Chapter Seven: Chapter 1-6 explained

@Chacko_Stephen, @AJAY9979, @CalebPinnow, @Carissa, @coldfront, @EllPoet, @GLD, @Itsyaboy, @LiannaC, @MeeJong, @Never_more, @nightscribbler, @pepita_picasso, @Rob_Lee, @Roses311Sublime, @saluthibou, @shaynabryer, @spike1, @ValiantRaptor47, @Voidkin_Killer, @WhiteWolfe32.

Here you go, GLD couldn't do his chapter so I had to do it. I was thinking we could try to go at a slower pace now. Everything is kind of happening at once and this is my attempt to slow things down and dive deeper into the night terrors. Maybe if we could also stick to this time and continue from when the night terrors started? We are jumping time lines so lets calm down a bit. Everyone's chapters are great it just seems like they are all individual chapters and not apart of a book. But let's pretend that was on purpose and we meant to confuse our readers. The first six chapters is a sneak peak into the confusing life of Eloise and the others and now we are starting over from the night terrors. What do you guys think?

@VerityMonet I was really hoping you'd tone down the split personality aspect and concentrate on the other world(s). Not double down on it. We all agreed at the start that wouldn't be a thing, and it should've been moved away from by chapter three in my opinion.

@VerityMonet Just a pet peeve of mine, so you know how that goes :) … Psychologically speaking, Eloise has probably not yet suffered through any night terrors - she has had nightmares. The difference is that night terrors rarely involve any actual dreaming, and usually occur during sleep stages 1 or 2. So, in night terrors (which are typically common in only young children), while there is rarely any visual stimuli, it is mostly an adrenaline rush that forces the sleeper to awaken - and feel terrified and afraid! However, nightmares actually involve dreaming, and it is the scary images and encounters that provoke one to awake, and that occurs during REM sleep (which follows stage 3). Sorry, just one of those things that I get really nit-picky about. :)

Oh I see, @ValiantRaptor47 but she hasn't suffered them yet, I know. It says "that night things changed." So it hasn't happened yet, the next chapter will have it. So I guess the dream world isn't something to do with night terrors unless she does dream and then when she comes out of her dream she has a night terror. Sorry about that.

@spike1 Well this was my attempt to get more into that and less on personalities but we can't just throw them away because then it would have been useless information and a waste of time. We are already confusing our readers so we can't throw away six chapters worth or even three of one plot type and move on like it didn't happen. The only other thing I can think of is starting over. If no one is happy anyway then what is the point of continuing to move on from a plot we don't like. As much as I don't want to start over I think it's the only other alternative.

@VerityMonet I wasn't suggesting dumping the whole thing... I think I see a way to drag it back on track... no spoilers yet, though. I need to see how the next two go.

@spike1 I am well aware you didn't want to dump the whole thing but I was saying it may be better if none of us even like the way everything is turning. I also think we need to continue with the personalities along with the night terrors. We can't get rid of it now.

Okay, so at this point I am extremely confused. I am not sure I would say that no one is happy unless you have received a bunch of private messages stating that because only a couple people have commented at the time I am writing this. In preparation for writing my chapter, and prior to posting my comment here, I read the whole thing through from the Prologue. I feel there is a nice story arch and although, yes, at times it seems a little disjointed, there are connections from chapter to chapter and the characters are showing some nice development along with the story itself. I feel like the character profiles which were written are phenomenally helpful and it would be great if we could have one for everyone (I'm not volunteering since I didn't create any characters yet I would feel bad if I misinterpreted something). I do have a question about the editing...how is that being done? Do I submit my chapter to an editor before I submit it? Or are the chapters to be edited after they are posted? I think it would be great to go back and edit for consistency and readability if people were open to it. Anyway, I'm confused about this chapter if you were trying to move on from the multiple personalities because it really seemed like you were highlighting them. I know you had to write a lot very quickly so I'm not trying to be critical it's just that I'm not certain now where you want me to go. I know we didn't want an outline or too much structure, which is why the story jumps through time, but to build now from one point in time seems like it could make it difficult to connect all the dots in the end and might make it seem like the first chapters should be disregarded. Perhaps I am off base on that? There was just a lot of really, really good writing and I don't want the readers to feel like, oh, this chapter is telling me to overlook all that now the real story starts. Maybe some group feedback on where Chapter 8 should go from here? Assuming we all want to continue (I do!) @Chacko_Stephen, @AJAY9979, @CalebPinnow, @Carissa, @coldfront, @EllPoet, @GLD, @Itsyaboy, @LiannaC, @MeeJong, @Never_more, @nightscribbler, @pepita_picasso, @Rob_Lee, @Roses311Sublime, @saluthibou, @shaynabryer, @spike1, @ValiantRaptor47, @Voidkin_Killer, @WhiteWolfe32.

