Cly Anders: Blog

Hello, and welcome to all the new readers! I'm so glad you are all joining me on this grand adventure through the worlds that clutter up my mind. Don't entirely know where we're going, but we'll all have fun getting there together!

One of the questions I've been asked a few times- and it came up again recently- is how long I think it will be to finish my two current stories. Uh, well, there's no nice well to put this. When I wrote "In the Enemy's Territory" (available on Woofajuana), that's an approximately 150k word novel and I put my everything into that story. Morning, noon and night, any chance I had, that was what I was writing. There were a couple of side projects that never finished, but nothing that took up more than a day or two of my writing time. I was fully and solely focused on that novel and from when I sat down and started the concept on my brand new tablet to when I posted the last chapter here on SOL was about 3 years--though when I started actually posting what I had written, that really made me buckle down and I finished more in that last year than the first 2 of keeping it to myself. I'm still not fully "done." I'm going to finish this next chapter of "The Dragon Tamers" and then I'm gonna use that time to catch up on editing the werewolves and hope they don't scare off my other elves again. It didn't work before, but I have enough written down this time that I should be able to fill in the gaps with Roan and Cylthan should the dog breath prove too stifling. (Meanwhile, Roscrow in the middle of it "Why are the barking rugs humping on the furniture again? And why does this white one with purple hair keep attaching to me?" Ha, yeah, I don't remember what being bored is like. I just release Vohlana among the elves and watch the chaos ensue.)

So, here I be, writing approximately a chapter a week between two stories. I don't know exactly how long either one is going to be, but I'll bet, knowing me, they'll both end up around 150k words, too. So strap in folks, it'll be a few years. T.T

I'm sorry for that. I'm a very slow writer. I've got kids, pets, partner, health issues, and a big in-law family. Some writers sit down and just make 2,000 words appear in a flash. I envy those writers SO much. I have so many stories in my head. I want to get them all out now. But, if I get 200 words out in a day, I'm so proud of myself. I try to write every day, even if it's not directly to my stories. On occasion, those little tidbits make it into my stories and save me a lot of time describing a scenery or something. But, alas, I am slow. I spend so much time thinking about the scene playing in my head and how to describe it that by the time I think "Oh, I should be writing this down!" it fades from my mind like a desert cloud and I am left so frustrated. My thoughts are too fast for my fingers and I lose the words. And just to compound the problem... I edit. I write a sentence and then spend so much time editing the sentence, I could have written a paragraph if I just wouldn't.

I've been learning a lot of new techniques to help, and that was a big reason I started with a story that was kind of an outlier of my other tales. I figured the furries would appreciate ITET and maybe a few others, but for the most part, it was merely experimentation to put the new techniques to practice (and to my surprise, it has exploded with the general audience on other sites). With DT and R&D, I now have the techniques that worked in place as best as I can. I have outlines and summaries and I've planned most things out ahead of time rather than waiting for inspiration along the way. There's still plenty of space for discovery (like this chapter of DT), but that gives me a dirt road to pave over and that saves a lot of time. I don't have much buffer. I tend to get lazy with too much of a buffer. Knowing that people are waiting helps keep me motivated. But, it is a slow process. I'm grateful for those with the patience to stick with me through it. I haven't unlocked warp drive, yet, but at least I've made it past invention of the wheel so things should move along a little more quickly than they used to.

I hope you all enjoy this journey with me! You'll be stuck with me awhile....

Tomorrow on "The Rat and the Dragon," Cylthan is in trouble. Entirely at Roan's mercy, she will learn the meaning of fear... and we will learn that Roan is a dick because the Council is led by devils.

After this chapter, it will be a rocky uphill for these two, but it will go uphill from now on. They will have moments of weakness and selfishness and fits of rage, but they'll figure it out, and hopefully before Maleic finds out where she is... oh, uhhhh, oops...

There may be some discrepancies in the timeline from earlier, but I'll deal with it later. Also remember that it takes news forever to move around in this world when you live next door to bumfuck and nowhere. It'll all work out.

If you didn't see it last time- or you were waiting- definitely check out the song "The Devil You Know" by Blues Seraceno. It's the vibe for this chapter. I had that and "No Enemies" by Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello on loop almost the whole chapter.

Hope you guys enjoy it!

At first, this chapter of "Dragon Tamers" was gonna be boring. I wrote everything up until Roscrow takes his nap (guy's been awake for five days and that's a lot even for elves), then I had a blank section, then Roscrow and S're have a nice, quiet conversation. I thought it would be easy to fill in...

And then Jasper said "yeah, that's nice and all, but booze! " This is why he became a main character. And, well, Roscrow’s just disappointed they didn't wait for him.

