The delay continues...

While I had originally planned to be up and running again, I regret to say that the delay to restart the series will continue for a little while longer. I have started a new job, and am still adjusting to the schedule. That means my brain is typically fried when I want to sit down and write.

Square Zero is not dead, but it is on hiatus for a while longer, because I don't want to just push out filler chapters for the series. I want to go back in with a solid game plan on where things are going to go. I also want to go in with an idea of where these series are going to eventually end. This is especially true of Eye See You. The series is ramping up for its big finish, and I want to make sure that it is worthwhile. I don't want a series that I have been writing for so long to finish on a whimper.

So, keep checking back for more news. Hopefully I will start getting stuff up in the coming weeks.

Series Updates and The New Schedule

First, there will be no new Tentacle University 2 chapter today. There will, however, be a new episode of Slime tomorrow.

Okay, so after thinking this over I have settled on a new schedule. There are going to be a couple of big changes, and a few small ones.

The first big change is that Tentacle University 2 is being put on hiatus. The series is going alright, but I need to do some serious plotting and planning to make sure it doesn't turn into a complete disaster. So when the blog resumes in mid-July, Tentacle University 2 will not be returning with it.

With Eye See You's new arc, Mutation, the series will be moving to one day a week, with longer posts to make up for the reduced schedule. Those posts will be posted on Tuesdays.

New Pom Pom Angel will continue to post on Mondays, and will be starting a new arc when it returns with New Pom Pom Angel: Heart's Dance.

There will be no changes to Rituals, and the series will continue to post in its regular slot.

Slime will be moving to Thursday when the new schedule kicks in. When Slime ends Tentacle University 2 will resume in the Thursday slot.

So, the new schedule is as follows:

Mon-New Pom Pom Angel
Tues-Eye See You
Wed- Rituals
Thurs-Slime/Tentacle University 2 (replacing Slime when the mini-series ends)

Until July 11th everyone!

A much needed break.

So, this is a post I never thought I would have to write, but I am finding it impossible to avoid.

Basically, I need a mental break. Square Zero is very fun to write, and I enjoy all the worlds and stories that I've created, but it also takes a lot for me to keep up with all of the different series. I have recently made a big move in my real life, and am job hunting, which is taking up most of my mental energy.

So, I am going to be taking a short break from Square Zero, and when I come back there are going to be some changes to the blog. Most importantly, I am going to be cutting down on the number of series that I'm writing, as well as the days that I will be posting, while also adjusting the schedule with the remaining series that I have currently running. The time will also allow me to plot out some of my trickier series, and iron out some of the issues I've been facing with the story progressions. I would prefer to get those things figured out now instead of writing myself into a corner, as I have with series in the past.

So, once I have the schedule figured out, I will post it on the blog. There will be some new posts next week, and then the new schedule will begin on July 11th, with the beginning of the third arc for New Pom Pom Angel.

I apologize for the break in posting, but I need the time to make the adjustments to keep Square Zero running smoothly. Thank you all for your patience and understanding.

And it happened...

Well, it happened. I missed a post. Sorry guys! I'm settling into Ohio, and I'm trying to get some work done now, but I can't say it won't happen again. It is going to be a hectic couple of weeks. I'll try and give everyone a heads up if the posts are going to go wonky again.

Infection ends and Mother's Day begins!

Infection is coming to a close, so today we enter the next chapter of Eye See You... Mother's Day. For the next few weeks we will be following Dave's mother, Loni, and see what exactly she is up to. Don't worry, we will be getting back to Dave and Dina soon enough, but for now, sit back and enjoy...

Eye See You: Mother's Day!

Turbulance Ahead!

So, I've mentioned the chance that there might be some disruption to my regular posting schedule coming up. Well, that warning still stands. I've got a lot going on in my personal life (including a move to a new state this Friday), so there is a chance that a post or two might get missed. So, forgive me if the blog gets a little sloppy for the next couple of weeks. The real world is just going to slam bang right into my writing schedule!

Brain Melt

Holy cow has these past few weeks been killer. Thanks to school I've been juggling more projects then I can handle, and because of that, my writing has gotten a little behind. I'm almost caught up, but my brain has gone into cramp mode the past few days.

It isn't just writer's block, it's a full on writer's charlie horse. anyone who has experienced a charlie horse will understand my brain pain.

Anywho, enough bitching.

Even though I am playing catch up, the blog will continue posting as usual. The new mini-series, Slime, will officially begin posting on Saturday, May 14th. I also plan on doing some redesign work on my blog before then, just to change things up.

