26 Paychecks

by Annette

Rated: E · Message Forum · Activity · #2350256

Play along and collect a paycheck every two weeks.

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Jan 21, 2026 at 11:14pm

#3783126

Re: Task 2: January 15 - 28

by Lynn Nichole

Task 2
Real Zero is the tentative working title to one of my writing projects which hasn't advanced beyond its early stage of development. I started writing notes and the first chapter for it seven years ago, when the initial concept came to me after watching the secret cutscene/teaser trailer at the end of a video game my sister had been playing at the time.

My working synopsis of the story is as follows:

A group of individuals find themselves awakening from sleep on the streets of an unfamiliar city, which is enclosed by a rectangular prism its inhabitants have come to call The Quad. Everyone arrives the same way: they wake up with no idea how they got there and no clear memories of who they were before. Those with more experience – i.e. they arrived at an earlier time – refer to themselves as Dreamers – on account of the dreams, daydreams, and nightmares, known generically as Shades, which materialize and take on a life of their own within the confines of the city. Some individuals become comfortable with their situation and make a name for themselves in battle and competition, playing into the strange social economy that has developed within The Quad. However, for one small band of Dreamers, The Quad is a trap. Rather than continue being lulled into a waking slumber, the group begins working together to find a way out. What they don't yet know is how hard it is to work together when everyone is fighting a personal battle with their own self.

I suspect this story in its completion will be a novella, or at most maybe a reasonably-sized novel. It is certainly an adventure story with a flair of fantasy.

The reason this project hasn't moved forward is that I felt it needed something in order to succeed (not least of which being what's the point), and for the longest time I didn't know what that something needed to be. Its most recent evolution helps essentially resolve these issues, but the challenge of continuing to develop the idea – and of actually writing it – remains.

While the task of completing the project is on me, I have found that genuine interest taken in my writing motivates me. Organization and feeling successful in my everyday life also helps me feel more creative. Having people to participate with in activities like this one and like Habit Heroes helps encourage me to stay on track. Also as I try to participate in some writing challenges and activities around the site and upload things I've written (on my to-do list and eventually forthcoming), having folks on Writing.com read and respond meaningfully to them will help me find more of a point to writing, which is something I've struggled with the past few years.

My biggest challenge at this time in my life is negotiating how to successfully balance my work, life, and hobbies now that I'm gradually coming out of my own waking slumber; but I've determined this year to be the year I make some real meaningful progress in those areas, and I'm hopeful that I can start producing some evidence of my creativity here in the near future.