The Winged [HIATUS]

An Apology

Obviously, I haven't updated this story in years. I'm truly sorry about that. I've kind of outgrown it, and I've had to prioritize other areas of my life like my education and my career... but I wanted to post something about it instead of letting you guys leave sad comments with no response.

I started writing this story when I was 13 years old. Needless to say, I've changed a lot since then; my vision for the story now is not the same as it was when I began, and there are a ton of things that I'd change if I could. I also didn't understand the level of commitment that would accompany posting this story on the internet. I was just a kid who wanted to share her work and have fun. I didn't know that once I started high school, I would barely have time for writing a novel anymore. I didn't know that I would develop my other interests and struggle to balance them with this book. I certainly didn't know that college would continue to kick my butt even after graduating from high school.

When you finally reach the cliffhanger of the previous chapter and get upset because there is no more, I want you to understand that the person who wrote that is different from the person who wrote chapter one. The person who wrote the previous chapter was busy and tired and had no idea how to move the plot along because she got stuck. And somewhere along the way, she moved on.

I do have a special place in my heart for this story, and I can't definitively say goodbye. I want to write a conclusive ending for Ash and everyone she loves. I originally planned on including three more books to make this a series, so the ending will be kind of open, but I want it to exist. Eventually.

But not now.

If I work on The Winged again, I'm going to change things about the characters and potentially the plot. More life experience has shown me my weaknesses and given me new ideas. For example, I didn't know how to write a traumatic mental illness when I was only in middle school; now that I've read more material and met real people who have PTSD, I can more accurately portray Logan's struggle. But that's not something I can do when I'm trying to figure out how to get my degree and get a job and pay my loans (and maybe also how to longboard or play ukulele). I also have passions for so many other things like poetry and visual art and video editing. I can't write this book when I have that much going on.

So do I want to finish this book? Yes. But I wasn't prepared for the commitment when I first started, and I don't want to continue until I'm really feeling it and I'm certain I can dedicate the time it needs.

If you want to see what I'm making outside of Wattpad, I recommend following either my art blog (morganashleycreative.tumblr.com) or my YouTube channel (youtube.com/JAMMvlogs). If you just want to send me messages or see the stupid stuff I post on tumblr, I've got that, too (justanothermorganmoment.tumblr.com).

Thank you so much for reading my story. I appreciate every single one of you who has left feedback through the years, and I appreciate those of you who are here for the first time, too. I'm sorry for leaving you hanging. One day, I hope I can make up for it.

-Morgan