Now, while the blog will be posting regularly through the month of May, and hopefully June, there is a slim chance I might have to take a short break from the blog. I'm moving going to be moving to Ohio at the end of May, and things will probably be shaken up enough between my job hunt and the actual act of moving, that I won't be able to get my writing done. I am going to do everything in my power to keep that from happening though. I pride myself on keeping the blog schedule, and it pains me to even consider taking any time off.

This isn't a for sure, but it could possibly happen. The break would only be for a week or two, but there is also a good chance it won't happen at all (which is what I am hoping for.)

So, there is where things stand in both my life, and for the blog. I'll keep you posted as things progress, and I'll give everyone plenty of notice if I do, in fact, have to take that break.

Otherwise, everyone keep enjoying the blog!

A bit of trivia!

So, as Rituals moves along I thought I would drop this bit of Square Zero trivia here.

Accidental Demon Slayers, Pom Pom Angel and Tentacle University are all set in the same universe. Why mention it now?  Well, because Rituals is going to be the story that starts bringing all those other stories together.  So be on the look out for a few familiar faces as Rituals continues! (And I promise, I have planned it this way all along.)

Also, Rituals and Ruins, while eventually connecting with the other series, are actually set in an alternate "possible" timeline.

So, as a handy little guide, here is how the stories do, or don't connect.

The Zero-verse

• Accidental Demon Slayers (including Letters from the Dead)
• Pom Pom Angel 
• Tentacle University

The Alterna-verse

• Rituals 
• Ruins

The Viral-verse

• Eye See You

Basically, the Zero-verse and the Viral-verse are two completely separate universes.  The Alterna-verse runs between all potential worlds, and works as a world possibilities. The events in the Alterna-verse can happen in the main universe, but they also can be avoided.

This is something that I have been slowly developing over time, and now that I have a more solid idea of how it is all going to piece together, I thought I would share it.

Accidental Demon Slayers 2 Game Update

So, if you haven't check out the actual game page yet, I'll post the update here.

Sadly, this isn't a good update.

I'm basically having to start from scratch.  Due to a computer issue, all the files that I've been working on are long gone. So, after starting over, I've got maybe 5% of the game done. While this obviously isn't good news, or the news that I wanted to be announcing, I'm not giving up.

Hopefully I can get more work done over the weekend, and maybe give a more hopeful update.

The more things change, the more they stay the same

So, February is passing by quickly, and the new schedule is in full swing! As much as things change, they also seem to stay the same. As much as I would love to start an all new, original series, I'm finding myself drawn back to the series that were the initial roots of Square Zero.

The lone exception to this is Tentacle University. While set in the same universe as Accidental Demon Slayers and Pom Pom Angel, the series is kind of the odd duck out, and I couldn't be more grateful for that fact.  The stories being told in that series are dark and twisted, and allow me to explore storytelling that I wouldn't dare explore in the other series.  There is a kind of freedom to not sticking to mythology and just letting each story become its own entity.  While Tentacle University was a more straight forward action story, Tentacle University 2: The Sorority is becoming something very different, with more of a focus on human drama, and truly twisted characters.

Even New Pom Pom Angel is a change up for me.  Normally my stories tend to work in longer arcs, but I'm finding that Missy and her friends work better in shorter arcs that tell simpler, character focused stories.  I'm not saying there won't be longer stories later, but for right now the series is working best as a series of short, fun tales about the lives and loves of these characters. It is also a nice contrast to the extreme darkness that is Tentacle University and Eye See You.

Speaking of Eye See You, Infection has kind of changed things up for the series.  Instead of shorter, character hopping arcs, this current arc is running much longer than I had originally planned, and is staying focused on just one character.  While I'm tempted to change things up, just to fit the format of the first year, I'm realizing that the story I'm needing to tell, and the ground work I need to lay for the future of the series, requires me to stick with Dave for a while longer.  The changes that I've made to the world of Eye See You require me to establish a lot of details, especially the new threat of Virus, and so form must be pushed aside to allow the story to be told.

Even Rituals, and the Rebirth Cycle as a whole, is shifting.  Instead of just focusing on life in a demon infested world, I'm looking at the series as a way to pull all my other work together, blending in characters from all my other series to create a larger adventure.  It has actually been fun for me to figure out how I'll pull in specific characters, and what roles they will play once they are worked into the story.

The one thing that has changed in a big way was my original plans for the Cycles.  Basically, the Suffering Cycle is dead.  Well, maybe not dead, but for now it isn't really a thing.  Letters from the Dead still happened, and the events will still work into future Accidental Demon Slayers stories, but the actual plan I had for the Cycle just didn't seem to work out. I may use the moniker in the future for when doing Accidental Demon Slayers side stories, but the full idea of the cycle has kind of dissolved. Those things happen, and the important part is how one recovers from an idea going up in smoke.

