You may have noticed a distinct lack of Halloween Special when you logged in on Monday. This was no accident, nor was it fluke. It was very, very intentional. The reason there wasn’t a special posted for Halloween is because I didn’t finish writing it. The reasons I didn’t finish writing it are simple, but potent. Firstly, I have not been writing as actively as I intended to; I’ve been a little bit lazy, and I’ve allowed myself to slack off. This reason is a terrible reason. I have no excuse, only an apology. Secondly, I have not felt motivation. My work hours have slowed down, my classwork has been notably diminished as of late, and that lack of activity has left me in a bit of writing slump; in other words, I’ve been doing nothing for so long, I haven’t had the energy to do anything else. Hopefully, that will change soon, with a second job and a heavier course load. When I’m doing things, I find it easier to do more things. I’m sure some of you can understand that. It’s just, since summer and all that happened during, I’ve been a bit devoid of enthusiasm. The only cure to counter it is to start doing things. So that’s that. Thirdly, and far more relevant than my previous two points, I was not satisfied with my work. The more I wrote, the less confident I became in my work. The Halloween Special was not coming together like I hoped it would. The story was weak, the language was bland, and the writing was rough. I needed to reevaluate the entire thing. I didn’t like it. I made the decision that I would rather post nothing than something I couldn’t be at least content with. After all, that’s why I’m taking the time to rewrite my entire story thus far, right? So, with all that said, I’m sincerely sorry that I haven’t given you what I promised, and I hope you accept that I had at least one good reason for it, but do not assume that this marks the downfall of Koeleth and my fiction as a whole. Rather, this is a necessary death to give my writing new life. Perhaps in the near future I will release a late Halloween Special, but I’m going to devote my efforts to the real stories again. Thanks for understanding. I do not have anything for you right now as I normally would, but when I get home later today, I will update this post to include a little something. Nothing major, but something nonetheless.

Update:

The Women in Tom’s Life (Up to the Beginning of the Story)

Cheryl Ann Riversedge nee Fairday – Tom’s mother, tough but caring, has a bit of a temper, desperately wants Tom to give her a grandchild, wonders why Tom can’t maintain a relationship, taught Tom to treat women with respect whenever possible (but understands that in his line of work not all women are respectable), taught Tom to value art, educated Tom in history

Amelia Worldwalker – Tom’s childhood friend, world traveler, missionary, has two blessed artifacts: Neutral Party (heater shield) and Linguist (hunting bow), optimistic, knows multiple languages

Carol Brave – Tom’s first girlfriend, dual wields daggers, aggressive, fiery, met Tom while fighting against him in a guild competition, cheated on him because he refused to have sex before marriage, Tom broke up with her because of it, they still don’t get along

Evangeline Highcrest – Tom’s second girlfriend, skilled fencer, outgoing, bubbly, Adventurers’ Guild adventurer, met Tom when they were assigned to work together on a mission, worked on several missions together before actually hitting it off, broke up with Tom because “things weren’t working out”, they have an amicable relationship

Jennifer Oak – an admirer of Tom, barmaid in Copper Pit, Darwin’s Expanse, met Tom when he was staying in town on a mission, her thinly veiled crush on Tom somehow went unnoticed until he just before he left town, when she admitted it to him, Tom did not return her affections

Cleopatra Horsekeep – an admirer of Tom, barmaid in the Drunk Skunk in Pasture’s Edge, Ramsrest, had an obvious crush on Tom ever since he saved her father and her from a group of bandits, flirts with him whenever possible and tries to get Tom to date her, Tom does not return her affections

Angela Sunfire – Tom’s third girlfriend, caretaker at orphanage in Stonewall, Darwin’s Expanse, met Tom when he arrive in town on a mission, Tom’s longest relationship, it ended due to Tom’s dangerous career choice

Anna – an orphan in Stonewall, sees Tom as a father figure, idolizes Tom