Welcome Back to Cheshir’s World
This is the third update. If you would like to quickly catch up from the beginning of any series, I recommend that you check out the June 2024 Monthly Summary, which I have pinned to the homepage of Cheshir’s World.
I’m quite happy with my current mode of production. It’s nice to have one series that gets blasted out straight from my head every week and two others that require a bit of refining. The current stories that I have as serials address all my current itches as a fiction writer as well. It’s fun.
Enough of that, let’s get on with the uploads! This is the only time that I get to reread Reincarnation Junkie!
August Uploads 2024
Click on the series title to be transported to its table of contents/directory.
Reincarnation Junkie
Our protagonist escapes confinement and discovers a strange forest. Faced with the responsibility of having brought away less than a dozen kids, we see our protagonist begin to engage with the world more willingly as they learn more about it. A vague goal is formed, and now our protagonist has an interest to pursue in this world.
This feels like a very slow story despite its output here. Maybe it’s because of the framing of the chapters. It’s a stream-of-consciousness tale, so I often find myself designating Substack chapters by beats rather than plot points.
I have to mention, the forest that I write about in this month’s uploads for RJ is very vivid yet incomprehensible in my mind. I had a lot of trouble establishing it in writing, and I still think that I did a bad job in this version. Hopefully in the future I’ll figure out a better way to engulf the reader in that forest and rewrite these scenes. I’ll mention it in one of these letters if it happens.
Depuis Toujours
Chapter 2 | Breakfast with a Family
A new family is in order: feast your eyes on a discomfiting scene where Cian gets along with this soon-to-be family. A few details are introduced in this chapter, as short as it is. I invite you to speculate on them.
For example, the Lady’s attitude towards everyone, including her own daughters, is sharp and scrutinizing. How will Cian fare in her care? Will her promises stand true?
For example, the dynamic between Ana and Drusilla (do you recognize the names?) and how they address Cian. Why do they act the way they do?
And finally, Edmond’s relationship with Cian. Why was it so difficult to tell Cian about his marriage?
Unfortunately, Cian has long been accustomed to accepting information as it comes, so we as the readers will be unable to explore these questions until the answers are revealed naturally. In the meantime, enjoy this chapter as a little glimpse into Cian’s world.
Returning Home By Chance
Pedring learns the name of this friendly teacher and faces his first direct E647 shenanigan! Is he still awaiting punishment by the system? What are mission tasks? And what does this mean for Pedring’s stay in the metaspace?
Well, no answers will be made any time soon, but enjoy this chapter in the meanwhile!
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I don’t know if it’s apparent, but this series is meant to be a humorous one with an uncertain reality. Pedring is the kind of person to laugh away the stress, so every moment must be expressed with exaggeration. Of course, he is also introspective and self-conscious, so a lot of the ramblings will be intermixed with Pedring’s own insecurities.
This was one of the few chapters that I had to rewrite recently, and I’m very happy that I did. The current plot of RHBC has always been difficult for me to wrangle, mostly because it deals with the modern world and not a fully made-up one, but I get a lot of leeway thanks to the settings of E647.
Short Stories
None for this month. That one short that I mentioned at the end of July is still in the works. It turned out to be a little longer and a little more difficult to produce than I anticipated, which is a good thing considering that the last short took no effort at all to produce. I don’t expect myself to stick to a schedule for these shorts, as my priority here is to produce my serialized stories.
Let’s see if my thoughts change next month.
In Other News
I recently saw an “experiment” post going around encouraging people to post one Note at the same time every day for a week. I wanted to try it out just for fun, but it turns out that it wasn’t very fun for me at all and I could only manage it for a few days before getting uncomfortable. I might do it again, just to terrorize myself as I often do.
Notes are a strange thing. I never fully participated in the short-form post style of social media until this year with Threads and Substack, so I’m really not used to all the noise. Every time I open these things, I just think, why am I doing this? I’m not looking for anything, but things keep coming. I’m not even enjoying myself.
Oh, here’s a fun video that I watched this month that kind of talks about this.
Maybe it’s different when these things are used with close friends. Is it better if you actually know the people who are swimming down your stream? Anyway, I’m fine with just using Cara.
Future Posts
In September, there will be another slightly personal post coming up (SmallStackers are aware: Seed Pods are coming up). It’s quite difficult for me to write personal pieces. I’m uncomfortable with providing anecdotes that make it possible for strangers to think about me. It’s better when there’s a buffer of a topic between us, such as stories or writing, but these personal posts toe the line between that and myself.
Fortunately, I wrote that post like a story, so a lot of it is exaggerated, and I don’t mind interacting with its contents with others. It was like writing RJ since it was just a story of my own experiences being reframed. Not as dramatic or bloody though—this upcoming post is very G for General Audiences. Though, I’m a little afraid of potential traffic because of how large SmallStack has gotten, so I’m debating on whether to turn comments off on that post.
I’ll probably keep comments on though.
Before We Part
I’m a part of the SmallStack community and am even a member of the volunteer team, but the reason why I volunteered in the first place is a bit off and related to Shining Asphalt (the one short story I uploaded here). Recently, I’ve been contemplating whether I want to stay small and form a community around my writing, and I have to say, neither is something I am interested in.
Mainly, the idea of moderating and deliberately forming a community around my writing feels weird to me. I’d rather just float around and let readers who want to read stories find me. It’s not really up to me if those people want a community specifically around my writing, and I don’t use Substack as intimately as my peers do anyway. Hey, I don’t even use the internet with the intention to make friends or acquaintances: I just use it because it’s there.
I’m not a social person, but I can still recognize the importance of community online. I want others to succeed, so I’m fine with joining these communities and being a silent supporter. I’m just not good with engagement—it really makes me uncomfortable. I’ll state my side of things here, not as an absolute, but just as an indication with where I’m at in this time of my life.
Whether I stay small, get involved with a community, or somehow blow up, I’ll be writing my stories.