Hello Wanderer! Thanks for checking in!
I’ve been hard at work with Deus Ex Machina for the month of January, and shifting my goals for the month of February.
What I completed in January:
Continuing to work on the script for Book 1. I’ve been finishing a handful of scenes that I skipped over during the first pass of my rough draft. In total, there are 14 to complete. In January, I completed about 5 of these. That means 9 to complete in February!
Reworking my outline. The scenes I skipped over ended up expanding into more scenes than I thought they would (of course they did), meaning I’ve probably added a good chunk to my final page count for the comic, but it is what it is.
Chipping away at character designs. In January, I officially introduced my character, Mors (God of the Dying) to my Instagram followers. I’ll go ahead and share his character sheet below. You can check out his official bio here.
Started designing my character Medella (Goddess of the Living). She should be ready for viewing very soon.
Made my own Photoshop brushes for the first time. Hoping to make a lot more of these to speed up the art process!
Thanks to a Ko-Fi donation, I was able to purchase Procreate Dreams for my iPad, an animation app! I made my first ever simple animation on it, you can see that on my Instagram page, here. (This is the part where I plug my Ko-Fi account. If you want to help fund more cool stuff like this, do consider supporting me on there.)
About January…
I’m not going to lie, I felt like I was floundering a bit during January, like I wasn’t completing as much as I was hoping I would. But, I’ve come to realize that perhaps my expectations were set a bit too high for myself. Pushing into February, I’m hoping to be more realistic with my goals, and kinder to myself if I don’t happen to reach them in time. (This is the anthem of every writer, I’m sure.) Overall though, I’m feeling optimistic. It was difficult jumping back into writing my script, as the parts I skipped over were the sections I was having the most difficulty wrapping my head around. After changing around my outline and writing the first few scenes in the lineup, I’m more confident about finishing the remaining scenes. I’m excited to officially, officially, declare my first draft as finished once they’re completed, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
My plans for DEM in February:
Finish the remaining scenes of my rough draft
Hand off my rough draft to my lovely alpha readers by the end of the month
Release a special mini-comic on my Instagram for Valentine’s Day (it’s about Lucian and Mina. If you liked seeing them in “The Puzzle Box,” you might enjoy seeing this little story that takes place about 8 years later, post-Book 2. Just some cute little fluff for you all. No spoilers, I promise.)
Release 2 character introductions (Medella and Dilucos).
Release the next short story in the DEM lineup.
The Story Continues…
February’s short story will release here on Friday, the 16th! This one’s called “Testing Her Metal,” in which Mina tries to determine whether or not she’s a demigod. In the timeline, “Testing Her Metal” is split over three years. The first half takes place a about a year before “The Puzzle Box.” The second half takes place a year after. So, roughly, Mina is 17 during the opening of "Testing Her Metal," 18 during "The Puzzle Box," and 19 at the end of "Testing Her Metal." The story is primarily about Mina’s relationship with her adopted brother, Fin. For those of you curious about the magic in Auroris, this short story will pull back the curtain a bit on some of that.
Content Warning: “Testing Her Metal” includes language, loss of a family member, and self-harm. Please proceed with caution if these subjects are difficult for you to read.
Did I tell you about my playlist?
My Instagram people know all about this, but to clarify for my website-only viewers, I have a Spotify playlist for Deus Ex Machina. You might have noticed it linked at the bottom of a couple pages. The playlist is purely self-indulgent on my part, something I often listen to while I’m working to provide inspiration, but I think it’s a cool little detail for anyone curious about the theme music for my comic. It has a variety of genres included, but it predominantly features Pop/Punk/Emo, because, hey, I told you it wasn’t a phase. Each song is either associated with a specific character or a predominant theme in DEM. I’m updating it and adding new songs all the time as I find them, so I’ll track any changes I make in these monthly updates. For those readers who just love analyzing and predicting things, I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun interpreting my playlist choices as more of my comic is revealed. There are spoilers. I dare you to find them.
The Current Playlist Cheat Sheet:
“A Million Lives” by Reach - Full Series Theme
“The Moon Will Sing” by The Crane Wives - Luna’s Theme
“Ghost” by Halsey - Luna’s 2nd Theme
“Chandelier” by Hotspur - Sol’s Theme/Book 1 Main Theme
“Bishops Knife Trick” by Fall Out Boy - Mors’ Theme
“Devil’s Flesh & Bones” by Eliza Rickman - Medella’s Theme
“Emperor’s New Clothes” by Panic! At The Disco - Dilucos’ Theme
“We Forgot We Were Human” by Dirt Poor Robins - Aurora’s Theme/Prequel Auroris
“Give and Take” by Poor Man’s Poison - Zicari’s Theme
“The Mystic” by Adam Jensen - Roan’s Theme
“Whisper” by Burn the Ballroom - Luna’s Blades’ Theme
“Midnight Thoughts” by Set It Off - Lucian’s Theme
“Wires” by The Neighbourhood - Fin’s Theme
“Hard Times” by Paramore - Mina’s Theme
“Let Me Down Slowly (feat. Alessia Cara)” by Alec Benjamin and Alessia Cara - Lucian and Mina’s Theme
“Monster” by Imagine Dragons - Aaron’s Theme
“Lost Boy” by Ruth B. - Ada’s Theme
“Motherland” by Reach - Book 2 Character Theme (Unrevealed to avoid spoilers)
“Hypochondria” by Hotspur - Book 2 Character Theme (Unrevealed to avoid spoilers)/ Book 2 Main Theme
“Machine” by Regina Spektor - Elsie’s Theme
“What Scares You Most” by Manic Bloom - Book 2 Lucian’s Theme
“Reality” by Ellise - Book 2 Mina’s Theme
“Small Cuts” by The Brobecks - Book 2 Character Theme (Unrevealed to avoid spoilers)
“Running from the Scene” by Manic Bloom - Book 2 Aaron’s Theme
“Underworld” by CYPRSS - Book 2 Ada’s Theme
“Promise of a Life” by Reach - Book 2 Roan’s Theme
“New Frontier” by Reach - General Auroris Theme
“The Hound and the Fox” by I The Mighty (Oil in Water EP)- Vaughn’s Theme/Prequel Main Theme
“Coming up Roses” by Eliza Rickman - Mors and Medella’s Theme
“The Law” by Reach - Book 3 Character Theme (Unrevealed to avoid spoilers)
“Little Dreams” by Reach - Book 3 Lucian’s Theme
Current Time: 1 hr 55 mins
Other Things:
I made a second playlist specifically for Lucian and Mina’s relationship, because I think they’re the cutest. Here’s the link, if you’re a dork like me. It tells their full story when listened to in order, because of course it does.
If you ever want to know more about something about Deus Ex Machina, or just have a random question for me, go ahead and drop a comment on any of the blog posts/short stories. I promise I’ll respond; I love seeing people curious about my stories!
That’s about all I’ve got for this update! Hope to see you back here on Friday the 16th for the release of my next DEM short story, “Testing Her Metal.”
~ Puritatem per lunae lumen ~
Becky
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