Well, @MeeJong I guess you're right about that, not everyone is unhappy but the ones that are, seem to make an impact on me. I had my mother read this and she told me she was very confused. Some people lacked punctuation and others including myself made sentences that didn't make sense. I know this is a little critical but in order for this to work I think we need to think about where this is going. My mother was very confused about what was happening. I know that the editing will fix those problems and we will get to the editors later but first we need to focus on the problem at hand. We can't just get rid of these personalities. You are right people worked hard on those chapters so we can't throw them away. It seems everyone has a different idea in mind. Like I said before, we could pretend that was on purpose and we meant to confuse our readers. The first six chapters are a sneak peek into the confusing life of Eloise and the others and now we are starting over from the night terrors. Now all the Personalities will start to make sense and we can talk about the night terrors as well. But if the plan is to get rid of the personalities then we should just get rid of the personalities.

@VerityMonet OK... Let's try this... This is (part of) my idea. The personalities aren't imaginary, they're the result of a magical conjunction of sorts. Something to do with how different worlds interact. My character(s), or at least, one of them, will know a little more about what's going on and can start work on fixing it. Elouise was born during a major conjunction, many different worlds all crossing each other at exactly the time of her birth resulted in those personalities all sitting in one head, and that's causing a problem. The dreamscape they find themselves in is a kind of halfway-point between genuine interworld travel, but they never get to the real worlds because too many personalities are vying for position. Pulling in different directions. The character I plan on introducing was born during a minor conjunction, two personalities and one's from a magical world. And he knows how to use a little of it himself. (magic, that is). What do you think?

I actually really like that idea @spike1. What do you think @VerityMonet?

Magic would be more confusing and this book is supposed to be chill. Now we got personalities, night terrors, and magic, next thing you know, there will dragons and castles lol :)

@Carissa Don't tempt me. :)

Oh nooooo

@spike1 @VerityMonet I am confused, so are we now saying that Eloise doesn't have DID and that the therapist misdiagnosed her? That what's actually happening here is multiple individuals, not personalities, who are trapped in the same body because of a magical collision?

Hey @Chacko_Stephen where you at

@LiannaC Yes. It gets us away from all the mental health stuff everyone agreed to avoid and I think it works. Don't you? As for the therapist, how could he diagnose correctly when all he has to go on are multiple personalities? Not like he's ever encountered magic. Probably thinks demonic possession's not a real thing either, but where magic's involved, it could be. :) Not in this case though.

@LiannaC I am not sure when it is I ever said Eloise doesn't have DID. She is one of the personalities within her body. @Spike1 had an idea about it being a magical result. I don't think I a said they were imaginary either.

It is an interesting idea @MeeJong and @Spike one but again more confusing. Then again Magic always clears things up. I am alright with the magic as long as it's only fairytale magic and not like witchcraft or anything like that.

@VerityMonet Witchcraft's fairytale magic too, y'know. Wicca practitioners might believe they produce measurable results but they've never been able to prove anything scientifically. Any effects they do feel are likely the placebo effect in action, As for the magic I'm thinking of, no different from Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Spellsinger or other wizardy, D&D types. Although I'm thinking of a different "vibe" here. A more "Winter of the World"ish type magic. (If you've never read that series, it involves craftsmanship imbuing items with magical effects)

@spike1 They are different. Fairytale magic is fictional made up abilities for the lala land it belongs to however witchcraft is quite real and is purely evil and the power of satan's followers.

