lichtyd: Blog

We're coming to the end of part one. If my job doesn't interfere I'll post the last two chapters Wednesday, the 4th. Originally, chapter nine was the last, but auguy86 told me I needed another. Writing chapter ten took several weeks.

I'm glad I wrote the extra chapter as it adds a lot of detail to fill the gap between parts one and two. It also helped solidify the a new villain. He'd always been in my head, now, he's a lot more defined.

It's great to see so many people read TLG. It's even more gratifying to read the comments from those who get it. Another joy was watching the stories score increase with chapter eight. It's not a story everyone would enjoy.

One thing I'm curious about, if you could have a Natalie or a Stephanie what would you do? Would you have children with them?

George D.
aka lichtyd

My apologies for taking so long with the update to chapter seven. Work has me busier than usual.

I'm trying something different with this chapter. SOL only allows one blank line between paragraphs. This makes it difficult to signal a scene change with an extra line. I'm limited to using either a single space or a "horizontal rule."

Note the "horizontal rule" looks like a line.

I chose to use the horizontal rule to indicate a change in point of view.

With chapter seven, I figured out how to insert a double horizontal rule. Now, a double horizontal rule indicates a POV change and a single one indicates scene shifts.

Please let me know if this is better or worse. I can change it back easily enough.

I'm working overtime again and this impacts my writing. I could post chapter seven as it is, but I want to extend Jason and Stephanie's reunion scene. After the events in Wichita, Steph deserves more character development. I also want to firm up the progression in her and Jason's relationship.

My apologies for the delay.

Last winter, I took a course in character creation, one of the tools covered was the Johari Window. Imagine a window, split into four separate panes, that's the Johari Window. Each pane is labeled and describes the four states of knowing.

Open: things your main character knows and that the other characters know.

Hidden: Secret things only your main character knows.

Blind: Things your other characters know, but your main character doesn't.

Unknown: Things your main character doesn't know, nor that the other characters know.

I thought this was a cool concept and applied it to my story. It's not a perfect match, but it's close.

Stephanie's the open square; she knows everything her mother taught her.

Jason knows what Stephanie tells him, "It's a secret…." He doesn't tell his parents everything. Jason's the hidden square.

Jason's parents know the least, they're the blind square.

The unknown square is Natalie; some of the things she "knows" are incorrect. This means Stephanie operates with a few misconceptions.

***

Chapter six goes live Tuesday evening, around 8PM EST. I first wrote it in July of last year. It's gone through several revisions since. It features an explicit sex scene I'm especially proud of. I think you'll like it.

Six is the first, maybe the only, chapter told entirely from Stephanie and Natalie's point of view. You'll get answers to some of your questions. In fact, you'll probably get more than you expected.

I'll be very interested to hear what you think.

This chapter is dedicated to one of my favorite writers, Ken Randall. I read most of his stories before he took them down. They were/are great. But this chapter was heavily influenced by one of his writing resources, Reasons Not to Have Sex.

I hope everyone enjoys chapter five.