Before we get into today’s main topic, let’s start with a quick little update regarding the progress I’ve made over the past seven days!
As mentioned in last week’s blog post, I worked on the base sprite for GENBA no Kizuna‘s second witness character, which was my main focus this week. I’m not completely done yet, as a few details remain to be fixed. There are also some things still bothering me, but I can’t quite figure out why they do. I guess I’ve just been working so much on this guy, that it’s become difficult for me to spot issues, so maybe I’ll have to get some distance and take a look at him again in a couple of days.
Either way, the main chunk of the work is done. It’s really just minor adjustments that are left now, so I’m quite pleased.
Outside of that, I haven’t gotten around to much else, but that’s fine. The base sprite itself is still a huge task I can finally slash off my to-do list (which it has been on since last summer “orz).
So, what’s next? Well, tomorrow will be dedicated to some more art-related work, but starting from Monday, I will put my main focus on the story again. As mentioned before, the entire story for GENBA has been (mostly) set in stone, and I have dozens of documents detailing everything that’s going to happen. What I don’t have is a proper outline, though.
Originally, I thought I might not need one and embarked on this writing journey just with my note docs. For the first chapter, I guess that was fine, since it’s mostly about character introductions. However, starting from chapter two, we will really get into the intricacies of the mystery. I have already started writing some of it, but I realized that it’s getting much harder now. So I’ve decided to go back to a writing method I have used during my fanfic and early VN days: outline the entire thing, scene by scene, in very detailed key notes and then take those as a guideline for the actual writing.
So that’s what I’ll be doing. My plan is to have the entire story written down in key notes by the end of the month. That sounds much simpler than it is, however, because structuring a complex mystery can be quite a headache. When should which piece of evidence be found? In which order should certain clues or information be discovered in? When’s the best time to bring up this major event I’ve already fully written out? Do I keep it where it was initially supposed to be, or does it make more sense to push it back a little?
The answers to all these questions can drastically alter the flow of the story and how the mysteries are unraveled. There are also certain ideas I’ve had in mind for a long while now, unsure whether or not to keep them in the story or cut them out entirely. It’s time to put those ponderings to rest and get a clear picture of how I want the story to unfold.
I will also have some other things to take care of, like the Valentine’s artwork, but finishing the outline will be my main goal. After all, next month, I would like to properly delve into the actual writing process again!
Guess that’s about all I can say for now, so please enjoy the rest of your weekend and, until next Saturday, take care :3
