacethetic

The Hunter's Ace-Thetic is another interactive fiction project that started during the pandemic. It has been through many different mediums as a way to experiment and learn about different media, but I will focus on ChoiceScript for now.

My goal during the past two weeks was to write out one "episode". Again, with the goal being to build stamina, I added THAT work load into the two weeks as well. More so, the focus these past two weeks was to organize the "episode" structure, with the real priority being on an outline for it.

By the end of the year, I would like to have 4 episodes of THAT.

By the end of April 2024, I would like to have 8 Episodes of THAT.

NaNoWriMo 2023 Project (OMS)

For the month of November, I plan to take on NaNoWriMo and work on one of my abandoned attempts. I hope to write to full 60,000 words by the end of Novemember. If anything, I hope I learn how to be a better writer. The name of the book will be: "Oh My, Starsigns!"

"Oh My Starsigns!" is planned to be a sci-fi/ crime drama(?) taking place in the future where the space police have technology that can take over a suspect's body. Along with the police themselves, suspects also posses different abilities. The story will begin when a prison ship crash lands on a distant planet. Really trying hard to not give anything away just yet.

By the end of 2023, I would like to have Oh My, Starsigns! finished.

By the end of April 2024, I have no further plans for OMS other than maybe self publishing on Amazon or somewhere else if I'm able to find a better alternative.

What I've Written So Far (End of September, 2023):

Poco-A-Poco: 20/30 Pages

Bi The Way: 0/4 Chapters, 0/6k Words

To Be Aspected: 0/2 Scenes

The Hunter's Ace-thetic: 0/1 Episodes

What I Plan to Write (October 2023):

Poco-A-Poco: 40/30 Pages

Bi The Way: 8/4 Chapters, 12k/6k Words

To Be Aspected: 4/2 Scenes

The Hunter's Ace-thetic: 2/1 Episodes

Reflection:

AN INTRODUCTION

[THE HUNTER"S ACE-THETIC] [WIP INTERACTIVE FICTION] [DEMO TBA] [MYSTERY] [ESCAPE] [CASSETTE FUTURISM]

A trio of strangers wake up in an abandoned underground bunker without any recollection of how they arrived there. While finding a way to escape, they come to find that maybe the three of them aren't the only ones inhabiting it. Could they be the only three humans to reside there?

Follow Lawrence, Vincent, and Abel in their struggle to break out of the mysterious bunker, survive against a supernatural bunkmate, and defy societal expectations!

[ TAGS: ] that.wip, thatUpdate, that if, thatif.Update, the hunter’s acethetic, the hunter’s ace-thetic update,

[ STAR-STUDDED ACES ] The main cast of characters, as well as any future additions to the cast, will identify as ace or on the asexual spectrum. While there's no "real" reasoning for this, I feel like I must quote a very important woman on my inclusion of ace and aro characters as my protagonists:

"I just think they're neat!" - Marge Simpson

[ THREE PATHS ] Choose between three different characters to play as. Experience the story from different points of view. Explore the different parts of the bunker and befriend your fellow bunkmates.

[ FREE TO BE ME ] I am fairly new to interactive fiction and the many different programs used for it, but I plan on players to change the gender of the character they chose to play as. I might expand this more so players can change the gender of everyone else as well, but I have no idea how to do that. As of writing this, all three characters will remain as male.

[ AN EXPANDING CAST ] As of yet, there are only three characters available to play as. Hopefully, there will be a few new characters to play as in future updates.

LAWRENCE (m)

asexual

The Librarian with an ACE-CENTRIC personality. From basic math to the philosophical complexities of terraforming Mars, this man knows it all! Well, sorta.

Waking up in a mysterious bunker with fellow abductees, Vincent and Abel, Lawrence finds the yellow walls of their bunker grow in their capacity and threat. With the bunker playing host to both man and beast, Lawrence is quick to use his book smarts to get them out of danger before the three lose their minds.

