[Ep 1.17 “Girls’ Night Out”] Good news/bad news

Hey guys!  I have good news and bad news to report.

The good news is that I've finally blasted through my block.  This wasn't the traditional 'writer's block' where you stare at a blank screen unable to think up any ideas; it was extreme difficulty getting the draft ideas to a point where they felt sexy and fun.

Now it feels like everything is zipping along.  One of the big problems I was having was dialogue choices and just dialogue in general.  (Which is a problem on a girls' night out, because girls kind of like talking, right, and also a problem from a gameplay perspective because without dialogue choices you're just playing a slideshow.)

I made some changes to characterisation and pace – basically slowed the scenes down, and just let the characters breathe a little – and now the dialogue is flowing and the character relationships feel more genuine and interesting.  That makes everything just feel hotter and it also allows for more plot development since the girls can talk about the club without actually being in the club.

I'm so excited and relieved because I was having serious doubts that I could do this at all, and now it's just a matter of time.  (Last week I wasn't even sure that it was good, but this week I do feel pretty confident that you guys will like it.)

The bad news is that all this extra time I've spent battling through the block means that I'm seriously behind schedule.

I do not know if this episode will be ready for early access by Halloween.  I hope so, and will do my best to make up the lost ground this week, and I'm now advancing quickly.  But there's only so many words I can write per day.  This took way longer than I dreamed it could, and it's going to be tight.

I'm aware I've missed several deadlines with this episode already, so I'm going to do my absolute best to get this cracked this week.  But I wanted to give you guys a heads up on the situation and admit that it may not happen.  I'll make a report on the 30th, hopefully with good news.

🤞🏻😬🤞🏻