Author's Note: Before I start, this story HAS NOT BEEN ABANDONED. Nor do I plan on abandoning it—Dicen is my pet project, and I'm planning on sticking with this story until it's done, at some distant point in the future.
But the fact of the matter is this: Dicentra Formosa is going to be long. As it is planned now, the story will probably end up with at least thirty or forty chapters, all hitting somewhere between the twenty and thirty page mark. I trust my beloved readers have basic counting skills, and have realized just how epic this story is going to be in terms of length. Beyond that, it has numerous intricate details that need to be woven into the plot just so, or the entire thing will fall apart; I have original characters who have, by this point, been vaguely hinted at, and will become more major as the plot goes on. I have most of this story plotted out in my mind, and I adore writing it—that said, I want to make sure my readers enjoy it just as much.
And in the interest of having readers enjoy it, I've been trying to hurry along my writing and editing, to the point where each chapter is published pretty much the moment I finish it. You guys get the raw, unfinished deal—and still, it takes me about a month to crank a chapter out. What this ends up with is dissatisfaction on all sides, as I find myself realizing that I forgot to include something I wanted to, or forgot to edit out something I wanted to, and with you guys having to deal with an interminable wait between chapters.
So I am going to take the next few months to try to get ahead of myself. I will be continuing to write this story, of course, and editing as I go—but chapters will not be published. Basically, I want to get a few chapters ahead of where I've posted (for instance, by the time I replace this note with the real chapter four, I hope to have written at least up to chapter ten). This means that I get to satisfy my inner perfectionist and, when I come back from this publishing break, you guys get much shorter periods of time between the posting of chapters.
In short, I will not be updating this story until at least Christmas, in all likelihood, though I will continue to write.
I really, really hope that this doesn't drive readers away—I know how annoying hiatuses can be. I love all of you guys (your reviews make my day, seriously), and it is my sincere hope that you guys will be patient so that I can really get this story to be its best.
If you want to, feel free to PM me to inquire about my schedule: where I am in my writing, when I'm planning on starting to update once again. In fact, I would advise that you guys do so, as I always work faster when I know people really do care about what I'm writing. I'm friendly, and easy to talk to—so feel free to PM me and tell me I'm an idiot for doing this, or that you're looking forward to the resumption of my posting, or whatever strikes your fancy.
Again, I am so, so sorry to put you guys through this, but, on the upside, when I start posting again these lags between chapters should be mostly, if not completely, eliminated.
Best of luck to all of you, and, by the way, you are arguably the most awesome readers ever for putting up with me. :)
~A very apologetic, but optimistic, Song
