Honestly, it is so much easier writing without a deadline.

With Forgotten Demons, I wanted to update every other Tuesday, so I was working my ass off all the time just trying to get my chapters done and it deteriorated the quality so much. I was always just trying to finish and move onto the next one, and being nothing but disappointed in myself when the chapter wasn't as good as it could've been because I'd rushed it.

I was reading through some of Forgotten Demons yesterday, and when I looked at the author's notes at the beginnings and ends of chapters, not once did I say anything about having fun with the story or being proud of a chapter.

Shattered Souls was a lot better because I didn't do that. It was still a little rushed sometimes because I knew I still wanted to post as often as possible, but just the simple fact that I hadn't given myself a continuing deadline improved it so much

Now I'm doing Parallels, and I'm having so much fun with it, because I'm letting myself enjoy it and am not fighting the clock to get something done.

Of course, I always love writing angst and plot twists and stuff, and it's always satisfying to finish an important chapter. But since I don't have any obligation to finish in the immediate future, I'm able to enjoy all of the writing process.

Most of the middle chapters of Shattered Souls were written while I was on vacation in Cancun, and I was just enjoying writing and getting lost in the story

I never did that with Forgotten Demons. I never really fell in love with the story.

I fell hard for my ideas, all my plans and stuff I wanted to execute, but I didn't revel in the simple writing. It was more of an obligation, to myself and my readers, and that's what ruined it.

Of course, Aiden's death also played a big part in the destruction of Forgotten Demons, though that mostly affected my ability to make my deadline. It was my own fault that I didn't later come back to it, since I'd moved on to projects that I was actually having fun with.

So learn from my mistakes. Write what makes you happy, don't put pressure on yourself. It's okay to set goals, but if deadlines start confining your creativity and deadening your motivation, throw them out. No one is in charge of your story but you, and it's up to you to keep it going.

If you're starting a new story, DON'T post it chapter-by-chapter while you're writing it. Wait. Write until you have a good number of chapters stockpiled, and then post it bit by bit.

That's what I'm doing with Parallels, and it's so unbelievably freeing. I have time to go back to fix and rethink things, without worrying that I'd already posted that part and stuff doesn't match up anymore. I have the freedom to make this the best story I've ever done, because even though I have high expectations for myself (that I don't always meet), I'm not confined by time.

It's good for your mental health in more ways than one. Personally, I don't really get consistent 'alone time' until the rest of my family is asleep for the night- there's always things going on and stuff to do and general distractions.

When I was writing Forgotten Demons, I tended to stay up REALLY late on some nights, because I had to get my chapter done by a certain day. This completely fucked up my sleep schedule, which did nothing to help my already-ruined mental health.

But with Parallels, it's okay if I'm working on the same chapter for only a few hours for three consecutive nights, because I don't have a deadline and I can always finish it the next night.

Don't stress yourself out. Like I said, goals are okay so long as they don't kill you or your story.

I don't know if any of this ramble was coherent or helpful, but uh,, I had this realization and I wanted to share it

So uhh,, yeah.

In other news, I finished Parallels chapter 19 last night and the Word document is now over 64,000 words long

((:

Rip my fingers

-your favorite lunatic 📝