She still has a lot to write, but it’s nice that it’s coming along. I’m currently editing chapter 2. I have no idea if she’s going to immediately post the demo after she finishes chapter 3, or if she’ll wait and do some edits.
However, we’re that much closer to getting something, and I guess that is all that should matter. 
No one is prepared for that. Like can you imagine when the demo drops? I feel like given the CR comparison of a carnival my anxiousness for the “oh no” quotient has gone way up
(They just got out of a murder mystery and now deadly carnivals are rolling in. The detective really can’t catch a break)
but good news that we’re already getting split scenes this early~! give me that good good flirting
I hope there’s a Bobby scene this early (let my MC be unapologetically happy without them in front of them please)
I hope everything is going smoothly. Judging from the update, the branching are starting to come into play so I am expecting lots of things to do. XD
Just curious: Is anyone else keeping a Word doc of their answers on their MC? To make sure what is written is consistent. I, for one, have to keep a list of the answers I’ve given on hand so that I can refer to it when answering new questions.
I was at first, then I stopped…which I regret…
I probably should…but at this point that would be too much work so eh.
It’s not like I’ve done anything too contradictory, like Charlotte is suddenly a bigger fan of Star Trek than Star Wars. It’s probably just little things like, “Did I say she likes strawberries? Aw fuck it, she’s human, tastes change. She likes strawberries now.”
I keep a list of some of the major choices my detectives make, but not every dialogue choice. Last thing I want to do is get my detectives messed up, and I’m in this series for the long haul. 
I also list a few personality characteristics and track the relationship with Rebecca.
Lol. I know what you mean. I have saves that go:
Wayhaven Chronicles_AdamNate_Bobby Ex_Shy_Adam Shot_Stylish Dressing_Cosy Home_Bobby Bugged_Mother Relationship Good_Murphy Captured
just to keep track of the choices made in each playthrough.
What I meant was more do you keep track of the backstories of your MC. Like your answers to the questions on the forum
I keep a text file with my Notepad++ program. I’m sure once the entire series is out, I’ll create “ultimate” save files for COG, meaning that I’ll put the word “ultimate” in the name file so that I don’t get it mixed up with the other saves for that detective.
I wish we had access to our saves so that we could delete the ones we don’t want. All I do now is the detective’s name and book number, so “Sophie 1” for a book 1 save and so on. And I don’t save until I play through with that character a few times to make sure I get their personality and quirks down.
editing to ask: How is everyone else keeping track of their detectives, especially if they have more than one? I remember someone had posted in the old thread that they had over 80+ saves of the game, and all I could think was, “Holy Bleep! How are they gonna keep all that straight?!”
Yep. In fact, I keep a word doc of the whole game, so I can see what effects the choices had overall. With the next game not tracking points for relationships with the team, it may take several playthroughs before we’ll figure out how what you say affects different relationships, so if you want it to go a certain way (like be better friends with A than N, or get your RO to be closer to you friend-wise) it will probably be somewhat of a challenge. Hopefully, being able to go back and look at book 1 will help with that.
I name the Word file the name of the save. And if I do more than one playthrough for the same character (like after I figured how how certain answers affected certain things), I rename that characters file to match the save file name. It also helps that COG saves have dates (I learned that with the SoH series. It helps.
I just keep a vague idea of what kind of people Emma and Zoë are in my head and answer quaedtions about them with that in mind.
Don’t you get confused on the all the details and give contradictory answers?
For me, in one ask, I said Henriette doesn’t believe in marriage, and in another ask, I said that she have a wedding if it was lavish enough - small detail, but still… it must mean I’m still do not have a clear conception of my detective.
Sounds like you need to do multiple runs with her just to make sure it all sinks in. You’re going to have to bite the bullet and romance hot vampires. Oh no! Whatever will you do? 
Eh, I don’t really worry too much on mixing up small details and focus more on how they react to situations. They don’t exists as lists of traits so much as they exist as a nebulous concept. It’s easier for me to write short little fanfics about them than think up traits.
I’m cheating by having my detectives be characters thatve already existed for a year (Jay) to a couple years (tanwen). I’ve got a sorta log of asks answered on my Tumblr but generally I’ll remember things, or remember that I’ve talked about a characteristic before and look it up so I don’t contradict myself
for me it helps to reduce a character to a few core traits and reason out other characteristics from there. doesn’t ensure perfect consistency of course, and sometimes it leads to rushed answers that I could have given more depth in hindsight, but generally it means answers are at least IC enough
Fanfics always help or scenes. RPing them is even more of a help.
Aren’t people contradictory, at times? Most people I know are, for certain, especially when you broach a topic with them that they lie to themselves about.
I’ve been working with a friend of mine on a book and he’s more of the story/world-builder and I’m the character guru (we kind of complement each other that way). When he wants to develop a new character (it’s a series of books we’re working on), I make him RP the character to figure him out, because when I write, I’m not writing, the character is (don’t know if that makes sense to anyone or not) and he’s beginning to get that now, too. Plus, it’s fun as hell to take your character, stick them in a situation and see what they do. They often surprise you. And yes, they will contradict themselves–it’s in those contradictions that you can learn the most about them!
What is your detective’s most embarrassing moment?