So, the whole chapter needed reorganizing and all the writing required for that. I think you guys will like it a lot more than how it was going to be. Rather than putting them in a bubble, this change brings life to something that was going to be very flat. It also shows Roscrow relax and bring out his sarcastic humor now that he's not in an enemy nation.

So, sorry about this, but no Dragon Tamer this weekend. I think you folks will like it better, anyway. Just a little patience, let this chapter finish baking.

I think I'm going to be setting S're and Roscrow aside for a bit after this. I need to catch up on editing for my werewolf story. I've been ignoring it and ignoring it, and it's time to let the dogs out. I'm definitely still working on "Rat and Dragon." It's my number one story and Roan has got a lot to say right now. Trying to deny him is impossible, at the moment. Staying focused on anything else is a challenge.

So, I will see you guys next week with Roan and Cylthan!

I have most of the chapter done. There's still empty spots and missing details, but I haven't been feeling all that well the last week. A flare up of health issues I'm aware of but don't have the insurance to do much about. 'Murica! The only relief is laying down with a heating pad and, uh, 3 hours later, I wonder what year I'm in. So no "Dragon Tamer" drop today. I really hope this weekend. I'm so close. And I think as I keep up with this alternating thing, I will just make it Saturdays to be along with R&D, especially if I'm done by tomorrow, which I'm trying. I just wish it was as easy to get story words out as the words to talk about the story are! I'll get back to that, but I don't suspect I'll be done today. Close, but no cigar. (To put a smile on your face, my dogs get these collagen chews that are brown and rolled up- no rawhide- and look like thick cigars so I tell my dogs to go smoke their cigars when I hand them out. When they bug me for their treats, I ask them "You guys wanna... smoke cigars?" and they go nuts.)

Also, I have been editing some of my Furry Fun Flick story to post over on Inkitt because they allow some forms of bestiality. Mine qualified because of the nature of furries. Fucking furries. Fuck... I'm a furry! *existential crisis* Unfortunately, it was blocked here on SOL due to the recent changes. But, that took up my writing time, as well.

What else takes my writing time? Shhhh... Shime may have, possibly, had a hold of my fingers for a bit. I won't post anything because I'm not dedicating any sort time to it, but for the fans of my "Training a Ha'tinre" story (over on Woofajuana), it's okay to be excited. Once Higzashi has her, very little stays the same. That knife scene? You're gonna see it show up somewhere else, but it won't be by him. It just didn't make sense when trying to win the trust of someone deeply abused. That's all I'll tell you folks for now.

Roan, though? Roan isn't trying to win Cylthan's trust, only her obedience. Hope you guys are excited for "The Rat and the Dragon" next week. If you'd like a vibe, look up the song "The Devil You Know" by Blues Saraceno. It's the theme song for the chapter. Now back to writing before I hurt too much to sit.

***
“W-What are you going to do to me, Roan?” she asked in a small, trembling voice, squirming against the ropes.

His sadistic smirk stretched to his ear while his voice dripped with honey. “I’m going to get answers from you, my dear.”

And with this chapter 15 of "The Rat and the Dragon," we end the chase arc! Goes out with a bang and goes into the fortress arc with a, um, plea for mercy. I'm so excited for next post. I think you guys will be, too. It's as dark as this story is gonna get between Roan and Cylthan. And she thought she was scared now. Well, this chapter isn't much about her, so I hope you enjoy my magic battle between beasts. This was the last time we held hands with the previous draft. After this, the only thing that stays the same is the child they share. That part never changed, but now it actually rolls into the end plot rather than simply a consequence of their actions.

Next week on "Dragon Tamers," the train may be fast, but it's still a long ride back to the mountain. While the humans need to sleep, S're has the chance to learn about her vision and find out how exactly her Guardian made such a dangerous yet generous friend. She also discovers how Roscrow makes his money, and how he balances it all with being in command. So, a lot of talking. Whether you find the info dump boring or interesting, it's all gonna be fairly important.

As for Kupper... and here I thought these last few paragraphs would be easy.... I have the end of the chapter. I have all the way to this blank spot. Something needs to bridge the parts and it is a detail that isn't being very forthcoming. C'mon, Kupper! I'm getting real tired of torturing Zigz to get your whispers! I've decided that to keep you few who follow "Mongrels and Music" from waiting too much longer, I am splitting the would-be chapter into 2. You'll easily see in the next chapter where I meant to break it, but who the heck knows when I'll figure this bit out, and I'd rather not string you patient folk along too much longer (and I don't want to see a yellow inactive bar anymore than you do). So, you get a double feature this week!

Hope you all enjoy, and I will see you folks next week!