Follow the Leader Chapter 2 is now up! I hope you all enjoy it, and its convoluted twists and turns. I’m embracing goofier plotlines coupled with my usual dialogue-heavy style; for those that like that, I hope it’s enjoyed. As always, spoilers are ahead.

A very reasonable criticism I got for Consequences was that Adam’s hold on the story got increasingly diminished as time went on. Similarly to Mutual Benefits, a lot of the events going on seemed to not be that much about Adam. Instead, Adam seemed to get stuck in the whirlwind of drama, and while that might be a more realistic depiction of high school drama, it’s not as fun to read as it is reading about the center of attention.

I’ve tried to incorporate this criticism into writing Follow the Leader, and making it explicit that while things may be happening with other characters, Robyn is at the center of it all. I’m sure once the story is in full swing it’ll be very fun to get the story going and see how this roller coaster plays out, but I think it’s fair to say I often need to take a chapter or two to truly get into the story, and this story is no exception.

My plotlines are convoluted as all hell, but usually, they don’t start this way. My writing usually consists of letting a few characters run wild, then finding the convoluted path they take as the plot starts getting more and more dramatic. Follow the Leader is the first story that, in this way, was complex from the word go. It’s more of a “hijinks” story than a coming of age story, and there are a few indicators of that. The character is noticeably more confident, and a little stuck-up (to start, at least). There are pre-established events and groups, but the story is all about learning about them and trying to infiltrate them from the outside, putting us in Robyn’s POV. This will come with a few changes to the writing, and the sex is no exception.

Sex is really hard to include in the beginning of a story of you want anything resembling a real connection. If you want sex in chapter one of a story, you either need to have someone be incredibly bold and make the first move out of the blue (like in Being More Social), or you need to make the sex about the act and less about the person, and then just begin with them being a little sluttier (like in The Good The Bad and the Molly). Otherwise, you’re either doomed to the daydream trope (like in Mutual Benefits), or you’re resigned to a slow burn with a chapter that *gasp* doesn’t contain much sex at all (like in Final Answer). Of course, you don’t have to make the sex make sense; you can either go for story tricks, like mind control, or just ditch the pretense, embrace the fiction and make everyone in your story a cardboard cutout that needs one sentence of convincing before they drop their pants. I’m too stubborn to go for this last strategy, and would (and do!) feel cheap for every time I even approach this strategy.

No one has pointed it out, but Matthew felt a little bit to me like a “he’s here just to fulfill the sex quota” character in chapter one. I’m hoping this chapter proves he is indeed going to be involved in the story, but this story still feels… different to me. And honestly, that’s okay. I’m playing outside of my wheelhouse, so there’s going to be a few bumps on this road. This chapter has to lay a lot of ground work, but I hope that’s seen as promising by invested readers who are looking forward to where it’ll lead. Said plainly, I think this story is going to be more polarizing, and my inner people-pleaser is trying to brace for that.

Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and this story. As with many things I write, even if you think you know where I’m going with the story, you’re likely wrong. And hey, if the story isn’t for you, good news, I’m writing the next chapter of Final Answer and the occasional other commission too, so there’s hopefully something for everyone. I’ll talk to you all next week.

Click this image to be taken to Bashful Scribe’s Discord server.