Hello everyone, Megan here! I've got a lot of exciting news for all of you, as is emphasized by the spamming of exclamation points!

First: we've got some art headed your direction, courtesy of our wonderful lead artist, Dizzy. Meet Rui!

Second: a wonderful track, courtesy of our lead composer, Greg! Thanks to the hard work of our composers, we currently have twelve unique, beautiful songs for our VN.

And finally... a big announcement!

We're planning to release a short demo!

Get hyped! (Or... don't.)

This demo will cover Day 1 of Lucid9 and is planned to be released late Fall 2014. It will be around 20 minutes of reading content. Hopefully, it will serve a good indicator of our world, story, and characters!

Thank you for supporting us, and see you in the next update!

- Megan

Hello, everyone! Megan here for a little writing discussion!

Have you heard of method acting? It's a technique where you try to disappear into your character's thought processes and emotions as you act, instead of just emulating their reactions and such. You try to completely become the character.

I used to think, "That would be a really cool thing to do, but I can't do it." However, one of the most important techniques I've learned regarding writing is actually 'method writing,' which is similar to method acting.

In method writing, you become the character you're writing. Instead of thinking, "What would this character be feeling?", you close your eyes, hear the words in your head, and feel that sadness, that anger, that exasperation.

While it takes practice (and is also too tiring to do on a regular basis), it is very, very useful.

I chiefly use it for two purposes: 1) sarcasm and verbal banter, and 2) generally unrelatable characters.

Sarcasm and Verbal Banter

Let's say that your character is fairly intelligent, and is currently being confronted by a person he hates. The person says the following unsophisticated comment:

• "I hate your face!"

Well, usually, I wouldn't be able to write an adequate comeback. I would just shrug my shoulders and leave. However, my character wouldn't do this, so at this point, I close my eyes, sit back in my chair, and try to hear those words in my ears.

Generally, I first feel irritation, but as I repeat the line in my ears, it becomes something akin to anger. I want to get back at this punk. I want to show them their place. 

With these feelings, usually, the apt retort comes to me.

• A: "I hate your face!"
• B: "The mirror's over there."

Generally Unrelatable Characters

I've run into this situation many times. I'm supposed to write the scene from the point of view of a child, or a psychopath, or someone who's hallucinating. I try my ordinary technique - basing my writing off of some experience or another - but clearly, that will come up short.

So, it's time to become the character.

The brain is an interesting thing. It doesn't matter that I'm not actually hallucinating - I can force myself to feel lightheaded, or my vision can begin to twist. It doesn't matter that I don't actually want to hurt anyone - I can immerse myself into the mindset of a sadistic killer. 

Offbeat. Mentally deranged. Quirky. Simplistic. You build yourself up with the characters memories and feel their emotions and reactions.

This is, of course, actually fairly dangerous for mental health, so it's something that should be limited as much as possible. (There are times when I've come away from an experience feeling shaken, realizing that there are people who actually genuinely enjoy causing pain/sorrow, etc.) But it's a very enlightening exercise. For short term.

Final Thoughts

As said before, while this technique generates extremely authentic writing, it's also pretty taxing for the more difficult characters.

It's easy to immerse into the mindset of someone like you - a college student, an average citizen, a white collar worker - but for people with mental disabilities or psychological disorders, it gets tiring quick.

Have you guys ever tried method writing? How did you find it? Is it something you do regularly, or only for special occasions?

- Megan

I deeply care about this story. 

Lucid9 is much more to me than a project that I do in my spare time. Since I've joined, not a day goes by where it hasn't crossed my mind at some point. Sometimes, I space out on the couch, gazing idely out my living room window just thinking about it, only to realize I missed half of the conversation I was in. No project I've done have I obsessed this much about. 


It's a hard feeling to explain, really. 

I'd like to think it was fate that had brought me here, to help create this story with such amazing and talented people. Speaking of which, I'd like to introduce a few new members who decided to lend us a helping hand! Please welcome Sonya, Burri, and Sarah! 

– Sonya will be creating the background art for Lucid9 as well as handling animation. 

– Burri will also be a background artist. I can say for certainty that both Burri's and Sonya's backgrounds are magnificent. ^^ 

– Sarah will be our Beta Writer. She will be the one supervising and suggesting in depth improvements to the overall story. 

Thank you for joining us in our journey! 

We'll be creating fun and engaging segments on the blog pretty soon, so please be on the lookout for them. 

If you have any questions, concerns, or simply want to say hello, please feel free to write us. We always look forward to it. ^^ 


~ David

Hey everyone, Megan here! Just a quick update here to fill you in on the update of our website... which is looking pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself.

Hopefully, this new website will provide clarity and easier navigation, so that information is streamlined and more accessible:

• We finally have a project-specific URL!
  
• The Characters page has been added with bios written by none other than the individuals themselves!
  
• Background stuff: the website and its code are easier to adjust. Not that you care, but it makes life easier for us.
• It looks prettier. And all the graphics match!
  

Thanks for following us, and see you in the next update!

- Megan

Hey everyone! I’m Megan, one of the lead writers for this project. I realize I’ve never introduced myself, but in my defense, I was brought on in late May, which was after all the introductions.

Personally, I have too short of an attention span to write a long introduction, so I’ll share some basic facts:

• I’m a sophomore studying Screenwriting in college.
• I’ve allegedly been telling stories since I could talk. (According to my parents.)
• I’ll be turning eighteen in twenty-five days. Hooray.
• I enjoy doing anything creative. Writing, drawing, singing, playing violin/piano/guitar (simultaneously. Just kidding), composing, motion typography, cinematography, photography… not to say I’m good at any of it.

Without further ado, here’s a brief update on this week’s progress.

You may have seen Airi before, but here is her official introduction:

In terms of other updates:

Our organization has been spruced up. This is mainly behind-the-scenes work, but it will have a great impact on the project quality. Characters, world lore, and plot have been updated and clarified.

Our team is continuing to work hard in every avenue: art, music, programming, and writing.

In addition, there are large strides in editing, which will only continue to improve the quality of plot and characters.

Thanks for supporting our project, and we’ll see you in the next update!

- Megan