Lowa Ver-more

I've sunk to a new depth: I made a TikTok to promote my book. 
          
          Don't worry, I don't think I will become an avid TikToker or whatever they call it. I just got struck with curiosity after I heard some romance writers have success with it. I have a severe case of the how-hard-can-it-be syndrome after all.
          
          Now there is one obvious problem here: I'm not a romance writer.* Nor is the average demographic of TikTok users my target audience. Luckily I know the solution for that: I made a YouTube short too :D
          
          https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7jUlaWOEQXU
          Check it out, I spend way too much time on it. 
          
          *Nederlandse mensjes: mond dicht over een ballade van valse klanken. Dat telt niet!

"There is a traitor amongst us."
          A new chapter of my dark fantasy is out now! 
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/409195109-a-twist-of-fate

I'm starting your book next week. Let's do a R4R!

My translating project unintentionally turned into a bit of an editing project, which I don't mind; it makes the story a lot better.
          
          Only now have I encountered a part where the story is really rushed. The characters make a conclusion and basically jump to the solution without any roadblocks in the way. Which means the big moment after doesn't feel nearly as impactful as it should. 
          
          I'm contemplating adding one or two chapters in to slow it down, maybe throw an extra roadblock in, but I'm a bit lost on what those chapters would be. 
          
          I have a side character that I would love to give some clearer motives, so I could use them for that. Only I don't want it to be just another dialogue or fight scene, because that's just too repetitive. I'm sure I could figure something out, but right now my brain is blank.
          
          Maybe I should just leave it the way it is. I never intended to do a rewrite, and it's not going to make or break the story for anyone. The book is also already quite long (145k untranslated), and maybe I shouldn't add more to it. But I also know that if I put in the time, I would be able to do a far better job at this. 
          
          Anyway, lots of thoughts. I don't expect anyone to have the answer. I just needed to throw this out, and Wattpad has this lovely button which forces my followers to listen.

When I need to come up with a character name on the spot, I tend to write 'NAME' in its place not to interrupt my flow and look for a proper name later. So I was terrified when I was fixing a small error in an already published chapter and saw "Name?" from the corner of my eye. For a moment I was sure it had finally happened. I messed up and didn't edit my crutch out.
          
          Then I read the sentence. It was just a character asking for my main's name. Disaster prevented, for now at least.
          
          Oh, the small mistake I fixed? I had written 'anticode' instead of 'antidote'. It probably wouldn't shock you to learn I'm dyslexic.

When the trope isn't "Who did this to you?" but "What did you do to them?"
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/409195109-a-twist-of-fate

People following you in the hopes you will follow back and instantly unfollowing if you don't, have the same energy as a dog trying to get chased. 
          
          

Thanks for the reads on "A slumbering sea" recently! The idea that a handful of you thought a story that specifically promises not to make your life better is worth reading is terrifying to me. Really cool nonetheless, but terrifying.

You know those moments when you're just vibing with your story? The characters make their own decisions, the plot falls into place and everything goes smoothly.
          
          That is what translating my story into English has been like. Which, admittedly, is because past me already did all the work, and the only thinking I have to do is with a healthy amount of assistance from online dictionaries. 
          
          Sadly, all good vibes come to an end. Because I was lying when I said past me did ALL the work. I left in a disaster of a chapter where a character comes to a big revelation without properly explaining how she draws that conclusion. It was bad. Like so bad that I'm surprised none of my Dutch readers called me out on it. (Jullie zijn te vriendelijk.)
          
          Anyway, I had the fun task of fixing this mess today, which involved banging my head against the wall. Yes, I do have a headache now. 
          
          On another note, can any of the time travellers I tracked down with my last post tell me how they did it? Also, does travelling in time overwrite old versions of yourself? Asking for a friend.

Something strange just happened. The number of engaged readers jumped down from eleven to seven, while Wattpad claims this measures the number of readers over a year. Now this story isn’t even a month old.
          
          At first I was pretty sure it was just another bug, but after thinking it through, I realised what is going on here. I have four time travellers in my audience! So fess up, which of you bunch has been playing with time? You aren’t as sneaky as you think!