I love the characters in this stupid game so much 😭😭😭

I've survived another year around the sun! I can't believe I'm finally turning 12! Or was it 20? Or 27? 45? 63? Whatever the case, my brain is riddled with dementia, so this next year is sure to be filled with new experiences!

My current plans for my novellas: Publish The Town that Banished Death October of this year Publish Mr. Crow's Blood Bank on Valentine's Day next year I started and finished TTtBD and heavily revised MCBB and gave it a whole new identity. One of the best months for writing I've had in a LONG time

I wrote a first-kiss scene for the first time ever this morning. This story has more romance than anything I've done before, and I think it's actually going pretty well! I also came up with a (tentative) publishing plan for this year and next. Things are looking up.

Top o da mornin', #5amwritersclub. I may or may not write for very long. I want to at least get something done, but my motivation isn't super duper high because 1) c'est le weekend and 2) I won't quite be able to finish by my arbitrary end-of-the-month goal, so no huge hurry now.

You already know

I'm unsure about this chapter. I think it does important things but also feels a little too slice-of-lifey. The whole book is slice-of-lifey, but with an undercurrent of unease. This chapter might feel too "normal". Anyway. A slowish morning of writing, but progress is progress.

This is a funny story

Good mornin', #5amwritersclub. I'm getting closer to the end of this draft. It was originally a brisk ~14k novella that was heavy on concepts and bleak style, and it's grown into a much more intimate ~26K story that additionally has characters who've stolen my heart.

At last, a good writing session! After a couple days of poor writing followed a couple days of not having the mental energy or will to write at all, this was very welcome. I'm hoping I can finish this latest draft of this novella by the end of the month.

Mornin, #5amwritersclub. I'm gonna try to do ... something this morning. There's a line about an empty vending machine I need to remember to fit in somewhere, because it's a very important bit of foreshadowing.

Okay I think my subconscious knew my brain was running at low capacity, because that was one of the most mind-numbingly, teeth-pullingly slow writing sessions I've ever had. But I am glad I made the effort, and I am glad to have inched closer to the end of this novella.

Good morning, #5amwritersclub. Being a writer is funny. I've been doing it for fifteen years. I didn't write yesterday, and now I'm nervous to start this morning as if I'll have forgotten how to do it.

Mornin', #5amwritersclub! I actually already got my writing done this morning via my perpetually-awful sleep schedule! I didn't write in the story proper, but I ironed out the last of the kinks in the "outline" (eclectic assortment of ideas) so it should be smooth sailing to the end.

I'm trapped inside today since it's gonna -60 degrees with windchill (good lord please don't let the power go out). After I take a nap to make up for last night, I hope to sink an irresponsible amount of time into Metaphor Refantazio and then hopefully write a little more.

Mornin', #5amwritersclub. I couldn't sleep much because I couldn't stop thinking about this story. I came up with the perfect scene to segue to the next plot point, naturally give exposition, and connect several threads in the process. Now commencing operation Lesbian Sleepover.

Brrr.

Mr. Crow's Blood Bank: It took me two hours to edit one chapter because it's so detail-heavy. It's satisfying seeing it come together. It's a very dreamy-feeling tale. I love it. Next time, I'm adding a new chapter. There's too much I want to add to just insert scenes into previous chapters.

Mornin', #5amwritersclub. I'm in a sharing mood, so here's a snippet that does a good job of conveying the spirit of this novella. This story isn't super long, but it's a lot denser (in a good way, I think!) than I remembered, so editing is taking longer than expected. Still fun, though.

I'm rediscovering how amazing this story is. It feels truly special. Nearly every time I return to an older story, I'm floored at how good it is. Hopefully one of these times it'll sink in that I'm just actually good at writing, and I'll stop constantly doubting myself.

Back to Mr. Crow's Blood Bank revisions. I inadvertently took a few days off right as I was beginning, so I'm just going back to the start. It should take no time to get caught up. I want to finish quickly, because I suddenly have a TON of different stories I want to work on. #5amwritersclub

Think I'm using this morning for reading rather than writing. Had another night where I slept maybe three hours and am filled with brain fog. But I do soon want to finish revisions for Mr. Crow's Blood Bank, because I have a sudden but strong urge to go back to The Castle Guard.

I am extremely tired this morning. I will tentatively be casually working on Mr. Crow's Blood Bank, until such a time that I decide I don't wanna 🛌

Mornin', #5amwritersclub. I'm returning to a novella I wrote in like 2023 or 24, Mr. Crow's Blood Bank. A would-be coming of age story set in a seemingly idyllic small town that slowly reveals its macabre secrets. Back at my normal desk, as the other set up isn't great for editing.

*taps mic* Attention, please! I finished writing my book! That is all. *drops mic*

Good morning, #5amwritersclub. My writing space is a feast for the senses right now🎶, and I'm ready to (maybe) finish this novella today.