@VerityMonet It's people believing in hogwash like witchcraft that cost the lives of hundreds of (mostly) women during more barbaric times. We're in the 21st century now, now the 15th! There are no such things as witches. Or satan for that matter. All magic is fictional, apart from the conjuring type by people like Blain, Paul Daniels or Seigfried and Roy.

second now should be a not... grr

@spike1 @VerityMonet Well at this point I'm honestly fine with both options, spike your idea is interesting and of course going away from DID would make the book easier to write as the risk of misrepresenting this illness or unintentionally offending anyone would be gone (well the risk would decrease) but also I would be fine with the challenge of continuing to write about DID if everyone would be willing to research this and really understand it. @MeeJong what are your thoughts on this? As you are the one writing the next chapter

@VerityMonet I'm going to have to disagree with your views of witchcraft and I would highly recommend you watch this video with an open mind https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ym8-yQQwJ4Y it's a bit long but definitely worth it. The association of witchcraft being evil is easy to believe as the belief has been around for a while now but it is misinformation from the media

@spike1 everyone has different views on whether witchcraft is real or not and yes the fear of witchcraft has cost thousands of lives but the simple belief in witchcraft isn't what cost those people their lives, the belief that witchcraft is evil is what cost them their lives, the fear and prejudice. @VerityMonet @spike1 I think we should all agree to disagree because nothing good will come from arguing when we need to get along in order to finish this book.

@spike1 however witchcraft is very real and satan I don't want to talk about that tho. I do not like the idea of witchcraft one bit and I don't want to include it in our book. If your talking harry potter magic i don't want it in our book. It goes against all I believe and it makes me feel uncomfurtible.

Also has anyone heard from chacko in a while?

@Carissa the last time I heard from Chacko was a month ago, I really do hope he is doing ok.

@LiannaC and @Spike1 the lives of thousands were lost because we simply did not understand Witchcraft however we may have different beliefs on whether it is evil or real and I have no place in arguing the word of God. We can include fairytale magic as long as it has no mention of witchcraft, satan, or God.

@Carissa @VerityMonet Harry potter is fairy tale magic. Waving a magic wand and saying a few things in latin? Seems to me, someone's been listening to too many lies by the religious right. The same people who claimed Potter was satanic (it's a children's book series, and good does triumph over evil at the end) are the same people who claimed Dungeons and Dragons was evil, and before that,rock music. Probably accused jazz of the same thing, too. Now, they'd shifted their focus back to video games again. In their eyes, everything new is evil. But I agree, enough with the religious debate. If witchcraft hadn't been brought up (and it wasn't me who mentioned it first) this debate would've never started. As I said, mine will be based more on the magic described in the series "The winter of the world" (first book, The Anvil of Ice). In it, a boy's in training with a magician, he learns quite a lot but soon realises his master's on the evil side and runs away. But he uses the knowledge he gained to perfect metal smithery and combined with the magic he learned, he produces some pretty powerful magical items. That's what mine's going to do. A smith who crafts items so exactly that they gain magical qualities. No waving of magic wants, riding on broomsticks or casting spells in the more traditional sense.

Though I suppose if you want to be exact with the language, he will be casting spells in one sense, cos metal is cast into moulds. He'll also be hammering spells and forging them. And weaving them and other ways of manipulating various metals. :)

Ok @spike1 I am fine with that.

@spike1 as much as I would love to debate with you @LiannaC was right. We should focus on the book. As of whether or not we will be including magic we should stay clear of it all together. The minute you want to bring in magic will be the minute I prepare my chapter with Jesus Christ redeeming witchcraft users. Now this is not a threat I'm just saying that we can't write about a belief when someone else might have a completely different belief system. It seems you don't believe in God, or satan and LiannaC seems to think witchcraft isn't bad and I am completely against it but believe it is completely real. We can't create a book with one theme that has three different written beliefs on it.

@VerityMonet I don't accept a blanket ban on anything that could be considered magic. I'm sorry, but I like the idea and others have said it's pretty good, too. I've agreed witchcraft will not be a thing, that was your only stipulation when I first mentioned it. Now you're doubling down stating that all magic is utterly banned? And you're not even allowing anyone else to comment on this decision? Vote on it, even? "I don't like it so poo to you! I'm TAKING MY BALL BACK" is just childish. As for the "debate with you" line... What about? I already agreed to drop the witchcraft crap and not talk about it anymore. You're the one perpetuating it now!