Dezh: A complicated answer. She doesn’t really get embarrassed, mainly because she doesn’t really care what anyone thinks about her (until UB came along). She is upset that she needed to be rescued from Murphy, but that’s different than embarrassment and is mostly anger at being a ‘weak human’. That said, if anyone ever saw her cry, she’d want to crawl in a hole and die… but would tell them to eat a bag of dicks if they said anything to her about it
Nyx: In college, she had a presentation due and was not ready for it. It embarrassed the hell out of her. From then on, she never procrastinated again.
Wolfe: Admitting to herself that she was in an abusive relationship and didn’t get out of it immediately. She prides herself on being strong and feels like that made her weak.
Jax: In high school, she was all dressed up and walking down the stairs, but caught her heel on one of the non-skid strips and bounced down the stairs on her ass, right in front of a guy she had a crush on. She was mortified!
And how would they react if they did something embarrassing in front of UB?
Dezh would double down on it, be extremely self-deprecating, then roll her eyes and tell everyone to suck it when she got sick of hearing about it.
Nyx: The only one who could embarrass her is Adam, and that’s if she actually risks herself by making an overt advance on Adam and he rejects her. Not sure she would want to be around him after that.
Wolfe: She’d laugh about it. Unless it was because UB found out about her abusive relationship, in which case she’d likely clam up and not talk to anyone for a while.
Jax: She’d laugh at it, then point out embarrassing stuff they’ve done to even the score.
What position does your character sleep in? Does their sleeping position match their personality?
Dezh sleeps in the pillow hugger, hugging a pillow close to her body, with one or more limbs wrapped around it in some way. Pillow huggers like to get cosy and be cuddled, cherishing the relationships they have with the important people in their lives above all else. If you asked her, she’d say this doesn’t fit her at all. It completely fits her.
Nyx: The Yearner, on your side with arms stretched in front of you, as if trying to reach something. Complex Characters: People that sleep like this are a bit of a mixed bag, being both open-minded, yet cynical. They are suspicious of their own decisions, though have a firm resolve once they’ve come to a conclusion. Yep, this is her. And even though she makes decisions quickly, she has a moment of self-doubt as she does so, right before she commits.
Wolfe: The Foetal Position, curling your knees towards your chest, as if sleeping in the womb. Means you’re tough on the outside and soft on the inside. You can be shy to begin with, though usually open up and relax quite quickly. Yep.
Jax: The Stargazer, lying on their backs with their arms wrapped around their head. The Best BFF’s: Stargazers prioritise their friends, doing everything they can for those they hold dear. Usually these sleepers will have a happy, easy-going disposition. Yep.
Write your MC’s signature, and then your MC’s print? What MC’s handwriting reveal about them? (I know that not everyone knows handwriting analysis, so you can skip the second question if your want.)
Too lazy to do this for all of them, so I’ll just do it for Dezh. Her signature: heavy pen pressure suggests tension and anger; illegible means hard to read person; disconnected letters represents more imaginative and impulsive; writing quickly usually means impatience and dislike of wasting time
Print: large spaces between letters means they enjoy freedom and independence. Yep for pretty much all of this.
What is one thing nobody should ever say to your MC? (I’m expecting some interesting responses to this. Hehe)
Dezh: Three things, actually. “You’re a coward.” That’s a good way to get your ass kicked. It’s also a good way for people she respects/likes to get her to do something she’s resisting (she has trouble resisting challenges). Second one, threaten someone she cares about. She will destroy you. And, lastly, from someone she’s grown to care for, is “Goodbye.” Seriously, once you gain her trust, if you walk out on her, you may as well stab her in the heart repeatedly—it has about the same effect, and she’d like the latter more.
Nyx: “You have to do what I say.” Yeah, dream on!
Wolfe: “ASAP”. Anyone who adds that acronym at the end of a request has just ensured they will never get whatever it is they want. Also, threaten someone she loves. Good way to end up in a bloody pool.
Jax: “You’re a cold-hearted bitch!” That’s like saying water isn’t wet. It’s just insanity.
Does your MC like themselves?
Dezh: It’s not something she really thinks about. She seems to have somewhat of a death wish, with the way she rushes into everything and likes pain and teetering on the brink of death, but it’s not really a death wish—it’s just her way of feeling alive, because she’s closed herself off to everything around her, for the most part.
Nyx & Jax: Yes
Wolfe: She wouldn’t answer the question. Much like Dezh, she seems to have a death wish and, in a way, she does. Being close to death makes her feel more alive. She’s tough on the outside, and really soft inside, but she is also sad, underneath it all. She just won’t talk about it.
Not really. I am too lazy to. I have a very good memory in general so if i remember it, good for me. If i don’t, i can make a new character…anything so i don’t have to get up and go write stuff down…
I remember that you said somewhere sometime months ago that you did like Star Trek better than Star Wars but you’d never admit it so what is the truth then? 
She can have conflicting thoughts? Maybe she doesn’t believe in marriage, but would like to have one on her softest moments? She’s a human after all so she can have conflicting thoughts.
…that kind of thinking cost me a lot of that stupid attunement stat in soh…
shhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
It’s just!!!
It more consistently explores themes in a mature and interesting way!
That said, I find the Sequel Series to be better written than half of Star Trek and I hope this trend continues.
Also, I love Luke, Leia, Kylo, and Rey better than any Star Trek character except Bones. Bones is slightly better than all except Kylo and Leia.