Colton Steele

I've got some updates!
          
          First things first, The Hidden will soon be getting a cover! I'm not sure if it will be the final cover when I decide to get it published, but I like the idea. I've already got some moodboards, and I fell in love instantly. We're  going ahead with the idea, and I should have them within a month or so!
          
          Second. I'm officially making progress on my first 'publishable' work. The working title is Dragon Tails, a story about a young blacksmith's apprentice who's whole world changes when he stumbles upon a dragon's egg.
          
          ...yes, it sounds similar to Eragon. No, it's not the same story. Though I do have to admit that the triggering event for everything in the book was inspired by Eragon, the discovery of a dragon egg.
          
          I don't intend to upload this one to Wattpad besides, perhaps, a first draft, to avoid conflicts with publishing. If I do end up getting in contact with an agent that's one of the questions I'll be asking them.
          
          For now, though, that's all! Happy reading, y'all. Momentai!

Alright, folks, let's set things straight here.
          
          After I finish uploading The Hidden's second draft, I'm going to be taking a short hiatus from Wattpad again, at least for my novel-length works. I'm in the process of working on a publishable book that /isn't/ with the Servian Saga (as said epic is going to be my magnum opus, if I have any say in it). And to avoid any potential conflicts with publishers, I'm going to avoid putting this book on Wattpad, though I will run it by a few choice 'pre-readers' to get feedback.
          
          I should still be producing short stories during this time, if infrequently, so stay tuned for those! And if I do ever end up hitting writer's block with the publishable book, I'll flip back to Book 2 (working title: The Discovery), but besides that progress on the Servian Saga will be pretty much stalled.
          
          Thanks for your continued support, it means the world to me, and keep an eye out for an announcement down the line about a published work!

I have a good feeling about Book 2, y'all. It's got big things coming. I've written 50K WORDS over the past three days. I'm excited about this one.

Honestly, it doesn't bother me that The Hidden isn't exploding like I thought it might have. While the first draft did get fairly popular before I took it down, it had also been six months since I'd uploaded anything; people stopped watching.
          
          The fact of the matter is, I'm proud of it. I like the work I did on it, and while I do still fully intend to continue refining my style, and this book, throughout the years, I'm happy with what I've done.
          
          All that being said, Book 2 is progressing with amazing progress! If possible, I'm even more happy with it than I am with The Hidden, and we're starting to see a lot of answers for what could possibly be going on while laying the foundation for book 3, and what could possibly be the finale of the series.
          
          Stay tuned, y'all, things are about to get even more interesting.

Been too long once again. The important part is--the first chapter will finally be going up today! The rewrite has been finished, and all I need to do before posting is read through and ensure there's no spelling or grammar mistakes!
          
          Y'all this is a huge moment for me. To not only have finished a book, but to have REWRITTEN IT, in full, is something I never thought I'd be able to do. But this is only step one: I have many other books that I intend to write and publish. This was proof I can do that.
          
          Today Prelude: A Warning and Chapter 1: First Hints will be going live. After today, I will be posting one chapter per day, until we finish. There are 32 chapters, so it will take us just over a full month to post everything
          
          As always, y'all, thank you so much for your support, and I hope you guys enjoy the finished product.
          
          That's all for now! Momentine!

Been a long time since I've made an update on here.
          
          Y'all, I'm nearly done with the rework. I'm GIDDY with excitement from how close we are. Pretty soon you all will see just why I'm so psyched as well.
          
          I've been incredibly busy recently, but I'm managing to work through it! Even if it's only an hour or two of writing per night, I'm putting in the work and I'm seeing the results. Trying to take care of it as well as my other hobbies is somewhat difficult, but hey, it's a good brain workout!
          
          As for the reason I'm posting this at 4:41 AM, well, I don't have a good reason aside from being an insomniac and being sleep deprived makes me more creative. I'm not complaining, aside from the fact that it does sometimes make work hard.
          
          That's all for now! Momentine!

Update time!
          
          Life is still going well, all in all. I have a few things to say about The Hidden, but first, about life: I officially have a full-time job now! While yes, this likely means less writing through the week, it also means I get a set schedule with set hours, and I don't have to worry about forcing time for writing.
          
          Updates now on The Hidden! First things first, the story has come along well. I'm finally to the point where I'm not so much rewriting as I am paraphrasing, so the good news is, the plot is mostly solid from here on out with likely very few changes happening.
          
          The second thing is, I likely will not yet be uploading the second draft here, as I am currently looking into publishing the book! While this is great news, there is a large chance that most publishers will see me uploading it here as a reprint, and likely won't even offer me a deal unless I take it down. I will keep everyone updated, but there is a chance the second draft will be going straight through to publishing!
          
          Final updates: Still expecting the rewrite to be complete around mid-April. Around that time, I will be looking into if I want to self-publish it, in which case I might be able to upload it here as well, or if I'm going to toss a bone to some publishers and see if I can get picked up.
          
          Thanks y'all for the support you've given me throughout the course of writing The Hidden! Now, I must get back to my writing. Always more to write!
          
          Momentai!

General update!
          
          The revised version of The Hidden is coming along very nicely. At the rate I'm writing, I think we can expect this book to be done, completed, all 30+ chapters finished by say mid-April. 
          
          Which also ticks in to another thing I wanted to say about it: the rewrite is...long. Like...'200+ pages of letter-sized paper and we're not even thru the first half of the plot yet' long. This is going to be a challeng to get through, I know, but it'll be so much more worth it.
          
          Already, the plot feels much more defined, the characters sticking much more to their personality. Backstories, the magic systems, and the religious conflict all feel much better explained and backboned. Overall it's just better writing. What you see in Chapters 17, 18, 19 and 20 in the first draft is more like what you'll be seeing throughout the second draft.
          
          The chapters also have an average length of around 9k words, instead of the 12 or 13k of the first draft. Trust me, you'll thank me for this.
          
          Anyways, that's all said and done, I shall get back to writing! Roll the film!
          
          Momentai!

THE HIDDEN IS COMPLETE (AGAIN)!!
          
          Ch.20 is finally uploaded, and we have nothing else to wait for! I'm working on the revised version right now, which I should be starting to release sometime in April or May. When I begin releasing that version, I'll remove the version we have currently uploaded. Don't worry, though! It will still be up on other sites later down the road, tagged as a first draft!
          
          This has been a long, long time coming. Those of you who have been here for a while know very well that I started this book at the BEGINNING OF 2019! I've been writing this book longer. We've been on this journey for almost 4 YEARS, and we're finally here.
          
          That said, that is also the reason it's in desperate need of a revision. My writing style has changed so much over the past few years that I need to almost completely rewrite at least up to Ch.5, potentially further. Which I'm doing now! It'll be coming out soon.
          
          For now, though, that's all! Thank you guys so much for the support through this journey, and as always, stay safe!
          
          Momentai!

The Hidden (the first draft) IS COMPLETE!
          
          As of today, we have two more chapters left to upload. After that, I have a few things I have to finish, then we'll be writing it into a final copy that I can be even more happy with!!
          
          Chapter 20, the final chapter, will be uploaded on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7TH! MARK YOUR CALENDARS!