Sorry if i got a little angry there but I've been putting a lot of thought into it. Then to suddenly be told NO!... My reply to that is a big no back. I'll write my part as I intend. Not be dictated to. Verity's story idea that didn't get voted on was a world overrun by demons and now she's objecting to using a world that has a working magic system? (shakes head)

Guys, l don't know about you but prose for me has always been the better part of the Internet, so seeing all this arguing is really sad. @spike1 and @VerityMonet I get that your both a bit upset but please don't take it out on the book, we all have different beliefs and ways of doing things and that's fine but this is a collaboration, we have to compromise so that this project will be enjoyable for everyone involved. I think for the duration of this collab, we all have to try to be more conscious of our words before posting them, I'm not saying we can't post our different views, just that we be conscious of if we sound like we are being judgment because what isn't harsh to one person may not be the same for others, they may see it and feel targeted by it. I know that feels limiting, like you have to constantly watch yourself, but we've still a long way to go before this book is anywhere near finished so this is necessary in order for us to last that long. I would hate to see us arguing all the way through this collab, it wouldn't be good for us or the rest of the team. Can we just agree to settle our differences? Verity, I'm sorry I said your belief was misinformed, you are entitled to your beliefs as long as they aren't causing anyone harm e.g. burning witches at the stake, but I'd like to believe that you would want to offer redemption rather than violence :) and spike, I know now you're intention isn't to hurt anyone, I think you simply wanted to state your beliefs and win a case (the agreement to writing about magic in your chapter). We were all just posting our opinions without thought of how the others would react and I think that was the rout problem here.

@spike, @Carissa, @VerityMonet, @LiannaC Reading through these comments and then reading your summary of the story so far, this was kinda the reason why I was hesitant on working on a book together and why I would have preferred to work on an anthology book project. You already have conflicting ideas, the story is a bit confusing, and now you guys are at each other's throats over beliefs.

@Harry_Situation @LiannaC It's no longer a matter of belief. I think it's more a knee jerk reaction, to tell you the truth. I already stated that it wouldn't be witchcraft which was Verity's only initial objection. She said she was fine with "fairy tale magic". Any fictional magic falls into that category (even though it's all fictional in my opinion). It won't involve calling on "other beings" (be they gods, demons, spirits or Satan himself). I already explained where my magic system was heading.) The least she could do is wait until it's written before objecting to anything.

I agree with @LiannaC but @spike1 if you did right the chapter and verity wasn't satisfied, than it would have been a wast of time. Im not saying Verity has all that power, and I am definitly not taking her side. All I am saying is yes we should vote on if there is "Fairy tale magic" or not.

Alright, Let me explain myself. @Spike1 you are right, I was definitely doubling down. That is only because at first I was alright with magic as long as it didn't involve witchcraft but I changed my mind once I saw we had different beliefs on it. I didn't want those beliefs to be written on paper. I am well aware you said you were not going to include witchcraft or the summoning of anything religious and that's when I wanted more than just that. I wanted to get rid of it in all not only because of my belief but because it is over done. I did feel a bit insulted when you said "Seems to me, someone's been listening to too many lies by the religious right." You mentioned Harry Potter and there has been a lot of research on how it is anti Christian but putting belief aside magic has been done and I didn't think we needed to do it again. So I apologize for changing my mind and not being consistent. That isn't fair, and you see, everyone, @Chacko_Stephen, @AJAY9979, @CalebPinnow, @Carissa, @coldfront, @EllPoet, @GLD, @Itsyaboy, @LiannaC, @MeeJong, @Never_more, @nightscribbler, @pepita_picasso, @Rob_Lee, @Roses311Sublime, @saluthibou, @shaynabryer, @spike1, @ValiantRaptor47, @Voidkin_Killer, @WhiteWolfe32. I was told that this was going to happen. I mean my nemesis @Harry_Situation was far from wrong, who knows he could have even been right. We all have different ideas on this book and are taking different directions. @Danceinsilence told me in the beginning that I had to come up with an idea and I alone. I argued and told him I wanted everyone's opinion and we would all decide together. Well this happened because of that. I am not sure if you are all aware but these chapters are disjointed and taking different directions. That is my fault for not setting a plan in the beginning. Give me a little bit of slack though, people may listen to an adult male better than a fourteen year old girl. This is my first time doing this so when I originally rejected his advice I created a mess and to fix it I tried to take his advice and be in charge. It was too late to come out with the "I'm in charge so listen to me," attitude but I did it anyway. So I again apologize for that. I am happy to hear your chapter Spike1 and will try to keep an open mind. I thank you for respecting my beliefs and explaining you won't include them in your chapter. I believe you when you say that. I hope that the magic aspect will clear things up rather than complicate things more. Thank You @LiannaC for trying to mediate and make peace. We should definitely try to come up with a compromise and decide together. Spike1, you said you already put a lot of thought into your chapter and I wouldn't want that to all go to waste so I am sure that whatever you have in mind will be accepted and great.

