Hello everybody and happy Valentine's Day! It has been a while since I have posted anything to Ethereal so today is the day that I break that streak! In my final author's note, I mentioned my writer's notes! I wanted to take a moment to share the physical and phone notes that eventually led to the creation of Ethereal! This bonus content is for you to see part of my creative process and the secret, original plot!

 WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE ENTIRITY OF ETHEREAL, THERE ARE MANY SPOILERS AHEAD!!

Also, excuse my terrible handwriting! I don't pay attention to neatness when I'm brainstorming. Enjoy these behind-the-scenes moments!

In these pages, you will see the baby ideas of a hybrid fanfiction evolve into Ethereal! I started brainstorming this story in December while I was writing Life Goes On. There are some ideas and story arcs that never made it into the final copy too!

The original idea for Ethereal came from a paper I wrote in my English Composition 2 Utopias class. Yes, my English composition class was structured around analyzing utopian societies. My final paper asked me to create a perfect society with a specific theme that relates to our modern life and use articles to support my evidence that my utopia is the best. I decided to create a society where everybody was given an emotional support animal, genetically modified to cater to your every need and bond with you.

They would have heightened emotional intelligence, specially trained for you, and have extended life periods to remain your life-long compaions.

This reminded me vaguely of hybrid AU's! And with a dash of science fiction, genetically modified companions for emotional support, and a corporation creating them... you have the basic outline of Ethereal's first chapter! But instead of following the bright side of this society, I followed the darker route and the unforeseen side-effects of creating hybrids.

I didn't read a lot of hybrid fics. I had only read /pocketbangtan's Jimin hybrid book and felt like there was more to explore with this alternate universe! With minimal knowledge of hybrid tropes, I set off to write a hybrid story!

Down below, are my earliest brainstorming pages for Ethereal! You can vaguely see the similarities but these notes acted more like guidelines rather than true plot points.

As you can tell, the original idea of Ethereal's plot is very different than what is actually written! Eden was supposed to be an advocate for hybrid rights after saving a hybrid from being trafficked. She was supposed to volunteer at a hybrid rescue facility instead of creating one herself in the later future.

Down below, I sketched out a vague idea for Eden's apartment layout. It changed over time, I might post an accurate map later! I also wanted to mess with the idea of various forms of a hybrid but it felt too random to add in when the time came.

The last page above is somewhat the familiar Ethereal backstory! With Jimin's backstory and the original blurb for the story! However!! In the original, Jimin was supposed to become a FOX hybrid instead of a cat! Why did I decide to make him into a cat hybrid? Because I watched Serendipity too many times. It also took me way too long to decide who was the main for the story.

Down below, you see a rough sketch of Eden's character as a whole! At this point, I had started writing Ethereal's first chapters and I needed to keep track of her details! 

We have reached a new version of brainstorming notes! Now that Ethereal had been written, we cross into the "plot-point" territory where I jot down my ideas for major plot points and random details for scenes!

The following notes were written on my phone! I tend to write plot points on my phone rather than in the journal more often than not because the ideas will come to me at random points in the day! You are going to recognize a few of these! I will transcribe them and include the dates the notes were created on!

"Sorry sweetheart, I hate politics. I can't stand to listen to it so you're gonna have to repeat that for me. I have better things to worry about than a presidential candidate and his hybrid. This is due at midnight. I can't talk politics right now." - January 22, 2021

"He is more prone to the heat because of hormonal imbalance because he isn't a normal hybrid. he is going to be more emotional because his body isn't supposed to be like this." - January 23, 2021

"He starts wheeling himself towards me. He swerves and nearly turns himself around, desperate to reach me. It would have been comical if he wasn't so angry with his nurse. He hisses at the nurse everytime she tries to touch the handles. Finally he reaches me and jumps into my lap." - January 24, 2021

"We go from 0 to 100 real quick. She takes him back to her apartment (false calm and softness, he is flirting and being cuddly). She makes dinner and feeding each other. Then go to bed... In the night, he comes up on her bed to cuddle and just as she falls asleep, he leans down and whispers 'Thank you for everything. It means so much to me... and now that you are safe, I need to find my family. Don't look for me. I'll come back to you. Good-bye...' 'What--?' Suddenly he is gone and she hears the door open. PANIC. Runs after him, concussion is not helpful, still has no car, goes to mcdonald's in vain and comes across a nice stranger who works for AGE as part of the Rescue center. Hunt for Jimin and find him at the flower place (sign scene) and go into the warehouse..." - February 1, 2021

Oh yeah, I most definitely plotted out the heartbreaking scenes of Chapter 10-12 but no drugs in the original notes! I also planned for Hoseok to be part of AGE's rescue center instead of being a McDonald's worker. The kidnapping scene was also a spontaneous choice!

"What shall we do to pass the time? I'm starving... Shall I eat you?" - Feburary 8, 2021

"Chim is giving eden a back massage on Sat night and she is like, 'I am too much work. Why do you stay with me?' He just smiles, 'I knead you.' *massages more noticeably* *muffled groan*" - April 11, 2021

For the "Second Arc", Eden was supposed to actually turn into a hybrid but I decided against it at the last moment. The garden scene was also a surprise, but I love it way more than what I had initially planned! I am pretty flexible with my stories, and there is always room for new ideas!

Ethereal has three major arcs. The first one is focused on introducing Eden and Jimin and laying the groundwork for their relationship. The second one is also known as the "Rescue Arc". The third arc was difficult for me to figure out. I also sliced my finger open when I finished the second arc, and it gave me more time than I wanted to brainstorm the final arc. I came up with a list of things to help guide me through the final arc of the story without making things boring!

I stuck closely to the original plan this time! : )

Sticking to the plan did not last long! The final scenes of Ethereal had two versions. The original version is down below. The other version came to me while I was trying to fall asleep! The final words of Ethereal also came that night and I immediately knew how I was going to end it!

In the original plan, after Eden confronted her parents, the five escaped smugglers would track down Eden and the boys by using hidden trackers that the hospital didn't know to remove. They would attack the apartment, break-in, and Eden and company would have to defend themselves until the police arrived. They would survive one last attack, and the book would end with a happy waffle scene in the morning after struggling to sleep.

The true ending came to me in one single sentence and it hit me like a truck.

"And finding a love this... is ethereal" - April 25, 2021.

I decided against having the apartment attacked because it broke the flow, and was too "action" based. With the existence of the kidnapping scene from McDonald's and the escape scenes, it felt like it was too much.

In conclusion, I would describe myself as a half-planner and half-pantser when it comes to writing! There is an equal balance of rigid plot points and spontaneous decisions! Finding that balance is key for me completing a story with sustained motivation. The thing I loved about writing Ethereal is how easily ideas came to me. There were some rough days but overall, it was a wonderful experience to write!

There was a surprising amount of medical research that went into Ethereal's basic skeleton with too many Google searches of concussion side-effects and PTSD symptoms.

And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this look into the writing process that went into Ethereal! 

I would also like to thank you again, dear readers. For staying with me throughout this entire journey and encouraging me every step of the way! It was your comments that helped me push through writer's block, and your reactions that inspired new angles on the plotline!

If you told me that Ethereal would reach 10K views and be shortlisted for the Wattys in January 2021, I would laugh at such nonsense! Thank you for making this dream a reality, and to bringing Eden's world to life! <3