Our Reality (Doki Doki Literature Club!)

Troubled Yuri Part 2

"Man... I got nothing," Shujinkou sighed. The natural confidence the young writer had when he started his task continued to leave him as he stared down at his paper. He could imagine that this was how heroes felt when the situation they try to prevent seems like it does not seem to want to be stopped. The words were there in his head, but every time he attempted to write them down, doubt appeared to say that it wasn't good enough. "This is hard."

"Told you," Natsuki said.

Shujinkou looked up from the blank sheet of paper and locked eyes with the petite club member sitting next to him. He felt like they were judging his every move, but he also noticed a hint of curiosity emanating from them.

"Writing isn't as easy as you thought, huh?" she added.

"It's not like I thought it was going to be easy, but..." Shujinkou's voice started to trail off. He always that knew it wouldn't be easy, but the irritation from just trying to write down the beginning scenario he envisioned was enough to drive a man crazy.

"One thing all writers got to hate is writing the beginning," Natsuki sympathized. "You got all these ideas that you think is great, but then you realize that if you screw up the beginning then you won't be able to get potential readers to continue. And if you think that it gets any easier after that, then you'd be wrong. Transferring your thought to the paper is harder than brainstorming the ideas in the first place. It can be very frustrating."

"I get it now," Shujinkou weakly chuckled. It had just dawned upon him that the credit he was already giving writers was not enough.

"You also got to keep in mind the differences between the medium you're writing for," Natsuki added.

"What do you mean?" Shujinkou wondered.

"Manga for example has two story-telling devices: the art and the dialogue. The dialogue tells you what's going on and see what a character says or thinks while the art allows you to see how the characters are feeling and what they and the setting looks like. For a novel, you have to explain every little detail without explaining every little detail. You have to find ways to explain appearances, describe the setting and set the tone all while moving the story along," Natsuki explained.

"Man..." Shujinkou mumbled. He could feel his respect for writers' sky rocket once more. "So do you feel this frustrated when writing?"

"Me? Hardly. For a pro like me, writing's as easy as it is to sort out my book collection," Natsuki boasted, turning her attention away from him.

"Well, it looks like I have some major catching up to do," Shujinkou said without any hint of envy. He then started to wonder how the other club members viewed the writing process and what advice they could also give him. "So, how'd it get easier for you?"

"Eh?" Natsuki turned back to him with a flustered look on her face. "Well... uh... Just keep practicing and you'll improve."

With her uncharacteristic delayed response, Shujinkou couldn't help but wonder if she was saying that him or herself.

"If you keep practicing you may be able to start catching up to me in about 5 years," Natsuki laughed.

"Maybe," Shujinkou joined in the laughter.

It was always a treat for him to see Natsuki express her positive emotions more.

"By the way... do you think I could borrow volume 3 of Crash Bandicoot?" Natsuki asked.

"Er..." Shujinkou was afraid to answer that question. He would have been glad to lend her the 3rd volume, except the series was cancelled after the 2nd, ending the entire story on a cliffhanger. He felt pretty devastated upon finding out that harsh truth; there was no telling how Natsuki would respond. Fortunately for him, Sayori's sudden and loud arrival took Natsuki's attention away from him.