sierralee
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October 18 Update
🕑 Added 2020-10-18 23:28:43 +0000 UTCThere's enough stuff going on, I'm going to divide this post into appeals and thoughts about the upcoming period.
Support Me (if you want)
That animated cover up there? It's for the upcoming audiobook for The Brightest Shadow. I'll say more about it in the future, but for now, Podium wants me to spread it around. If you're interested in pre-ordering it, you can do so on Audible.com or a specific country link.
Meanwhile, I'm eligible for the r/fantasy Self-Published Novels contest. Anyone with a Reddit account can vote, though do note the rules:
https://old.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/jabxs3/the_rfantasy_top_self_published_novels_voting/
I'm not going to win, but I have some votes already. Because the sub has over a million members, even getting lower on the list could bring new readers to my work.
There's other stuff that will be happening over the coming weeks/months, but those two are the only ones that are time-sensitive. On to general thoughts.
Taking a Break
As I've implied at various times, I think I need a break. My effort in 2020 to finally knock some long-standing projects off my plate had mixed success, in some cases recoiling on me by adding new continual draws on my time (mostly communicating with new artists). DStP is actually delayed primarily because of me for the first time since the project began, but I kept it on the backburner because I recognized I was near the limits of my bandwidth.
Unfortunately, a true break is impossible because I've just put too much in my schedule. I have three different book launches coming up soon, some of them determined by publishers instead of me. Handling that isn't hard, just draining, but dealing with all of it while trying to complete significant creative work is another thing.
What I think I need is a period of time where I can follow my creativity more freely, while dealing with all the communication and promotion that's been scheduled. I'm going to try to give myself significant freedom to follow my muse, but I'm not going to begin anything new. That is, I'll work on TLS/OEA/DStP at random as I feel like it, but not start anything new that will require work from Future Sierra.
The one exception might be trying to write some short stories, as they're generally done in a short period of time with no future obligations. I have some semi-experimental ideas I've wanted to explore, and maybe getting into them might be refreshing.
Following my creativity will likely involve working on TLS 0.55.0 some too. Launching into the whole update, especially updating so many NPCs, doesn't sound like fun right now, but some other stuff? There are investment returns, new harem scenes, and numerous little consequences. ^-^ It's nearly certain that there will be times when I feel like working on those, so I'll take pieces out of the open world update until I eventually just finish it up.
So there you have it, that's my plan. You can look forward to hearing from me in the regular weekly updates, but maybe some of them will just be a new piece of art or something, instead of an essay.
Comments
Seriathus
I didn't demand Sierra to put in a nonbinary/trans character in the game RIGHT NOW, I just asked for a clarification of how transness would work in the TLS world. I would've been okay with just a "dunno and I don't feel comfortable with tackling the subject because I just don't know enough about it", I only got confrontational with one jackass who decided that even just mentioning the word was somehow going too far. If you'll notice, I didn't blow up at Sierra after she clarified that the way that the world of TLS itself works is not particularly friendly to nonbinary people.
Pheebor
Seriathus, if gender questioning/nonbinary were incorporated now at this late hour, it would feel a bit out of place, I believe. It would look tacked on. That is because there have been no hints of any character who showed any signs of not identifying with their actual biological gender in all the 40+ hours of gameplay so far. So I think what you're asking is that it be included now. But unless there is a compelling case that that theme would improve the story, I am not seeing a great reason to do that. There are already many, many balls in the air. I'm not saying its a bad theme, by any means, but it is one that can introduce many complexities of its own, and thus it probably deserves its own game with the bandwidth to really explore the issue.
Decanter
Is there any way to answer this that won't upset someone?
Seriathus
I'm sorry if this isn't exactly the right place to ask, but I was meaning to pose you a question: are there trans people in the world of TLS? And how would the shards work with them? The gender binary seems to be a metaphysically concrete thing in TLS. What of nonbinary people?
JJS
You didn't say anything about fans contributing to the plot meaning you are solely responsible for it and it only increases my opinion of you.
Sierra Lee
Many fans have contributed sprites, code, and grammar/bug reports. Their contributions are essential to what TLS is today, for example creating the replay menu and various system fixes. But otherwise the game is my work.
JJS
I've been wondering something, I've seen how hard you work and am impressed with it. My question is, exactly how much work is all on your own? You have sprite artists yes but all the other coding, thinking of the plot, the impressive grammar. Do you do all of that by yourself? Or do you have people to help you with that? If you really do most of it by yourself, that is impressive.
Anon
Good luck and enjoy your break Sierra! Don't want to overwork and burnout! Taking a break now and then from a creative project is so important for one's health.
Sierra Lee
There is no ultra secret role Hilstara is playing, so if she really isn't on any of the teams, it's an error.
Q-Riff
I have a question for the 2nd gathering. What was Hilstara doing? I checked no mention of her no dialog at all. She wasn't on the defence team, nor the infiltration, negotiation or Anak Team
Stijn Van Hove
Enjoy the break. 0.54 was great. Looking forward to the rest, whenever you feel like it.
DuckTogo
Mercy for Future Sierra.
Sierra Lee
An error in the script is likely, but I'm also okay with misdirecting some people.
Sierra Lee
Yes.
DukeLeto7
Quick POSSIBLE error report. The absence of an empty slot in either the non-combat or leader category is causing people on the wiki forums to speculate that Elleani is one of the 4 remaining tower walker other persons. I'm fairly sure there used to be another non-combat slot, and the Harem script is complicated and prone to causing errors... so I thought I'd apprise you of that line of speculation.
JJS
Will you still be giving weekly updates on Sunday?
SantaTheHutt
You know its OK to take a break and not do any work at all, right? You're not a machine. Relax, take some time for yourself.
snusnumrik
Resting is important! You deserve it.
Sierra Lee
I do intend to do some other stuff as well. I haven't done much gaming recently, and there are shows to catch up on.
Sierra Lee
All of them are eligible.
Dubsington
I see you have my wife's definition of "break": working differently for a while.
Zaq Reman
I misread that at first as hoping she has a good breakfast and found myself in confused agreeement.
JJS
Find a rhythm that works for you. And be sure to enjoy it. We will enjoy seeing all your work at its best.
SYH
Huh. I know a Mikael Naramore who does audiobook production & narration. Neat.
Belly97
Also, I hope you have a good break/rest.
Charred Heretic
A few weeks of art updates sounds really good, to be honest. I hope that work is as trouble-free as fate or fortune allows! Edit: Also, that lightning effect is super pretty.
Belly97
Which of your books are self published?