So, there is the state of things here at Square Zero.  Hopefully everyone enjoys the series!

A Wrap on Tentacle University!

So, Tentacle University has finally come to a close.  This was a series that I had originally planned to run for only twelve episodes.  It made it to twenty seven.  I guess some stories need more time. I will say, now that it is all wrapped up, I am very happy with the final product.  It wasn't always easy to write, and it sure as hell wasn't always comfortable to write, but it was the series that rattled around in my brain the loudest.  I think it paid homage to the series that I used as reference, but at the same time created its own, queer feel to the genre.

Now wouldn't you know it, another Tentacle University story was rattling around in my brain again, and it'll start next week!  Tentacle University 2: The Sorority is a story that shares only the setting of Hartford University, but none of the human characters. The story will take place one year after the events of Tentacle University.  While there will be mention of the first series, the second series will be a mostly independent entity.  Why do it this way? Well, it's just the way it worked out. I think Devon, Cherry and the gang from the original had their story told, and I don't want to force them into a story that I don't feel is right for them. So, a new cast of characters, a new story and a new take on Tentacle University.

So, if you enjoyed Tentacle University, stick around for Tentacle University 2: The Sorority!

Reminder!

Missy, Gus and the gang return on Monday, with the start of New Pom Pom Angel, and its first story arc "First Dates"!

Looking at 2016's schedule

So, as we enter into the New Year, not much is going to be changing schedule wise, at least not at first.  January is going to be working at four posts a week, with Mondays staying open.  Then, February will see the return of one of my first series, Pom Pom Angel.

New Pom Pom Angel will be taking the Monday slot, starting on February 1st.  Not sure how long it is going to run yet, but I'm giving myself that extra month to get things right, although I do already have enough written where I feel comfortable making the announcement.  So, in the mean time, might I recommend going back and reading the original Pom Pom Angel, just to get an idea of the characters.

Around that time the blog will still probably be running at four posts a week, as Tentacle University will be wrapping up soon, and I don't want to rush a new series into the slot just the for the hell of it. But, we shall see what happens. I have plenty of ideas knocking around in my head.  I just don't want to announce anything before I have a good chunk of writing done.

Stay tuned for more news as I figure out how 2016 will play out here at Square Zero.  Happy New Year!

Series News: Ruins ends after a year!

So, one year later, and Ruins is coming to close.  Now, that doesn't mean that the ReBirth cycle is over.  No, it just means that starting next Wednesday the next chapter will begin with Rituals. Rituals will continue the journey as Doug, Alana and Ren John head out on their new quest.  So, stick around as the journey through the ReBirth cycle continues!

The new year approaches...

So, as 2015 winds down, I have to think about where things are going from here for Square Zero. The blog will continue, of course.  I enjoy writing these stories too much.  I also still plan on finishing the second game at some point.  It may take a while, thanks to school and work and life in general, but I still want to work on it.

More importantly, I'm going to be trying some new things when it comes to my actual writing process.  My stories on here are very stream of thought.  I make it up as I go along.  Most of the time that works out okay, but when it doesn't work out, it REALLY doesn't work out (see Melody of Light and A Dark Lesson for examples... or don't). So, I'm going to do some little experiments when I write.
Looking around the internet for ideas, one constant I saw from story to story was the importance of actually writing, as in putting a pen to paper.  So, I gave into my addiction to stationary, and ordered a pack of notebooks and some pens, and I'm going to do just that.  I'm going to put pen to paper and see what happens.

It is weird to talk about handwriting a story as an experiment.  I'm an 80's baby, and and a 90's kid. When I was younger handwriting a story was just what you did.  I remember the magic of sitting down with a fresh notebook and digging in, writing story after story. A bunch of those stories actually inspired my second serial that I wrote for my original blog, Soap Sudz (you can check out the first episode of Spirit Lake here).   I wrote my first screenplay in a spiral notebook that got passed around my 8th grade class.  Then, once I got to high school, and eventually college, I stopped writing by hand, and just went to the computer.  It was "easier".  Except... it isn't really all that much easier.  In fact, sometimes it makes it harder.  A computer is an amazing thing, but it also offers countless distractions.  When I was writing down a story into a notebook, the notebook was my only focus.

Hopefully I can recreate some of that magic.

I need to apply those same ideas to my second game as well.  My brain runs a mile a minute, and when I'm planning a story my thoughts can fall all over themselves.  I can think of scenes and story lines and characters, and what was supposed to be a simple, straightforward ghost story can suddenly turn into a grande exercise in excess.

