6/28:

: Update: Recently, I organized all my chapters, and excluding the 5 side chapters(3 of which you've seen), there are 43 chapters.Uhh, but don't expect to see any releases anytime soon, sorry. I wrote my story at the ridiculous speed of 3 chapters a day when I first wrote them, and now that I'm reading them over...wow, how did I think this sheer number of inconsistencies and plotholes was fine? Right now, I'm working on rewriting...everything from scratch, but that's really difficult, and my motivation is at a low...

Also, I'm enjoying Minecraft a bit too much. Maybe its for the best I lost all my items...

Thoughts: I'm tempted, very tempted to begin rewriting the chapters after CH 7, but I need some self-control when it comes to this. Though some of those chapters are really choppy and strange, once Onei gets introduced, the sheer amount of effort I put in to make her work really let her shine...in my eyes at least. [expect tangents]

Drade, however, is a highly problematic character. As a reviewer stated, it is difficult to see his thought proce-

Oh, having him fused with Luuko gives me a wonderful time to show how his mind works! Anyway, I'll make sure you all can understand Drade much better than ever by the end of Fate's Ploy!

I also previously thought Onei was problematic too, but I've changed my mind on her. She is difficult to write, though...

Question: I don't know if anyone will answer these, but for personal reasons, I'll be brainstorming a question to ask my audience each update.

{Are you confused about the nature of the Friends? What confused you?}

6/29:

Spoiler :

Thoughts: So, the Friends are a little strange as a concept. Originally, they were meant to be Uffield's cult, but let me tell you this...everything in the first chapter I made on the seat of my pants(is that the right expression?) Anyway, I began writing this story with a single thing in mind: there's a dude who couldn't care less, but he keeps running into fantastical, 'secret' magic nobody knew about. So I started off the story with Kai'Vra and Dou Van Arc, two characters meant to represent a sort of Shoenen world where druids and nymphs are the primary conflict. Then, there was Onei. She was meant to be inspired by those teenage 'groundhog day' shows and books. Specifically, 13 Presents, if you know that(I remember very little about it). When I first introduced her, I actually entirely forgot to ask whether or not Drade would remember her. That didn't end up an issue, though, as he could see through illusions, no plot armor needed to remember her. Then, there was the boy with the enchanted coat. I assume you've read the first arc and can see where he went as a plotpoint. Maybe I'll make him show up later? I dunno.

Anyway, the Friends were the part that just didn't make sense at first...and for quite a while. At first, they were a cult, and now they're nothing like a cult(ret-cons, sorry). Basically, the Friends are a magic talent agency that also happens to be funded by Drade's dad to help Uffield just to ordinary life. So, Drade finds people who might be able to use magic, recruits them, then sells their services, like a talent agency. So...yeah.

Also, Uffield being a twitch streamer has a punchline I'm not sure if I've used yet.

She is an eldritch being with 'followers'. Need I say more?

Question: what hopes do you have for the development of The Gates of Chaos?

7/2:

Spoiler :

Update: I've been at my grandma's house, which is why I haven't updated this. I think I'm getting my motivation back, so once I get a good time, I'll start going ham.

Thoughts: Drade is a Kuudere.

Oh. Ok.

Question: do you enjoy answering polls?

7/4:

Spoiler :

Thoughts: limited time advice.

Question: has anyone played pokemon crystal clear?

7/14:

Spoiler :

Update: basically no progress has been made. School is almost over, and I'll probably go on hiatus for my work around the same time, so sometime after the beginning of August I'll be ready to put in the effort.

Thoughts: narratively, Luuko and Drade sharing bodies is a little strange. It helps with a lot, but Luuko doesn't have a great deal of agency.

Question: ok yeah this has worn thin on me already. These are going away.

Update: I pooped myself out on Minecraft and now I feel horrible. All according to plan! Now once I'm done with my school stuff I'll be back with renewed writing speed? I think I'll rewrite chapters 9-20 before I keep going. I may add a bit of foreshadowing during it, but not much. Neither should retcons be as necessary since I had a decent idea of who the Friends were by then.

Thoughts: remember to drink lots of water!

[/spoiler]

7/15:

Spoiler :

Update: I have begun the rewrite of the remaining chapters. I don't know how long this will take or how thorough this will need to be.

Thoughts: I got a new waterproof notebook for when I'm in the shower! That's where I tend to organize my thoughts, so its nice to be able to write things down. A notebook's no cloud-based document but it'll do.

7/17:

Spoiler :

Update: Chapter 9 is rewritten and released! I want to do 1 CH per day if I can, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. This is also a full rewrite, so most of it is built up from scratch. My writing takes a surprising turn for the better in CH 9+ so it shouldn't be as difficult to fix up, but it should take just as long as the first 7 chapters.

Thoughts: my internet at one house is perfectly fine, but can't run Minecraft without constant lag spikes...why?!

