Monthly Progress Update - Aug 25
I’m going to start strong: this is probably the biggest update since I came back to this IF.
First, let’s talk about the rewrites. Yep, chapters 1–3 have all been rewritten to some extent and polished up to a level I’d finally call acceptable. As I’ve said before, any comments on the changes or the general quality would be hugely appreciated! The combined word count for these first three chapters now sits at 49k, down from… whatever it was before. Who knew rewrites could kill so many words?
Now onto the big boy on campus: Chapter 4, which is currently sitting at a whopping 157k words.
Like I mentioned in the last update, I’ve finished writing all the rides to homecoming with every date:
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Meet Cecily’s parents and potentially learn why she’d go with you to the dance.
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Butt heads with Isaac, who, of course, insists on taking a monster truck.
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Pick up Haley, who’s all dressed up, and maybe even open to a kiss…?
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Meet Angela’s parents and discover that they are (plot twist) Italian.
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Learn more about Marcus’ motivations, and maybe even be forced to reveal your past.
After that comes the actual dance. Structurally, I’ve written it to work a lot like the party at the start of the chapter: you’ll pick what you want to do, and there are 7 activities total, but you’ll only get to experience 5 in each playthrough. Some are forced depending on your date (looking at you, Cecily), and every activity comes with running commentary and side chatter from your date throughout. You can also uncover more about Dylan’s and Olivia’s thoughts on the Tragedy, if you play your cards right.
All that’s left to finish in this chapter are:
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Wrapping up the activities
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Writing the homecoming royalty crowning
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Showing reactions to the reveal that the “creep” is back (if you choose that route)
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A final interaction with your date to close out the night, assuming things aren’t too tense by then.
If everything keeps moving at this pace, I think I’ll actually be able to say Chapter 4 is done by next month! There’s a catch though. There’s always a catch… It’s going to need a ton of polishing. There are still lingering references to the “multiple fathers”, broken variables, and some downright bad coding practices that make it rough for me to keep going without cleanup.
Anyway, here’s a poll. Are chapters 1-3 better now?
- Yes
- No
- 100% better
- I didn’t like the old version and don’t like the new version either