Some insights into the writing process.
After completing Part III, I set to work immediately on Part IV and banged out 28,000 words in 8 days. Then I had to take a break for while. The story is starting to delve into realms that are a lot darker and heavier, both emotionally and thematically, then I'm used to. I typically write frivolous stories. Fun little escapist comedies.
Arrow has become the most serious story I've written in years, and the second half is going to be quite emotionally taxing for me, I can already tell. I don't particularly enjoy writing about death and suffering and misery and sexual assault, and all the other nastiness that comes along with post-apoc stories.
It sucks for the writer, because for ever hour of reading you do, I've done 8-10 hours of research, writing, and editing. So I've spent 8X to 10X the amount of time considering all of these horrible topics and scenarios. But it's necessary, because the story just won't have the realism and emotional heft I'm looking for without it. In order for the story to properly resonate, people need to get hurt, and people need to die.
After a while, though, all of that starts to take its toll. So I needed to unplug for a while, and that's what I did. I took several days off just to think about other things. Nice things. Fun things. Sexy things.
I started writing again last week, but I didn't go back to Arrow right away. I still needed space to clear my head, so I started combing through the SOL archives, in search of works that appeal to my particular tastes. Then I was daydreaming about a story concept and started searching for it. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that no one had ever published a story on SOL about a fat camp for teenage girls.
I immediately sat down and, for the next 7 days, wrote the first 17,000 words of a fun little escapist story about exactly that. A fat camp for teenage girls titled, appropriately enough, Fat Camp.
Fat Camp was really just a palate cleanser. A little vacation for my mind. Something frivolous to have fun with. I don't know if I'll ever finish it, and it doesn't really matter. It did its job. I wrote a totally fucked up yet humorous story about a scum bag who runs a fat camp and takes advantage of chubby little teenage girls, and suddenly I was happy again.
After that, I reread the first three parts of Arrow, and now that I've given it a little distance and had time to reflect, I remembered how much I've loved writing this fucking story. Oh my god, I love it so much. So now, I'm finally ready to get back to it.
I'm not sure when I'll start posting Part IV because, unlike the first half, I want to get waaay out ahead before I start publishing. Since I'm writing the conclusion of an epic-length novel, I need to make sure I leave myself plenty of room to maneuver, in case I need to go back and rewrite something. Maybe add a new twist, or make a revision to a plot line.
My number one goal is to leave all of you with the most satisfying conclusion possible.
I figure a 50-60k word head start should be sufficient, so maybe in another week or two, I should have something ready for you. Thanks to all of you for your patience. Of course, there's no shortage of content on SOL to keep you occupied in the meantime.
Speaking of which...if you read something on SOL that you enjoy, please take a moment to rate the story, and consider leaving a comment, or dropping the author a little note to tell her or him how much you liked it. You'll never know how much we appreciate that. It keeps us motivated to write more, for you.
Love, peace, and chicken grease. Y'all have a wonderful night.