ClatoDude21

Word to the wise: don't get too hung up on research. 
          	
          	You can look at past examples all you want for inspiration, but at the end of the day, every book is different. Making references to works done by other authors is no substitute for one's own creativity and originality.

ClatoDude21

Word to the wise: don't get too hung up on research. 
          
          You can look at past examples all you want for inspiration, but at the end of the day, every book is different. Making references to works done by other authors is no substitute for one's own creativity and originality.

ClatoDude21

Hi everyone!
          
          It's been a long time since I've done anything at all. I know that there are a lot of people patiently waiting for me to provide some sort of update for a long time. Life gets in the way for everyone and it did for me as well.
          
          This isn't really relevant, but I finally finished a bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering a week ago and I have a little more control over my life now that it's behind me.
          
          I'm thinking about starting work on the next book in the series again and I'm wrestling with some challenges. 
          
          One of the things holding me back is myself. I'm not satisfied with my current work and I want to have it polished into its final form before I start work on the next one. I know that people want me to continue making new stuff, but I don't want to do that until my first work is at a satisfactory level of quality. I made that mistake several years ago and I would rather not have to spend a bunch of time redoing past writing in order to make progress.
          
          I should also mention that this isn't the only challenge I'm running into in terms of developing new content. I have 2 sets of source material to work with and I'm obligated to stay true to both of them. I also have the challenge of avoiding deadly sins of character development, making logically sound plot choices, avoiding cliches, minimizing the amount of fluffy content and avoiding the creation of plot holes and unintended foreshadowing. 
          
          Long story short, I have a lot of decisions to make before I start churning out updates at a regular pace once again. I don't want to make updates publicly available and find myself completely re-writing them six months later because I didn't do enough proofreading earlier on.
          
          What I'm trying to say is that I'll be able to post updates again if I can get some feedback on how my most recent work can be improved.
          
          What do you think? What would you do if you were in my position? I'd be happy to talk it out over a private message or in a public conversation.

clovelives

So sorry to bug, but are you still working on book 3? I've been anticipating for long but I've noticed an absence, my apologies if this seems naggy...

ClatoDude21

@clovelives First of all, thank you very much for writing in! It means a lot to know that people care. Sorry for the late reply.
            
            Don't apologize for sounding "naggy." Feel free to message me at any time and I'll be happy to talk.
            
            I am not currently working on the next book in the series. I haven't done any serious work on it in 3 years. The reason for this is that I am trying to finish my bioengineering degree and it kind of took over my life after I finished my previous work.
            
            I am in no position to start posting updates on the next book and I will not be ready for an unknown period of time. There are a lot of things that need to be done before that happens, such as fixing all the errors and plot holes in my current work as well as doing the rest of the pre-writing needed to actually begin the next one.
            
            Yes, I have plans to continue the story. I wouldn't have left it that way otherwise. Am I in a position to start updating right now? Unfortunately, no.
            
            I know that I made a commitment to finish what I started. However, I kind of dug myself into a weird hole after finishing the rough draft of the last book. I could take a few weeks off and prepare everything needed to make that happen, but it's not feasible given my current commitments and the way I do things.
            
            I don't know if you know this, but I wrote the previous book too hastily and wrote a lot of bad content in the process. I ended up taking 3 weeks off in 2014 just to scrap half of it and re-write it from the bottom up.
            
            The truth is that haste makes waste. I don't want to work on something if I have to rush it in order to meet a deadline because it won't be as good compared to working at my own pace.
            
            It takes me 4 straight days of work to write one chapter.  I do this because I want to get it right sooner rather than later so I don't have to rewrite half the chapters again.
            
            I have plenty of ideas for the next book, but I'm not currently working on it.
            
            Feel free to message me with additional questions.
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ClatoDude21

So, I watched Mockingjay Part 2 for the first time a few days ago.
          
          I really want to just take a year or so off from my life and finish what I started. Maybe, just maybe I'll take a year or two off from school after I finish university and get my fanfic done. No guarantees, though.
          
          Heck, I might even give away spoilers to the planned content if people want them. I really don't see any point in keeping them behind locked doors if I'm not going to make a dime of profit from them.

StormingStars

I am so excited for your third book by the way. I haven't finished book two, but I looked at your messages and you haven't been active for 7 months?! aaaah! But seriously I am loving your book and please continue your third. I would be devastated  if you left it open

StormingStars

Yeah, I had to check what the cliffhanger was again.
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ClatoDude21

@clato_foreverandever It's been far too long since my last update.
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