jeidafei

Hi Luminous fans! I'm so sorry I haven't been replying to comments. I just came back from a two-week vacation. I've got some new ideas for the last arc of Luminous, and I'll be back with the next chapter soon!

Amnixp

Any tips of how to grow a story?
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CrimsonParchment

          
          I'm absolutely captivated by 'Luminous.' Your brilliant mind and mesmerizing world-building create such a vivid scene. I genuinely feel every word. The characters have me completely obsessed, and I can't believe I've reached this point—I last commented on the 44th chapter. Eagerly awaiting the next installment! I understand you're busy, and I respect your request not to post stories in the comments. If you find the time, I would be grateful if you could check my profile for any feedback. Thank you for your incredible work; it's truly inspiring!

jeidafei

LUMINOUS is BACC! The newest chapter is here in full! 
          https://www.wattpad.com/1388511795-luminous-108-fireflies
          
          I've also republished the special chapters I unpublished during the Wattys, so I apologize for the multiple notifs. I'm so sorry I've been gone for so long and haven't been replying to comments (I do read them daily, though!)---work is chaotic, my parents are coming to visit, I was pretty crushed by the Wattys rejection, and we're entering the last arc of Book One (which I haven't planned in detail yet XD). So we're taking it safe and slow. 
          
          Take care, everyone. See you in the next update!
          
          Lots of love, 
          
          jeidafei

jeidafei

I didn't get shortlisted. 
          RIP to my Wattys dream. 
          
          Welp, back to Wazzcaban for another year to work on the next chapter of Luminous. 
          
          Hopefully, I'll finally finish it before the Wattys season this time XD. 
          
          WE'RE FINALLY AT THE DOORWAY TO THE LAST BOSS STAGE GUYS NEVER THOUGHT WE'D EVER COME THIS FAR GAAAAH.
          
          See you soon, dear readers!
          
          -- jeidafei

jeidafei

@rinaXhazurina About the female characters, I actually did start writing Luminous back when I was still a feminist (the not so balanced type) XD. But since it took so long to write, you can say I grew alongside Meya and found direction for her character as I went. 
            Since Meya also started out as a girl who tries to be a man and rejects her femininity, who thinks she can "do better" than the likes of Arinel when it comes to being in power. But she learns from Arinel's quiet strength and sheer goodness of heart. She learns from Coris that being a leader isn't just something cool, but it comes with the heavy burden of choice and sacrificing for the sake of others. She also learns that what made Coris fall in love with her is not her abilities, but her kind heart and inner strength against the temptation of violence. She also learns the importance of family and friends, and that she can't make it on her own and it's okay (healthy, even) to rely on the people around her. 
            Anyway, I LOVE this comment and I'm so thrilled that we're of the same mind! I think we have enough kickass kungfu fighting heroines nowadays, so it'd be nice to see other forms of strength that is more relatable, more feminine and attainable for us girls.
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jeidafei

@rinaXhazurina OMG Thank you soooo much for the kind words and encouragement > < You praise me too much gaaah. It's kind of frustrating since it can be due to the quality of my work...but it can also be a myriad of other reasons. For example, they used AI for initial screening, so Luminous could be filtered out for any reason whatsoever. 
            Also, I discovered too late that I cannot edit my submitted chapters after submission, so me correcting typos and re-writing in general after August may have been the culprit, too. 
            AND right before shortlists were announced, I was disqualified from a Wattpad Outreach program due to a copyright strike (that I posted about earlier), so that could have resulted in me being eliminated from Wattys, too. So...yeah, we will never know. Let's just try again next year XD.
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rinaXhazurina

What also stands out in your book is that it doesn't portray the leading girls to have to wield swords or know how to spar in combat to present them as strong female characters. I think representing girls or women to be strong, smart, and independent while giving them feminine traits is an underrated idea that should be more frequently adapted in novels especially those who have female protagonists.
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jeidafei

So, Wattpad straight up deleted my fan translation of the D.Gray-Man light novel with no warning, no request, no explanation whatsoever.
          
          I logged in to find the story completely gone (not just unpublished), and a stock legal message in my DM starting with,
          
          "Hi there, Claim No. 12038469."
          
          What? I'm not Claim No. 12038469; I didn't report my own story. At least explain properly that a user or the copyright owner themselves reported my story as copyright infringement, and you are removing the translation. This is just confusing.
          
          I guess this is a lesson to always back up your stories offline (In this case, I privately curse Claim No.12038469, the snitch, but fan translation has always been a gray area anyway, so nothing for it but accept my punishment). Just in case your story was wrongfully reported and Wattpad decided to just nuke your story into oblivion. 
          
          Because there will be no warning whatsoever. Ouch.
          
          Sorry, D.Gray fans. You'll just have to master Japanese to read the Reverse light novels as they haven't been officially translated as far as I know XD.

jeidafei

@DrakeJW Yep. And now they just disqualified me from an opportunity they invited me to. Even though Luminous was to be the story I would use for the program. Turns out there was no snitch; it was the Wattpad Copyright Team itself. 
            
            Wish they'd also be this passionate when Luminous was copied and mirrored onto all those Chinese and Vietnamese platforms XD. But nope, we all had to file our own DMCA takedowns.
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DrakeJW

@jeidafei Rip
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kraazyhuman

Hey I'm very VERY tempted to read this book but it's been ongoing for so long. And I've had some bad experience with ongoing stories.  Sorry if I'm being rude but when will you be finishing this novel?

jeidafei

@kraazyhuman Thank you so much! See you in the future > <.
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kraazyhuman

@jeidafei thanks for understanding. And please don't feel pressured to complete it sooner! I really admire your consistency. I'm not the type to usually finish what i start. So it's fascinating to see people like you!  I can't wait to binge it next year ♥️
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jeidafei

@kraazyhuman Heeey~~ Not at all, don't worry! I used to be a reader myself until I took a plotbunny to the knee. I've experienced my fair share of abandoned fanfiction pain XD. I'm currently on the final arc of the first book. I expect to finish it early next year. But I do suffer a lot of writer's block, since I've been working on this for so many years. I'm trying my best to push through. But feel no pressure at all to read it until it's finished!
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