I wrote something really beautiful this morning, while listening to my candle crackling and my vinyl records playing. It was nothing sort of magical. Even through the path of a writer is filled with times of doubt and frustration, moments like those more than make it worth it.

Morning, #5amwritersclub. I'm drawing near the end of this story. I doubt it'll be today, but tomorrow or the next day is almost certain. Let's get these words.

Oh I've been forgetting the #WritinginJanuary prompts! Whoops, uhhh, 12! Zide would probably laugh and be all "Look at this old guy! He thinks he knows what he's talking about!" and try to brush it off but would secretly be super embarrassed and lose sleep thinking about it.

The Town that Banished Death has surpassed 10K. Funny how every time I try to write a simple and sweet short story, it evolves into something substantially larger and just *more*. Things are going to go DOWN next time, and it will be devastating.

Merry Monday, #5amwritersclub. Time got away from me just a little this morning, but I'm here and feeling optimistic. Best of luck to you all.

I just kinda don't feel like writing this Sunday morning, so I'm taking it off. Maybe I'll make up for it later today. We'll see. In other news I tried speed running Elden Ring for the first time. All things considered it went pretty well. Don't think I'll do it again, though.

A pretty short session, but I'm really glad I wrote. The mood I'm in gave my writing a dreamy quality that, at least in this moment, I find beautiful.

Good morning, #5amwritersclub, and happy weekend. I don't know how much I'll accomplish, but I want to at least keep the daily streak going. Best of luck to you all.

The words came well today. I wrote about 2K and like the direction I'm steering the story. There's a lot of melancholy.

Mornin', #5amwritersclub. I'm remembering why I take leaves of absence from this: My body does not compute with it. I couldn't sleep last night and have been averaging ~2-3 hours of sleep this week. I'm always glad to be here, but man is the rest of the day hard Good luck y'all🥴

oh would you look at that the best game ever is now on Switch online you dont need to spend a thousand dollars to play it on gamecube now you can spend a thosuand dollars to play it on switch 2 BUT ANYWAY GO PLAY FIRE EMBLEM: PATH OF RADIANCE IT'S ONE OF THE BEST THINGS EVER MADE

#WritinginJanuary 8 Share the climax of your story with one gif (this is for Kidnapped Princess WIP) With context, this will be extremely moving, trust (bsky doesn't allow images and gifs in one post apparently, so pretend Puss in Boots is animated) (how many parentheticals can I fit in one post?)

Sad stuff happening today. Sad, but powerful and compelling, I think. I don't know why I keep forgetting this, but it turns out I can write some pretty okay words sometimes.

Good mornin', #5amwritersclub. I have a leftover Christmas candle burning today, and the space heater running. My writing space gets pretty cold and the space is too open for the heater to do much, so I end up taking periodic breaks to sit directly in front of the heater ❄️

The Town that Banished Death has breached 4 thousand words. I'm finally at the part that I was most excited to write, only to find that I don't really know how to go about it, lol. I'm sure it'll be fun to figure it out next session.

Is this anything?

#WritinginJanuary 7 I'll be cheeky and take this in a little bit of a different direction. BEHOLD MY (work in progress) MAP! Ask me about anything you see and I'll tell you all about it. If I don't know, I'll make it up just for you! Thus developing my world building.

Final update for today: +1100 words from this morning! The story is taking shape. I gotta say, this might already be the most depressing thing I've ever written! I initially expected it to be a brisk 5k tale, but it's gonna need to be a lot longer. It's a story brought to life by the small details

#WritinginJanuary 6 You'll love my book because the characters are strong and impossible not to empathize with, there are super cool weapons, the magic system is as gruesome as it is wickedly awesome, and the 🌟V I B ES🌟are always immaculate.

Calling it a little earlier than I'd like, but I'm tired 😩I'll always say a few words are better than no words, but I'm not totally satisfied with short sessions two days in a row. I'll try to work up the mental energy to be back later today. +1300 words from yesterday, roughly

Ahoy, #5amwritersclub! I went to sleep around 10pm and woke up just past midnight and immediately knew I wouldn't be getting back to sleep. So I'm running on 2 hours of sleep and have been up for 4 hours already. This writing session is bound to be *interesting*. Best of luck to you all.

#WritinginJanuary 5 Zide would go to his comrade-in-arms and friend, Neel. The two bonded quickly, both originally being simple farm boys from the same region. But where Zide is excitable to a fault, Neel has a knack for staying calm and finding the simple way through problems.

A somewhat modest word count for today, but 1) I'm glad to have anything at all, and 2) the opening was trickier to pull off than I expected. I feel I at least have the right idea now. It can always been smoothed over later. This story definitely has promise.

Long time no see, #5amwritersclub. It still hurts to raise my arm, but I figured I should probably write at least a little bit before I forget how to. I'm going back to a promising short story outline I made a few months ago: The Town that Banished Death Best of luck to you all.