@Carissa I see it as possibly the only way to move the story forward, to tell you the truth. It'll give the story a direction, working towards giving them all lives, not all wrapped up in one skull. Separating them, without doing what Elouis tried to do, i.e, killing them. So far, seven chapters in, , apart from what happened to Elouis, very little has happened. Could end up being all kinds of things. A heist, to get them out of the mental institution, a quest to find the required materials to perform the separation, any number of other things.

@VerityMonet Phew. That's all. Just Phew. :) Also see the next post up, hope it might gain your approval.

@spike1 I definitely think that giving it more direction is what we need. If you can do it with magic then yes, I approve.

All I can say is if you had taken the advice I gave you long before this started, this would have never happened.

@Danceinsilence that's true and what I had admitted to but let me add if you had taken a little pity on me as this being my first time being in charge of a group of writers, all far older than I, and helped me out rather than mansplaining the problem I had made and rejecting the project long before this started, things may have gone differently as well.

Highly doubtful. I gave you solid advice, gave you pointers, showed you how to set up a better format to keep other writers informed of progress and you chose to ignore all of that. But -- you learned something by all this ... and I rejected the idea because I saw this coming and not because of your intent. Perhaps the next time you try such an endeavor, you will be better prepared and more well-equipped to put another task together, but I take no pity on someone who blatantly ignores sound advice regardless of age. Did I expect you to use all the input I gave you? No. Why? I had no expectations, and I also had my own project going and felt I would be better served with one area to work worth than two. Just call this a life lesson and work on how to correct what is going on and you can still salvage this idea but you do need to have total control of the idea and give direction via ideas. This doesn't mean to tell other writers what to write but rather suggestions that lead to ideas. If you check out any of my last 12 Think Tanks you will see exactly what I mean by this.

At the end of the day this all falls on leadership. This is all on you, Verity. Don't be passing the buck to someone else. This is not their failure. But now is the time to learn from this experience. Like Dance said, salvage this situation, talk with your collaborators, and work something out.

@Danceinsilence I may have sugarcoated what you said to me before this started. It wasn't necessarily advice rather than constructive criticism and that's still giving you the benefit of the doubt. It wasn't like you gave me advice and I rejected it although I did make it sound that way in my comment. You gave me the reasons why you were not going to be in the project and I was humble enough to call that advice that I rejected but now your telling me that that's true and you warned me when really all you did was criticized my methods. So even though you ended up being right it wasn't like you ever really cared. But you never said you did, did you? @Harry_Situation Its my job and I am aware of that, but like Dance says in his Bio, "...If you need help ...ask..." I thought throwing my idea away in the beginning specifically because I didn't want to lose him was asking enough but I guess that isn't the case. And I guess that even if it was the answer was no. I was so thankful to have Chacko help me out with this because if he hadn't I would be a mess. I guess I expected the same from other people. Thanks for the comments guys.

This was a valuable life lesson as well, I guess.

Okay guys, let's just calm down. @Danceinsilence you weren't giving advice, you were trying to take over. It's okay that's over now. All we can say is that we all need to simmer down and stop.

Guys just back off she has been being nice so stop being rude.

@Harry_Situation @VerityMonet @Danceinsilence Stop piling in about failure this and lack of leadership that. Everyone has the odd disagreement. Arguments are a natural part of life. Imagine how boring fiction would be without the odd conflict. It's not a failure to have an argument! The only failure in this situation would've been if Verity had just said "I'm quitting! The project's over!" We resolved our differences, that is a success!

Yes, thank you @spike1 It was a success and that is what we need to focus on but we should definitely look at our mistakes so we can make sure we don't make them again.

@VerityMonet Oh, I dunno. Arguments make life interesting, as I said. Might also lead to a more interesting story if things get a little heated once in a while. As long as when everyone's cooled down again they're still on board, it works. It's good to let off steam.

@spike1 hmm... Alright you have a point. I think discussions are important but life will do alright without arguments. Arguments normally are angry discussions. Let's stick to discussions.

