delusions2000

HAPPY NEWT DAY!! Here’s to a day celebrating the BEST fictional character of all time. He deserves the world and more, wouldn’t you agree?

delusions2000

(1/3) Hello everyone, and welcome to my musings as I force myself to write something while planning my next Lifeblood oneshot!
          	It came to my attention last week that at about this time last year, I began posting Lifeblood on Wattpad. A lot has happened in my life since then, but I wanted to talk more in-depth about the process of writing Lifeblood with the hope that it will encourage/inspire someone with their own writing.
          	I have loved to read for as long as I can remember, so it only made sense that I would take up writing as a hobby one day. That day happened several years ago during my freshman year of high school in the form of a “book” completely written in a notebook that was essentially a cheap/awful copycat of Twilight, the House of Night series, and a sprinkle of Divergent. Seriously guys, it was so bad that I look back on it and just have to laugh. I actually forced my friends to read it, and I’m honestly so lucky that they didn’t roast the life out of me.
          	A few years later, I was sort of discouraged from writing after a few pretty bad English classes in high school and a rough creative writing class my first year of college. I adopted the mindset that if my writing wasn’t immaculate, I probably shouldn’t bother doing it, and that the writing process is so rigorous that I simply was not cut out for it and didn’t have what it took to be a writer. Don’t get me wrong, the writing process is rigorous, but I did have what it took (and so do you!). 
          	In order for me to start writing again, several things had to go right in my life. One was that I needed to be reminded of how much I actually liked to write. This was the most important part. After starting college, I didn’t have much time for reading or writing anymore. It was easy to forget both of those hobbies, which is what I did for the majority of my three years in undergrad. So, what changed?

delusions2000

(3/3) All of these factors - reconnecting with @atlantis32, reading those amazing TMR fanfics, and rereading TMR itself, led me to spend the rest of that spring/summer in 2022 writing Lifeblood. I was fortunate enough to have a very light schedule in the summer, which afforded me the time that I needed to spend writing and editing. I remember worrying that I would lose motivation for writing, which has happened before, but through some miracle, I was able to reach into the depths of my soul and push myself to finish it. I also learned the value of having a hobby that you truly love - something you can look forward to doing each day, that no matter what happens during the day, you know that getting to spend time on your hobby will make it better. Having an activity like this is a vital part of living and will bring you so much joy and energy. It’s an experience like no other.
            	I know Lifeblood isn’t perfect, and it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But, I always said that whether it gets one read or one hundred reads, all that matters is that I had the chance to write something and see a project through to the end. It will always hold a special place in my heart as the first thing I ever wrote that I was proud of. I can count on one hand the number of people that I know in real life that know it exists (it’s a very small number), but that’s only because most of them don’t know what fanfiction is and I don’t even know how I would explain it, haha!
            	To anyone who read this, thank you! I’d been wanting to write something about how I wrote Lifeblood and I had some free time, so here we are. Thank you to everyone who has read Lifeblood - your votes/comments mean the world to me.
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delusions2000

(2/3) Anyone who has read Lifeblood knows that my best friend, @atlantis32, was an integral part of this story being written at all. I have known her for several years; she was around for my original writing “debut” with the aforementioned Twilight copycat. She and I attended the same university but weren’t in contact most of the time we were there due to having different majors and our own crazy schedules. However, a few weeks before I graduated, I ran into her completely by chance at my roommate’s church during finals week. Neither of us knew that our roommates knew each other or went to the same church, but all the same, we reconnected and reminisced over the good old days, and eventually, our mutual hobby of writing. This actually led to me attempting to revise my original crappy Twilight book, which is still sitting on my laptop, pretty much untouched since then.
            	Fast forward to almost a year later. I was in grad school, while she was finishing up her last year of undergrad. We hadn’t talked in a few weeks, but she texted me to tell me that she had ordered the whole Maze Runner series from Amazon. Now that was a blast from the past. TMR was one of our favorite book series, but I hadn’t thought of it in a while. After she told me she ordered the books, I decided I would reread them for nostalgia.
                   The rest, as they say, is history. I remembered how much I loved Newt and my obsession started all over again, just like it had in high school. Fun fact - I actually started writing Lifeblood as a joke during spring break that year…however, it was no longer a joke after I finished Crank Palace a few weeks later and realized I simply could not rest until I created my own, better ending.
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delusions2000

(1/3) Hello everyone! Please read the whole announcement, as there’s a lot of important information in it! At long last, I finally have an update about the future of Lifeblood/the sequel.
          
          Last spring was one of my toughest semesters in school. It was pretty demanding and left me with little/time energy for writing. On top of that, I just started working full time, so I don’t have as much free time as I used to. There’s a little more to my delay in announcing anything about a sequel, though.
          
          I have alluded a little to this, but when I wrote Lifeblood, I was writing from a place of deep, DEEP pain afflicted by a novella known as Crank Palace. Seriously guys, I don’t think I can communicate how much the ending of Crank Palace hurt me (I’m not going to spoil anything, but if you’ve read it you know what I’m talking about). To give you a hint at how hard I took the ending, let me tell you a few things:
          
          1. After I finished Crank Palace, I filmed an eight minute reaction video of me having a complete mental breakdown over how it ended. I was actually unhinged.
          
          2. As I was finishing the novella, I frantically began muttering “please no, please god no,” and hyperventilating.
          
          3. I wrote an essay that was five pages (single spaced) of how Crank Palace traumatized me.
          
          4. The day after I finished it, I moped around my apartment all day, wondering why I couldn’t just move on from it. You think page 250 was bad? Wait until you read Crank Palace…
          
          5. For about a year after I finished reading it, every time I would think about the ending, my stomach would drop. It still happens sometimes.
          
          IF ANYONE HAS READ THE NOVELLA AND KNOWS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT, PLEASE COMMENT BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT TO DISCUSS!!!
          
          I want you all to know that I have never ever reacted to the ending of a book/a character death like that. In fact, I really don’t consider myself to be an emotional person at all.

delusions2000

@Wolftopiaa either is fine with me! Whatever you’re comfortable with
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Wolftopiaa

Do we request one-shots on here or do we personally ask you?
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delusions2000

(3/3) (Oh, and shameless plug - I posted a Y/N and Damon Christmas Lifeblood oneshot a while back as a separate book, so go read it if you haven’t already!)
            
            Anyway, thanks to anyone who read this whole thing! See you soon! I will be posting the first oneshot as a separate book, and I’ll post another announcement when it’s up.
            
            (Also, I decided to post the official Lifeblood playlist in the Lifeblood book. Special thanks to @atlantis32 for helping me pick out songs for it.)
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delusions2000

On Wednesday, I will be releasing a Lifeblood Christmas oneshot! I had a lot of fun writing it, so please come back and check my profile on Wednesday to see it if you're interested.

delusions2000

Also, December 19 is Chuck Day, so HAPPY CHUCK DAY!!!! Write his name on your arm or wrist to celebrate. Chuck was amazing and deserved better!!!
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