Hey, guys. Been a while since I last updated this book. As promised, I wanted to talk a bit about the latest chapter of Shattered - - more specifically, what the writing process was like for me.

This one was definitely a challenge. I think one of the biggest issues was with the early part of the chapter, while they're still at the house: trying to make something worthwhile out of what could been very mundane scenes.

I knew I wanted to cover the process of trying on the different dresses and picking what to wear for the party, but I didn't want to spend too much time on it. I kind of get this mental picture of a guy sitting outside a dressing room while his wife tries on a million different outfits. I didn't want this to be a chapter that my male readers would just want to skip over or would feel disappointed by.

Ironically enough, the chapter actually ended up being almost entirely about fashion in one way or another, although I hope and believe that I did so in a way where there's really some depth to it. It's about way more than just makeup and pretty clothes, that's for darn sure!

Now let's talk photos! Choosing the picture I need for each chapter is always a challenge, and in this case especially so. I actually spent hours just hunting for photos I needed. For one thing, I wanted to find a picture of the dress that Maya ended up choosing. I actually still haven't quite settled on one dress, and I ultimately ended up writing that into the chapter. Although my own indecisiveness isn't actually why I wrote that in; I actually didn't want to reveal the dress until later on, once it's time for the party itself. I wanted to cover the selection process first, and then we get to see the payoff afterwards.

Another idea I had for the banner was to have a picture of the outfit that Maya's wearing when she goes out, but that ended up being surprisingly difficult, because despite a lot of looking, I wasn't able to find too many photos of the actress I chose wearing casual outfits.

I didn't even need it to be the specific outfit I ended up describing; just one that had the overall look and feel I was going for. No dice. I also thought about just making a picture collage of the individual clothing articles, but couldn't, due to time constraints. In the end, though, I think that worked out for the best; as the chapter progressed and took on a life of its own, my priorities shifted, and I ended up looking for something that had more relevance to what's discussed in the rest of the chapter.

I thought about using a younger picture, since I wanted our readers to have an idea of what Maya looked like during her childhood years, but I think I'll just use that during a future chapter. I have a feeling I'll be able to work it in one way or another. In any case, I think my final choice worked well, because she has the heavy makeup, and a bit of an unusual hairstyle - - just fits the overall feel I was going for.

Then there's the topic of the video I put up. That one definitely wasn't as hard or time-consuming as the choice of pictures. It was still a bit tricky, though; I had to choose between "Video," by India Arie, and "Pretty Hurts," by Beyoncé.

I've always loved "Video" and I'm kind of nostalgic about it. However, I felt that "Pretty Hurts," which I'd never even heard before that day, was a better fit lyrically. Although of course, the mother described at the beginning of the song is the complete opposite of Maya's. Plus, I didn't care for the musical aspect of it all that much - - especially compared to "Video." However, when it came down to it, the lyrics of "Pretty Hurts" were closest to what I needed for the purposes of that chapter, and I feel they carry messages that really need to be heard these days - - both songs do, but I think the latter does include the messages of the first, pretty well, plus some additional stuff.

I'll still try to find a place for "Video," though!

I've been meaning for a while to start adding songs to my book - - ideally, I'd like to have one for each chapter. I already have a number of songs in mind, but am open to suggestions. The next one I'll probably add is one for "¡La Fiesta!" I think that'll one will be a lot of fun, and I already have two main contenders in mind: "Let's Get Loud," by Jennifer Lopez, and "Vamos A La Playa," by Loona. The latter song is specifically about the beach, which is great, but lyrically, "Let's Get Loud" has more to it. However...I think it might actually be a great song to use elsewhere, instead, while "La Playa" is much more limited and specific in its scope, so I probably won't have too many other chapters it would work for.

I'm actually figuring as this out as I'm writing this. Not bad for insight - - you just got a live look at my decision-making process here!

I feel like I'm forgetting something here...ah, the title! I'm not sure I'm keeping that title, but I'm happy enough with it for the time being. Most of the versions of it were variants of the "Beauty and The Beast" concept. Another idea was "Pretty Hurts," but of course I didn't want to use the actual title of the song. I think that might be appropriate in other cases, but in this case, I just didn't want to do that. The title was something I had to come up with at the last minute, because of the time crunch I was under.

Well, I think that's about it! Oh, wait - - not quite. I am trying to see about making a gif so I can put one or two pictures each of Maya and Nick in the intro chapter of Shattered, and I'll officially be adding their actors as the first two members of the cast list. Just for fun...anyone already recognize our dashing lead couple, or any of the films or TV shows they were in?

Quick tidbit...at @sweetho's behest, I came up with their official ship name, which she approved: Manic!

Finally, for any of you wondering, I've already decided on the next writer whose work I will cover in ': brucerelgin . His pieces in the Block Party and in kriskosach's book have already been published. (Kris's book is basically a companion piece to the Summer Block Party, and features interviews with various authors from the event, just as with Insider's Guide. I will be adding it to my Recommended Books list, and may also add a mention of it to the chapter I've already written about her other books. Here's the link directly to the book for those of you who'd like to check it out. http://w.tt/1LKMZnC Links like this aren't clickable in-app, so it'll likely be quicker for many of you to just click the link to her name, and you can find the book, Wattpad Block Party Author Interviews - - SUMMER EDITION, under her profile.

It'll be a while before I can get my piece on Bruce's works written, though, as I recently finished Voodootown, but still have to read Schism.