Yes, part of the reason that ADS2: Possession is going so slow is because of how crazy my life has gotten.  The other reason is that the story, while still making sense, has gotten too big for me to handle the game entirely on my own, at least when it comes to making the game in a timely manner.  My original plans grew and grew, and now... now there are so many plot paths and story elements that just looking at the game file overwhelms me.  Now I know why a lot of these games have multiple writers.

So, going into the New Year I plan to make some personal changes, but I also plan to keep this blog running as smoothly as possible.  I'm trying to plan something to take the Monday slot after Elves of Darkness ends on the 28th, but I don't have anything in stone, so there won't be a formal announcement for a while.  I've got plenty of ideas for new series, or continuations of old series, but instead of rushing them onto the blog, I'm going to take my time and try and get them right.  So expect some programming announcements in the coming months.

Have a Happy Holidays, everyone.

A Little Holiday Announcement

So, starting on the 7th of December I will be posting a limited, four week Accidental Demon Slayers series called Elves of Darkness.  It's just a short little holiday themed adventure featuring Bobby and Kurt (and Juktha and Doctore). I will say, just because it's holiday themed, doesn't mean it won't be a little... shocking.  Oh, and bloody.  It'll be a very bloody Christmas for the Accidental Demon Slayers gang.

So, starting December 7th, check it out!

As a side note, any future Accidental Demon Slayer stories that happen from here on out will treat Letters from the Dead as part of the over all cannon, but not A Dark Lesson.  (Basically, the stories will continue as if A Dark Lesson had never happened.) I mention that now just in case I decide to use Matt and Amanda in a future story.

Eye See You: Luke Connects Wraps up this week!

So, Eye See You: Luke Connects will wrap up this week.  The next arc, ESY:Infection, will start up the week after, with no interruption in posting.  ESY: Infection is really going to shake things up, and open up the world of Eye See You in a whole different way, so stick around to see what happens next!

No Ending For A Dark Lesson?

When I made the decision to cancel A Dark Lesson I briefly thought of writing a quicky ending to wrap everything up.  There was just one problem.

I had no idea how it would end!

One of the factors that led me to decide to end A Dark Lesson was that I had no idea where the story was going.  None.  I hadn't just written that series into a corner, I wrote it into a black hole, where any form of story momentum was crushed in the powerful vacuum of writer's block.

Also, unlike Pom Pom Angel, which I at some point plan on bringing back, I have no further plans with A Dark Lesson.  There is just nothing in my brain when it comes to that story.  Absolutely nothing.

A Dark Lesson is dead and gone (and I'm kind of relieved.)

Here is what dawned on me after this latest writing disaster.  I am forcing myself to keep writing stories in the Accidental Demon Slayers world, even when I don't have a story to tell.  I am forcing myself to expand that world without a solid base, and in the end I'm doing more damage than good.  So, I will write something new for that world, but not right now, and not until I can think of a story that actually works.  Cuz A Dark Lesson did NOT work, and it was starting to cause problems with my other series, and slow down my posting.  It was either let this hold up everything, or get rid of the problem.

Eye See You is One Year Old!

I just realized that Eye See You has been running for one year now.  Holy crap has the time flown!

I had originally planned for Eye See You to be MUCH shorter, but obviously, that didn't happen, and the series continues to chug along, and making me very happy with how it is playing out.

So, YAY FOR ONE YEAR OF EYE SEE YOU!

Woohoo!

Wonder if I can keep it going for another year? Might as well try.

Hitting Overload!

So, my brain is at a breaking point. I'm currently posting four series five days a week, and I need to simplify, because I'm noticing that all of my writing is starting to suffer as a result.  So, as I sit here, trying to get my brain to form a complete sentence I've had to finally make a decision that I've been attempting to avoid for a while.

I'm going to have to cancel a series.

So, next week will be the last post for... A Dark Lesson. As much as I love the Accidental Demon Slayers world, that story is just not working for me, and like Melody of Light, it is becoming near impossible to write. It also, at least from the stats I have to review, is the lowest read series on the site, and its new post days tend to pull in the lowest number of readers.

So, November 2nd will be the final episode of A Dark Lesson.

While I don't enjoy pulling the series, and actually feel like I'm failing for not being able to complete it, I need to focus on making the series that are working better, and with as much as I have on my plate right now, that is just not possible, especially when a series is pulling in super low readership.

Also, the slot will not instantly be filled by any new series, so the blog will be cutting down to four days a week instead of five.  While I may find the time to write a series to fill that slot, I have nothing in the works as of right now.

Sorry for disappointing anyone who was enjoying A Dark Lesson, but this is something I really needed to do.