I'm not going to tag the entire army, only people concerned, so let's just put that out of the way. I'm very much agreeing with @Harry_Situation; at the end of the day it all falls on leadership. It's that way with companies, that way with any group project, and it's just that way in life! I have been in leadership positions before. It got too much for me, and when my time ended in that position, I skedaddled away. Because, if something fails, it's on you, the leader of the project, and I think I just couldn't keep up all that responsibility. @VerityMonet I am personally of the opinion that you should have laid the plot in the beginning. It's fun to write a book together, but ideas have to be set. A plot has to be settled. And not by the whole group, by the leader of the book. Or, if you and a friend were leading together, the plot would have to be set by the two of you. You can't allow the whole team to be throwing ideas around. Set a certain plot, start with a certain character, and let the team know the idea. Their chapters are their own, but at least they know what they're working with. I recall that @spike1 wanted more freedom, but collaboration projects don't always work like that. Everybody has a role, everybody needs to know their role, and everybody has to bloody well care about their roles. If they don't care, they're not going to give their 100%. If they care, they will do their best, and they will always be present and on top of everything that is going on. I started losing the project right smack from the first chapter. I've considered pulling out multiple time, because I can't seem to get a hold of this story. I just felt that it wouldn't be right to pull out so soon after coming in, but now I wonder if I shouldn't have just pulled out from the start. I'm not going to give my opinion of magic/witchcraft or whatever we are settling for now. What I can say is that something like this should have been sorted out from the beginning. Look, kid, it's not easy to lead a group of writers, most of them, I'm thinking practically all of them, being older than you. You're young and foolish and will make mistakes, and I can say that because I was there, only a couple of years ago. Young, foolish, and making mistakes. Collaboration projects are very difficult. You can't just go in and think you'll get the plot and story as you go along. It needs to be set from the start. It's that way when you write a novel. You can't just plunge in without a solid idea. You can't plunge in without a hint of an outline. You can't plunge in without settling on your main characters. It's planning, kid, and that gets difficult and hard and boring at times, but you got to do it. Everybody needs to know that you have these bigger things figured out, and that the smaller things that will come in later won't be as big then. They need to know that you are the leader, the boss, and they need to feel and believe that you have everything under control. @Carissa I feel that it's very unfair for you to say that @Danceinsilence was trying to "take over." I say hogwash to that! I'm pretty well acquainted with Dance, and he is not a criticizing person, nor is he somebody to come in and take over. He was giving advice, and I believe that he was giving very solid advice. Now, you chose to ignore/reject/whatever you want to call it, but that's that, Verity. Your decision. I want to give you some advice, though, kid, and I want you to listen and learn. Youth today can be so rebellious; they can be stubborn and hard of hearing, and I say that because I know it to be true. It seems like toddlers to teenagers are attempting to turn their parents gray ahead of time. Not all of them, but still. Look, you are young, and you will make mistakes, Verity. At this age, you need to learn and listen to advice given. I'm not saying that you should accept all advice; I'm saying that you should really think about what is being said to you. There is a difference between criticism and advice. People who advise are trying to help you avoid certain pitfalls. People who criticize are cracking down on your methods and trying to make your plans and projects burn to ashes. Learn the difference. And listen to those who advise. Usually, they have been in circumstances similar to yours. They want you to miss out on the mistakes that they had made. Danceinsilence has years more experience than you do, Verity. Experience in more than one area. I myself can be a rebel, wanting to head into my own direction, but I have learned to accept advice. I don't always follow it, but I sure as hell listen to it. And because I have listened to advice, I'm finally becoming that person and writer who I'm meant to be. I wouldn't be here without that advice. I can say that honestly. I know it is currently very difficult...I actually feel like this whole project should be scrapped and the drawing board should be dug up. If people want to keep the idea, let's start at the beginning, with this as a basis. But, I can tell you this: Nobody would want to read those first five chapters in a book. I'm even certain that they'd put the book down by Chapter 3. I would've. Some might put it down in the middle of Chapter 2. Hey, you get those who are bored and would just forge ahead. But, good books have strong beginnings, and strong transitions. If you want to confuse your readers, that's fine, but don't confuse them to the point of where they say, "You know what, I can't read this." It is up to you, Verity, where we go from here. You are the leader of this project. You have the final 'nay' or 'yay' on this. A good leader will step up and take the mess, turning it into something worth being proud of. I can't tell you what to do. But, if I were you, I'd listen to advice thrown my way, I'd take a step back, and I'd definitely dig out that drawing board. There are reasons why so many writing advice posts out there tells us to plan it out before we begin writing. So, to quote @Harry_Situation here: "salvage this situation." The word 'salvage' means "to rescue or save especially from wreckage or ruin." So, save this project from ruin; the best way would be by making a plan, sticking to that plan, and delivering this to the end.

