UPDATE:
Hey everyone, I have some things to discuss which I'm not very happy about but unfortunately I don't think I have much of a choice anymore.
I missed my December 8th update because I was sick - not with a cold, but with a stomach virus that has had some pretty bad effects on the rest of my body too. To be extremely brief, back in July of 2021, I got very sick (likely with Covid). I had bad symptoms and aftereffects for months and months and didn't feel anywhere close to myself again until February of 2022. I had never had any health issues like that in my entire life and I was miserable for a long time. But since that February, things improved to a point that I mostly felt normal again by summer of 2022 and I've been moving forward in my life and trying to look back on that time as little as possible.
This stomach sickness, however, has reignited some of those old symptoms (not all, thankfully). The worst one is that I feel a burning sensation under my skin that makes it difficult to sit down for even ten minutes without proper measures being taken. Obviously, that makes writing at my desk nearly impossible at the moment, which is why I've had to skip updates the last two weeks. I saw some notable improvement on Wednesday of this week and I was encouraged. But if that improvement is going to continue, it's clearly going to happen more slowly than I was wishing and hoping for.
So as much as it absolutely breaks my heart to do this, I'm going to have to put this story of mine on a brief hiatus while I recover.
I hate doing this. Writing 'Stars' has brought so much joy to me each week for the last several months and I didn't even realize how much I had come to treasure creating these chapters. Not being able to write it now makes me feel like I've been forced to say goodbye to my characters - my friends - against my will. Not to mention the fact that reading all of your comments and reviews across both sites just made my weekends a sincere delight. Without having the ability to do much of anything at the moment, I feel this frustration and isolation a lot more deeply than I would if, say, my life schedule simply got hectic and I needed to pause updates for a week or two.
The worst part of all this is I'm not sure when it will end. Last time this symptom manifested, it took three months before I found some semblance of balance. But I've seen much quicker and more notable improvement this time, as well as less severe effects by comparison, so maybe it'll clear up in a matter of weeks or even days. The frustrating thing is that I just don't know. And I don't want to keep kicking the can down the road with regards to this story, hoping I'll feel up for writing the Lover's Pond date that I've been dying to write for months when I likely won't be - I'm just in a pretty low emotional state at the moment and I'll never be able to do that scene justice as I am right now. I suppose I could try to force it, but it would turn out terrible and I don't want to do that.
So, as much as it breaks my heart, I'm going to reluctantly put a pause on updates for 'Stars.' I will 100% be back and writing just as soon as I'm able to be - it's absolutely miserable that I can't do this right now and I'm so saddened and angered by it. I've also been putting off doing this but I figured I may as well just rip the band aid off and get it over with, so to speak, so that's why I'm posting this on a Thursday night instead of the usual Friday - just to get it over with. But eventually, I will start to recover again and I'll have my life back, whether that's in days, weeks, or months. What I can promise is that I will never abandon this story. It may take some time to get it going again, I'm not sure, but once I'm well enough to sit at my desk and relax and write again, I'll be writing that Lover's Pond date with so much joy and excitement in my heart - I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to that.
And who knows, maybe I'll update with a full chapter next week if things do end up improving quickly! But it's a more likely bet that this story will be paused until the new year, perhaps slightly into January as well. I'll do my best to be as transparent as possible with you all but I wanted to give you some realistic expectations for now, no matter how sad it makes me to do so.
In the interim, I did put something small and fun together. A friend of mine asked me last week, "why not put together a community Discord server?" And I didn't really have a reason to say I shouldn't beyond I felt like it was a little self-indulgent. But right now I'm sad and frustrated with my life, so I spent the afternoon doing exactly that - making a Discord server for myself and any of my readers that might be interested in hanging out and chatting! It'll be super lowkey and very relaxed so if you're so inclined to come join, you're more than welcome to. Whenever you see this, this link will never expire and you'll definitely be welcome to join in and chat. I hope maybe I'll see you over there soon! It would be very nice to keep in touch with all of you while I'm between chapters/while my health is returning to me, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Link to the community Discord:
/s6XJmJ3SSJ
To everyone who has ever read even a single word of this project, thank you so much. This is absolutely not the end and I'll be back and better than ever as soon as I can be. But for now, this will be the last update to the plot for likely a few weeks. I hope it gives you a little bit to chew on and have fun mulling over with regards to the overall plot and story going on. And thank you so much for taking the time to come back to these postings each and every week.
I'll be back when I can be and, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all for your constant support. Have a wonderful holiday season, a happy new year, and I'll see you all again soon. That's a promise.
- Jrhall2
12/14/2023
