As I said, my pace will be slower for now. Right now, I’m still rewriting the first nine chapters. The main events and clues will be the same, although there will be many changes. It’s a bit hard to know what to change without a comment, but I can figure it out by rereading myself a few times. And I’m not just talking about syntax, but also how information is conveyed. (The “show, don’t tell rule”, although an author should use both instead of favoring one). I’m also going to tone down the gore a bit, or not; I don’t know. It’s not a big spoiler, but the point was to show that the antagonist was free to do what was on their mind because they could, and they were curious. That’s all there is to it. Why not commit taboos they are curious to see in real life? Who’s going to stop them? They feel invincible; yet they’re not so stupid as to take risks with the Performers. While I’m at it, and since I doubt I’ll get to the explanation later, the whole “game” was a way of raising the emotional limit, increasing the possibility of awakening instead of dying—not very effective, as you’ve seen (especially for some hours)—but the culprit couldn’t just make them live their worst memories in a loop from the start. …Well, let’s be honest, I hadn’t thought of everything from the start. But I guess writing this story has become an iterative process for me.

I’m taking a temporary break. Well, actually, I’m not stopping, but I won’t be accelerating my pace either, especially since real-life issues are preventing me from dedicating more time on it. --------- I’ve already completed the manuscript for the next chapter, which marks the beginning of the next mini-act. But when I took a step back and reread my previous chapters, I realized they needed some work. The chapters were riddled with too many pointless sentences and sentence fragments that disrupted the flow. I had overused passive voice in the narration instead of active voice. Bland verbs like “to be” and “to have” popped up far too frequently, making the writing feel dull. Some descriptions required revision, and certain thoughts were either unnecessary or could be better conveyed through narration. …Yes, I read books to help me write.

This should be my last comment, all my thoughts and remarks will now be in the Author’s Note. --------- I’ve already finished polishing chapters 1 to 5. I was just thinking about what I’ve written. I’m not sure if it’s a good start or not. Anyway, at least now the power system and the world are structured enough in my head to start giving explanations. (Not that it wasn’t before, but not enough.) The next chapter or two will mark the end of this mini-arc, or at least the end of the “Crescendo” part.

Just when I think things can get better… they get a whole lot worse than I ever could have imagined. But really, I shouldn’t be surprised… Anyway. I’m back to writing, if I wait to get better I’ll be on my deathbed. But first I polish the chapters already published but it shouldn’t take long. Nothing will change much, except for a certain clue in chapter 4 that wasn’t well presented — it just needs a few extra words and I’ll bring it up again in chapter 6. Honestly, the initial mysteries are not all that complex, it’s just to give a taste of what’s coming in future chapters.

The next chapters are on their way, although they won’t be coming anytime soon, depending on how I happen to feel at the moment—maybe I’ll get better later. Sooner or later, I’ll manage to make writing a daily habit, no matter what’s going on, whether external or internal. It’s amazing how many hours one can spend doing technically nothing worthwhile. I feel like I’m in control of myself, but I really can’t control myself, or maybe I don’t want to control myself… I really don’t know. Maybe that’s why “freedom” is one of the most important themes in the story.

The next chapter is on its way and should be ready by the end of this week. It’s nearly complete, although it has required a substantial amount of my time, which I now need to compensate for. The chapter is approximately 4000 words in length. I considered reducing its size, but I prefer not to eliminate any content if I cannot conclude this chapter satisfactorily. I must say, I’m glad I wrote it and can’t wait to bring this chapter to you.