I agree with @GLD that this has been a difficult journey and we all make mistakes, I'd just like to add that the chapters written so far are confusing for a lot of reasons but I think one of the major reasons is because we lacked a macguffin, an event, object or purpose that motivates the characters. Everyone had went in their own directions because we were never certain of this story's goal: was it to help the main characters cope with their mental disorder, to explore how night terrors were effecting their lives? or were we writing a dreamscape of nightmares? @VerityMonet this is your project, I don't think you should give up on it but decide if we are starting fresh with a new idea or a rewritten version of the current idea and then set the Macguffin, what are the character motivations? For @Danceinsilence project the Macguffin (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) I believe had been to rewrite history with a focus of living life and forging a lineage. Like GLD said the decision of what we should move forward with is up to you, yes do always keep an open mind, listen to what others have to say and be willing to change if change is necessary, but don't do things solely to please them, do it for you, for what you think is best, this is your project afterall.

I'm not going to get in a pissing match over this but @VerityMonet, the entire time I have been on Prose I have not ever once put anyone down for their efforts here. To say otherwise would be a complete fabrication for way back when this was just an idea and I declined to be part of this I did wish you well with your project and I'm leaving that lie there and will not say another word about this ... @Carissa ... I never once had any intention of "taking over". That isn't my style or way of doing things, so I don't know where you came up with that idea ... and @Spike1 ... all I can say is well said ... the ability to agree to disagree can actually solve a lot of issues between people and @GLD ... true, criticism can burn an idea to the ground but when said as "constructive criticism" it becomes a whole other ball game. But from this point on, please keep my name out of future conversations here for I mean and meant no ill harm to anyone but I don't particularly care to be a scapegoat either. I gave you the ideas, offered the suggestions and I could do no more so I leave with this ... I still wish this project well.

@danceinsilence she is trying to be nice but no you have to start saying this crap to a 14 year old girl. Back off of her and her progect.

Look @GLD and @Danceinsilence maybe me saying you were trying to take over was wrong. But in the beginning, I read the comments and you were being rude. @Chacko_Stephen told Verity, that you had experience and would be a valuable aspect in this project. instead of helping, you and only you dance, decided to leave "advice" and than take off. Maybe you were trying to be nice, but you don't get to swoop back in and say "If you had taken the advice I gave you long before this started, this would have never happened." You're not God. You don't know what would have happened. Why do you think she wanted Chacko's help. I think we need to move forward with Verity as the leader. And I mean this in the nicest way possible, Dance your right Verity is the leader, and your not in the project you declined rudely. So just stop commenting its making everything worse. Thanks but no thanks.

@Carissa Just let it drop, will you. Everyone else has.

@spike1 Okay, that's not true, In my life, when someone if being rude to me, I just ignore them. But I won't stay quiet when I feel someone is causing harm to someone else.

Hey @Itsyaboy ... if you read way back or whatever, you will find I never gave her "crap" So how about you do what I said I will do and just leave things be. I have.

In my comment I was saying to move on. Verity is the leader and more than her we need to start treating her like one. So Verity is the leader, @VerityMonet when do the editors start editing?

I haven't let it drop @spike1 cut verity some slack, this is her first time being in control of a group progect leave her alone.

@Itsyaboy now we need to drop itseriously. Anyway let's stop talking about this.

@danceinsilence ok you wanna leave thing be, go ahead just don't comment on any of these posts and leave verity alone

@Carissa ... see if this makes sense to you... I was never rude, I backed out because I didn't have an interest and never said I was God and for me that is crossing a line I don't appreciate it. So how about this. Stop leaving messages for me here or anywhere else for that matter, and you won't see me here any longer.

@Itsyaboy @Carissa You're perpetuating an argument that should've finished over a day ago, so, as I said to carissa, LET IT DROP! It's not doing anyone any good now. Any differences we had were resolved and then someone dragged dancesinsilence and Harry_situation into it for no reason. They're not even involved anymore and haven't been since before this started. (Note I didn't tag them this time).

What? Okay, okay, fine if that's what you want than fine. I apologize for crossing that line.

All I said was, "@Itsyaboy now we need to drop it seriously. Anyway let's stop talking about this." How is that bringing it up?

Never mind don't answer that.

Okay fine I will drop it.