Thirdly

Lee steered the ship. I was the Smee to his Captain Hook. Wait, does that make sense?

See, we speak the same language.

Only if you ever have to publish it somewhere you plan to sell is when you'd have to deviate from naming brands or celebrities. Just changing the name a bit would work (example: Lion Allendes instead of Leon lol). It doesn't really matter here, though. Unless you're writing a premium story maybe?

I'd so be there (if you post another part or a spinoff).

I will never apologize for this. Ever. I'm also only like a quarter serious when I tell people they should have smuttier scenes. The stories don't really need the added smut. I'm just a perv.

Now, now. Don't be afraid, hermano. My comments and reviews are always my candid first impressions. Anything outside of that is just me talking out of my bum. 🤣

Holy crap! And I was still guessing all wrong left and right. 😂I also knew like 4 entries that I refused to list because they were freebies and everything! And yay, @impunity!!

And that was before I even realized it was you that wrote it. I was so freaking impressed. You do just keep reaching new heights with your writing.

Happy accidents lead to happy little trees? 😂 You can do it, Bennie.

I would squish you between my boobs whenever you want. 🤣Likely while brushing and braiding your hair.

1. What is your general timeframe from the start of a project to its conclusion? - That changes depending on the project. Even short oneshots vary. There was one I was able to crank out in a day, but another that took me months! Months! For a one-shot! OH! Did I mention how I just finished a story after 10 whole years just last week? 🤣 I didn't spend all 10 years on it; it was very much a stilted story. I had some loose notion of an ending 10 years ago, but I never went through with it. I picked it back up because I need to finish a spin-off story in that world, and then the ending turned out completely different than my first ending (and much better, in my opinion, though it's still far from perfect and is flawed up the ying-yang). Perfection is an illusion. You could have what you felt was the best-written story you've ever written before, and though you felt it was exceptional, it turns out to be a boring flop for a whole generation (or too new and riddled in modern slang to be understood by other generations, the reasons for disconnection are endless). Then, you write something you felt was "easy and quick" and that's the one that so many people love that you question why you put in so much effort in all your other stories in the first place. This happens in art, this happens in writing, this happens in music... it's all an illusion. You can't make everyone happy. Hell, you don't have to make anyone happy. Just keep making what you would want to see. (that goes for you too, @chris191070) Just keep going. Getting too wrapped up in trying to please everyone gets you stuck. And, yes, I love your side characters too much. But that doesn't mean I would rather have them be the leads. Your lead is more than fine (I'd squish him between my boobs platonically), and focusing on your lead is a great idea, though that is only my opinion and it does take two to tango, and the "two" I'm talking about don't even have to be romantically involved, it can be any and all interactions the lead has with the people around them. 2. Do you lack focus sometimes, even (or especially) when you have the time available to you? - Shiny things distract me all the time. Shiny things are distracting me this very second. You are a shiny thing. 😂 I found that when I try to create a "deadline" for myself, it sometimes helps me keep my head in the game. For example, the anthology this year is due in October, I believe. But I have surgery in October, so I knew it needed to be done before then. That helped keep me focused. But there are others that feel like deadlines are so constraining, that it'd be the opposite effect on them. 3. Do you write everything down first and then section it off into chapters, or do you build it up one chapter at a time? - I am a "hop around to different scenes" kind of writer because my memory is like Swiss cheese. If I don't jot down what comes to my head somewhere, it will be gone forever. I also have many projects and ideas, not just in the form of writing. I draw, I sew, I play music, and I game... if I don't alternate between these every now and then, I'd be filled with too much guilt when focusing on writing. Feels like I'm "turning my back" on the other parts that make me me. So, I alternate. I will never reach the highest level of any of them, but that's okay, because the more important part for me is getting it "decent/polished enough" to put it out there, any of my projects/art/videos/crafts. My biggest drive is to get things completed before I pass away and start all over again as a saxophone soloist in a Salsa band in my next life. Find what your biggest drive is. Why are you still thinking so hard about that story that you are so focused on it even when you are struggling?

This year was such a challenge to choose. Everyone came after all my feelings with their stories. Joy, fear, sadness, anger, shock, confusion- wait, that one was only of my own doing. But, they all drew something from me! I was a wreck. And, of course, amazingly done to the winners! 🏆 🥇 🥳

So true!

But, Adi, it's so much fun (even if I didn't pin you to the correct story the whole time even though it was plainly obvious I yelled at the characters in your story more than all other entries and still didn't put two and two together)!

Dagnabbit. Guess I'm Busted after all.

Yes, I had a lot of fun with this one. It's very fast-paced and a fairly quick read. First thing I ever really wrote to completion, come to think of it. I was cackling when I was re-reading it, as there were parts intended to be funny and other parts that were ironically funny, both of which I loved. So, I kept the majority of it intact, rather than altering or expanding on it. Same with its sequel.

“...and Vianis said the shadow people call themselves Shades,” Cyrus concluded, his voice filled with the glee of a child who has uncovered a long-hidden secret. “Shades! How clever is that? They are just fascinating.” The shadow people—Shades, apparently—had always been a mystery to Cyrus, despite his initial confrontation with them five years ago. I remembered a time when first impressions were set in stone in the blond’s mind. Gaining his trust had once been a grand ordeal, and I wonder

This song encapsulates what I've been feeling trying to guess all of this season's Secret Author writers:

Now I'm curious!

I watched over Talon as he placed the twelfth stone in a ring on the cavern’s unobstructed ground. He worked with careful precision, using a sky blue acrylic pen—a trick, no doubt, picked up from a particularly practical Academy instructor. The symbols came alive beneath his hand, each line deliberate, reflecting hours of study and an innate calm. As the ring took shape, I caught the faint scent of minerals and cool earth, a reminder of how deep we were below the world’s surface. In hindsig

That gif right there is a snapshot of my mind full of all the plot bunnies that keep proliferating left and right!

Real life is dystopian enough for me. Give me rainbows and ponies any day.

What it Takes, indeed! I'm still reeling.

when he broke up with his girlfriend of the week - how many girlfriends has this guy had? He resembled Oliver quite a bit, which made me want to like him. - Is this a good thing or a bad thing? It dawned on me, for the first time, that Oliver might have clued in to how I felt for him. Shit. - Double shit! Following him was an older man clad in a tight black V-neck and too much gold jewelry, holding hands with one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Tia. - That hussy. Alex walked by, deftly plucking the now-empty Solo cup from my hand and replacing it with another one, giving me a wink. - I've a godbrother that does this kind of thing during family gatherings all the time. Sneaking the liquor around, making sure everyone was having a good time... Alex turned to me. "Can I touch your hair? It looks soft." - Sure it's just his hair you wanna touch, buddy? 👀 "Want to sit in my lap?" he asked, his voice soft in my ear. I grinned at him. "Maybe later." - Is it getting hot in here? I pushed Ricky aside and called her name, trying to get her to respond. Nothing. - I mean, as a Vet-in-training, you're the closest thing to a doc there. Also, the empty syringe that I had slipped into Ricky’s coat pocket had already drawn suspicion away from Oliver to the more likely suspect—the current boyfriend. - The syringe you WHAT!!??? 😱 But the truth was, I never intended to kill Tia at Alex's party. - Are you sure about that!? I went into her room and smothered her elderly cat, which should have been put down six weeks prior. When my sister returned home and found him, it made her cry too. - 😨! Sir, you have crossed the line. And that's the truth. - SIR!