7/26:

Spoiler :

Update: sorry, I forgot to update yall. I'm quitting my job soon, and if things go according to plan...I'm not sure. I may or may not continue Witch's Psyche next write-a-thon, or it may be the Gates of Chaos. For anyone who has seen that story(aka, nobody?) It is looking soooo good now that I've revistied what I had been working on. The quality of the second part's story is going to be out the roof!

As far as Gates of Chaos go, I'll still be rewriting those chapters first. I'm taking a ton of time on this purely because of my own shortcomings, but I'll do my best to get some stuff out before the Write-a-Thon, or to get it ready for that event, if that's what I plan to do.

Thoughts: I think my final writing style may include multitasking two stories at once, though. More updates as my thoughts progress.

8/1:

Spoiler :

Update: I'm back from vacation, I have one assignment remaining for school, and my work ends next week. Once that's all done, and I've got nothing more on my mind, I'll ramp up production...or rather, actually start.

Thoughts: Everything I wrote in my first draft needs to be flat-out rewritten.

I guess that's why we call it a first draft, huh? Not only that, but the story structure needs to take place over many more chapters, so it may take almost 30 chapters to finish the arc, perhaps even more. I'll also consider adding bars to signify time passing, but I'll need to work out how I'll go about it, and it'll be a post-writing feature.

Also, I'm getting rid of the comedy tag. It just doesn't fit with what I'm going for anymore. One day, I'll learn to actually make something a comedy, but for now, that's the way this is.

8/10:

Spoiler :

Update: I'm getting down to business. I'll be swapping between writing Witch's Psyche and GOC, and I'm hoping I can get a chapter out each day.

Thoughts: This is long overdue.

8/20:

Spoiler :

Update: BOOM-TAH! I'm not certain I can write well in this state(just look at witch's psyche and my first draft to figure out what I've done in it) but I can sure as hell write in this state!

We can call this the Awkakened Dragoon state.

For reference, the last time I felt this way, I was writing three chapters a day, no sweat.

Thoughts: this site really needs a way to communicate better with the audience. I'm the type of person who wants people to know what's going on at all times

8/21:

Spoiler :

Update: don't expect new chapters for a while. I purposefully dispelled the 'Awkened Dragoon' state, as I'm not confident it could get me good results. I also feel like using it isn't a true fix to what makes me procrastinate. It may let me write, but it's only a temporary fix.

I swear, this whole thing isn't a joke. I'm not an anime character, I'm not even trying to be edgy for fun or something, these are legitimately my thoughts on it.

Also, I am working on the rewrite, but very slowly as I'm focusing on some other stuff.

Thoughts: I'll post it elsewhere eventually, but I just want to say that Luuko's spiritual eye cannot be learned by anyone. i ret-coned that. Hopefully, I haven't done that too often...but I have done it quite a few times, so, yeah.

8/23:

Spoiler :

Update: I finished the rewrite of chapter 11, though it may have also been finished. My strategen of swapping between different projects has really been working out for me. The question is, what will it mean for my future as a writer?

Anyhow, I'm making great progress all-round. My quality and production time feel as perfect as they've ever been, and I don't think I'm relying on anything temporary, but instead a mental strategy that will lead me to success!

If I had to give a potential release date for the finished rework, I'd say by the end of September. Uhh, but you probably know me by now. No promises...then again, maybe it's that that separates the best from the losers. Only experience will tell, and when it speaks, we will see if I'm ready to turn with the current.

Thoughts: Strategen is a word; fight me. Also, I had a lot of stuff in chapter 11 that I've ret-conned, mostly because I forgot I'd already solidified it. That's just what happens when you write on a chapter-by-chapter basis, not writing ahead. I think I've learned to write on the edge of my seat better, though, so writing 20 chapters ahead won't be a reoccurrence except in very plot-focused stories, like Witch's psyche, which I'm releasing only after each part is written.

9/13:

Spoiler :

the end of September!? Yeah, well, I guess I'm done now. The chapters got way cleaner as I went along, especially once Onei was introduced, so it didn't take long to revise them and make them align with the full rewrite of the first arc.

Spoiler : 10/11:

I will soon be releasing new chapters, I think.

5/19:

Spoiler: did not. 'kinda' late on stating that. I did write a few. Had some issues with figuring out what tone I wanted...but otherwise, I just got caught up in other stuff. You know, sometimes you think it'll be easy to write once all the school stuff is over. It doesn't, not so far, at least. Things happen, and one day, you eat curry. Then you regret eating curry because something in some types of curry causes you to lose focus and makes writing difficult. Ahh, my struggles. Anyway, I feel a bit better after talking about this.

Also, not sure what I'll do with this series. I would consider rewriting it from the ground up just for fun if I were an immortal being, but I have no such luck. Plus, I figure this could be my best published work so far. Difficult for me to say, though. I hope you all have a nice summer.