important news regarding the friend group series:
i don't really know how to word what i'm trying to say, so i'm gonna try my best to explain everything as detailed as i can.
so, we're four books into the series. that's about halfway through the planned amount of books i have for the series (which is nine).
however, i've recently hit a really bad toll with my motivation with anything, specifically writing. i don't write my stories as much as i used to (part of the reason is the fact that i have little to no time to write since i'm in one of the busiest and stressful years of my schooling), and it's honestly really stressing me out because one of the things i used to enjoy the most now feels like a forced job, even though it isn't even a job.
it's specifically really bad with this series.
as you probably could've seen, the date in which 'straight' and 'started with a dare' was released was about a year, and even now, the date in which 'swad' and the next book has also been almost a year. after every book released in the series, i slowly lose a bit more of my motivation to keep writing for this series.
within the amount of time that 'swad' finished publishing and now, i would've finished writing at least half the story for the next book in the series, but i've only gotten TWO chapters done (one of which is the 'before' chapter) and i haven't touched the next book in the series in about three months now.
i had thought that if i were to publish the sequel chapter out, i would have motivation to write the next book, but it seemed to have quite the opposite effect because now my motivation for this series has hit rock bottom.
recently, i've been having a huge debate with myself on whether i should cancel the rest of the series and let myself be free from what i perceive is the very thing holding me back from enjoying writing, but at the same time, i have soooo much planned for the future books and was really looking forward to writing some of them (namely the 5th, 7th, and 9th books) and it would be so devastating to let them go.
i've been stressing over this decision lately because i know some of you are looking forward to the next book (and honestly, so am i). but i really cannot find the motivation to write any of the next book. i've also recently found more interest with writing stories with my own original characters rather than fanfiction.
even now, i'm still debating on this decision on whether i should cancel the series or not since i would be giving up so much if i cancel it. but i feel if i don't cancel it, my motivation will continue to spiral downwards.
so, i've come to a decision. for the time being, i'm going to give myself a complete break from this series. i'm not gonna think, work on, or worry about the series at all. im putting the series on a complete HOLD.
i don't know how long i'm gonna put the series on hold for. it could be a day, a month, or several years. but until i can find the motivation to come back to writing this series and ENJOY it, i'm not gonna make myself do anything with this series.
it's possible that i might change everything about the series when i come back, since it could be possible that the only reason in losing motivation is because it's the same idea i've had for over three years now. it could be possible that i don't bring this series back at all, in which case it will be a complete cancellation of the rest of the series. but before any of that will be decided, i'm gonna try putting the series on hold to see if it will help with anything at all.
the next time you hear about this series could be a while, in which case, hopefully by then, i would've decided what to do with the series.
the first four books in this series have really gained a lot of support, and i appreciate every single one of you who kept supporting this series up to now. i apologize to disappoint you guys, but i feel it might be for the best.
but... i am currently writing a book with my own original characters in it (which i actually have more motivation to write) and i might release that soon, so if you're interested, make sure to keep checking for updates.
thank you so much for spending time to read this and understanding the situation. i appreciate you.
-junhao_trash