Dragon Slayer Chapter 3 is being added to my projects I’m “working on,” though in a different way. While I’m still chipping away at the others, in the case of Dragon Slayer it’s more like I’m retooling an existing work. Once Chapter 3 is out though, I’ll have reached the end of what I wrote to for the commission, which will mean an unsure road forward. It’ll also represent a bit of a departure from some of my other stories in a certain way, even if it’ll feel like some stories… approached its territory.

I’ve hit a good stride writing, and managed to complete a private commission thanks to Dragon Slayer’s two chapters being post-ready and giving me some free time to write. I also worked on another outstanding commission, and after sending a proof, the commissioner and I found we had artistic disagreements and amicably parted ways. Hey, that happens, and it’s amazing how even though no money changed hands for a commission I still started, this was the furthest thing from dining and dashing, all because of good old-fashioned healthy communication. It truly is that simple.

It was a fun piece to write, truth be told, even if it ultimately didn’t go anywhere. It was a film noir set in a future where android robots exist. I’ve seen the trope of “gynoids/female robots… are they sex property or are they our equals?! Discuss!” before, and go figure, this bleeding heart comes down hard on the “equals” category. The resulting piece got a bit Detroit: Become Human, but regardless, it was fun to explore a robot being a femme fatale. Plus, while I write witty subverting women and sarcastic protagonists, I never fully embraced a noir style. In preparation, I read both The Big Sleep and The Postman Always Rings Twice to ensure I got the style. I don’t know whether I succeeded in emulating noir, but it was fun to try regardless. It seems almost a shame to completely throw the piece away…

So, why not? I decided to post it. It contains no sex, and as of right now, I’ll likely never complete it, but in case you’re curious, I’m going to release my first scrapped piece. It costs me nothing and someone out there might enjoy reading it. Here it is: a scrapped noir commission. I don’t know where it will exist outside of this blog post or even if I should make an easy link to find it available. I’m open to thoughts and comments on that.

I don’t count this piece as its own story, but hey, for what it’s worth, I hope you appreciate both the extra content and my commitment to ensuring I post here a little more often. I will say that no matter what, I have a life and want to never face burnout so I highly doubt I’ll ever post more than two chapters/erotica pieces a month, especially since most of my chapters run at minimum 10,000 words and trying to make 3 x 10,000 words a month consistently is… too hard of a sell for me. Kudos to the writers who can do it, but if I did, I’d either massively dip in quality or hate writing after a year, maximum. Not only that, but making a quota of that is going to make me kind of default to my usual safe haven of stories to write as it is. You know the tropes at this point… awkward usually-male lead, assertive usually-female co-lead. Sarcastic narration, coupled with a tendency to overthink and beat themselves up. Crazy high emotions with “real talks” and explosive emotions. Themes of consent and sharing partners. Weird, unhappy endings. Thanks for ordering the Bashful Scribe special; do you want fries with that?

That’s another reason I’m happy with this attempt at noir and want to share it. I want to see what’s too “same-y” in my writing even when I try to jump genres, and I also want to see if I ever write something that feels too out-of-my-style to be enjoyable. I’ve written more experimental pieces before, like Panopticon or, God help us, Breathe. Go figure, especially the last one is not often described as “enjoyable,” though for quite obvious reasons. I think especially as I take on more commissions, I want to get more and more used to writing things I normally wouldn’t. I want to get better at covering my writing weaknesses, and for that reason, if anything – critical or non – jumps out at you while reading the scrapped story, I’d love to hear it – whether that be in the comments, on the Discord server, or even privately in a DM or email.

Also, if you’re one of the commissioners waiting on an update from me: yes, I’m two commissions lighter, and you can look forward to an update soon. Thanks as always for the patience, and thanks for the votes of confidence for the new pieces I’ve posted this month. I’m quite glad we’ve found joy in new stories together; let’s keep this momentum going. I’ll talk to you all soon.

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