It was unquestionably naïve of me to say in my last blog, “I just got fired last week, but let’s make this month a great one!” I completely forgot how taxing, both in terms of time and effort, job applications can be. I’m doing okay mentally, though given I’m human, I inevitably have off days. That said, my time budget isn’t fantastic right now and that plus aging slowing down my biological clock means I have fewer and smaller windows to write. Nevertheless, I think Consequences Chapter 15 is going to be very fun for those who liked the original Being More Social story.

Spoilers below!

This was one of those chapters where I found myself going, “Ooh, yes, and then this happens!” while I was writing it. I was very excited to see the events unfold, even if the entire chapter really happens over the course of a few hours. In that way, it’s odd, but apart from that, I feel like it’s something of a return to form. Unintentionally, a few criticisms I’ve received were answered in it – it incorporates classes at a meaningful level, it contains high school bullshit that we all say we hate but secretly enjoy reading, and it’s topped off with a sex scene that has emotions, a point aside from the sex, and yet, no real implications for relationships. It can be just sex, and I think both Adam and the reader have been craving that for a bit. Maybe I’m wrong, who knows? IT sure felt satisfying to write.

I genuinely look forward to the feedback I receive on the chapter, positive or negative. And speaking of positives and negatives, one of the most interesting things to delve into in these stories at this point is the perceived positives and negatives of characters. While a lot of people have soured on Nicole’s more toxic tendencies at this point and altered their views on her as person as a result (a sadly common and self-fulfilling trope when it comes to people with depression), it’s interesting to see why people dislike Nicole. A lot of people talk about how she needs to control everything. The word “manipulative” is thrown around a lot. This is very interesting to me, considering that Nicole wasn’t anything but manipulative in Being More Social as well. One could make a decent argument that when it comes to BMS, she was more manipulative, but it was in matters that benefited Adam, and that she didn’t lose as often. So… is being manipulative okay as long as it helps the protagonist and she doesn’t lose? I’m not sure.

In the same way, the reasons people like or dislike Megan is interesting. I’ll keep getting people saying her arc is the most relatable, or their favorite, or the most interesting. Megan is a very complicated character, wanting to do what’s right and yet the first to overlook Adam’s cheating, even if it directly hurt her before. And yet she can be condescending, or police people’s morals, if she suddenly disagrees with something they do. Someone once said that they were interested in “Megan turning into the new Phil,” and given how incredibly different they are, that’s a fascinating comparison because I can’t 100% see where they’re coming from, and yet… I feel like there is a comparison there. I just can’t see it yet.

Whenever a character in my stories is contradictory, I want it to come across not that I’m writing them inconsistently, but rather that they’re behaving inconsistently (though of course, that all depends on how successfully I write them; inevitably I’m going to fail a few times). Inconsistency is a fun trait to play with when it comes to erotica characters because sex brings out new dynamics in stories. I try to make my strong suit in the online erotica game my characters (God knows it’s not my expediency with getting to the sex scenes, and likely not the sex scenes themselves in a vacuum either). I really believe that if you like or even understand the characters, the sex they have is hotter and more satisfying. Hell, oftentimes that’s a strength of very vague or bland sex stories – you can easily insert yourself and your crush into the story in place of the protagonist and the person they have sex with, and derive any meaning from the wooden boring vague dialogue they say. You can make it your own. In a weird opposite way, I use the specificity of my characters for you to make it your own story too. Odds are, you’ve met someone that reminds you of at least one of my characters. Maybe it gives you joy. I certainly hope it does.

Thank you, as always, for bearing with me. I hope you enjoy my random thoughts on writing. I have finished a commission as well which I will be posting next week – it’s only 4000 words and kind of shallow, but that’s what the commissioner wanted, to and extent. I’ll be talking about it next week. I appreciate you all.