ABEL (m)

aromantic

The Medical Student with a BR-ACE-ING diagnosis. Unable to remember much before waking up inside the bunker, this medical intern attempts to suture together his memory and sanity.

The yellow walls of his holding room give Abel an unwanted sense of familiarity. In Seattle, Paris, and even Greece, pictures of Abel can be found throughout the many rooms of the underground bunker. At least he thinks it's him. With the help of his fellow bunkmates, Lawrence & Vincent, Abel hopes to solve the mystery of his faulty memory before something faulty befalls them.

VINCENT (m)

grey-asexual

The Newshound with the ANONYM-ACE source. Having only heard of situations like these amongst his fellow reporters, Vincent finds himself in the middle of a scoop that he cares not to be in.

Based on the news stories of people who woke up in situations like this, Vincent is not liking his odds at escaping the yellow walls of the bunker. Thankfully, he's not on his own. He hopes with his bunker friends, Lawrence & Abel, and his own inquisitive nature, they will have higher odds of escaping the bunker. Hopefully beating the odds of whatever else lurking within these yellow walls finding them first.

[ more characters to come ]

[ monday ] | [ starry ] | [03.142022]

Hi All!

So this update is long overdue. I'd like to first apologize for practically vanishing again for the third time this decade. I, like many of us living through the 2020s, have struggled to get their works out and even worked on at all. However, I just wanted to reassure those following my WIPs that I will continue to work on them. Below will be an itemized list of things I have been able to do since the start of January.

@thehuntersacethetic

I have started working on the basics in terms of ChoiceScript. The characters are mostly developed, good with character dynamics. I plan on working on scenes for the first arc of The Hunter's Ace-Thetic. I am debating on whether to include puzzle elements for different paths of the story.

Character Intros should come out in a few weeks.

@bybyebitheway

I have begun doing more character work and began plotting the first two arcs. I have decided with the amount of attention being put into other WIPs to try for a chapter a week. I would like to eventually get to two chapters a week. I just enjoy this world and its characters are too important to me to give up, so expect that in a few days.

@tobeaspected

I managed to plot most of the different branches of To Be Aspec-ted.

I have a definitive number of endings: 8.

I had Covid while working on this for AroWriMo, so while I was hoping to get at least one new ending for this year, I ended up barely writing one.

I do plan on having some kind of weekly progress update for TBA.

Similar to BTW, the goal is to have one ending done (in either the planning or writing process) by the end of each week.

I would also like to retroactively add this weekly update to BTW content as well.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this.

I hope you all like what's to come!

mini update #1: I am very behind on goals.

mini update #2: I decided to take on an accountability buddy, so far, it's help.

mini update #3: I've already written up 1.5k of words for the next chapter of BTW and god, I feel tired but elated! I do have a bit of reservation with how I ended it, but I like what I've made so far. There is a bit of rambling in the beginning but I just need to start it somehow. There might also be funky pronouns around a certain sample stealer, but hopefully I've managed to catch them before publishing on AO3. n.n

mini update #4: Poco-A-Poco has been getting to me, but I'm attempting to figure out it's voice while still being able to work on it.

mini update #5: I will be trying to crank out 1.5k every day this week to catch up on BTW chapters. Like, I know I'm going to hate it, but a this point it needs to be done. I don't want to sit here and mourn characters and worlds when I know I'm capable of sticking it out and writing it. Especially now that I finished one chapter today.

An Update

Hey all! I can't believe I forgot to add this on to this blog.

Short story turned shorter, I've been a complete disorganized mess and ended up creating a very short bare bones game of The Hunter's Ace-Thetic. It literally just has a little dude you can move around, along with some other features. I am abandoning it for now just because I feel like it distracted me from what I really wanted from this project. I will leave the link to it below for those interested, but I will be working on THAT on ChoiceScript from now on.

Maybe I'll work on it again when I get the chance and more time. Til then, hope y'all enjoy!

Oh, is this what we're doing now?

Thanks for 200 followers, hope you guys like it. I still can't wrap my head around the fact 200 of you decided to follow me.