pushing through commentary

7/30/2019 Pushing Through Commentary

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Pushing Through Commentary

May 28th Update

The epilogue will be up within 24 hours, and the author's note should be up within 48.

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May 22 Update

Just a reminder that the epilogue to Pushing Through will be online by Thursday night, along

with the final author's note chapter. The first chapter in The Lost Chapters should be up nolater than a week after that.

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May 20th Update

It's...over. At least, it almost is. The last main chapter ofPushing Through was justuploaded. It resolves the storyline, but there is still the epilogue left, along with the final

chapter that will be an author's note. The epilogue may be split into two chapters, it

depends on how long it is. If it is two chapters, I'll upload them both at the same time,along with the author's note. So only one more update for this story. There's nocommentary on this chapter, my thoughts on these last chapters will be covered in the

author's note. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy the ending and epilogue. I'llbe posting more information on The Lost Chapters soon.

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May 18th Update

Eleven Minutes. This chapter is all about putting Jimmy's desperate plan into action, as wellas fully realizing the consequences of his plan. I enjoyed showing the group acting as a

single unit once again as they discussed Jimmy's plan in the beginning of the chapter. Justthe idea of these eight characters around a table working together brings a smile to my

face. In spite of this unity, it was necessary to split the group up yet again. I like the

groupings this time around, and I tried to mix it up from when they were on Yolkus. Jimmy

and Cindy finally got to work together, but Libby was separated from Sheen once more. Ithink it's interesting that Nick and Betty are the only "couple" on the ship who haven't

gotten upset about being on different teams. They're not a complete couple, but they'revery close to each other. In spite of this closeness, they recognize the necessity of splittingup and can handle it better than J/C and S/L can.

Now, one thing I absolutely wanted to be sure of this chapter is to at least try to make this

scientifically accurate. I didnt' want to just write that Jimmy turns the reactors into anuclear bomb without explaining it at all. I'll be the first to admit that I'm no GaDS2000.

Besides being an amazing author, he seems to have an unlimited pool of scientific

knowledge. While I consider myself a smart guy, my specialty is in veterinary science, not


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nuclear physics. I've been trying to do as much research on nuclear reactors as possible in

preparation for this chapter, so I hope that my descriptions of them and how they might

recreate a nuclear bomb are somewhat accurate. As for ships producing a heat signatureand Jimmy wanting to minimize that, Mass Effecttaught me that.

In spite of this being another action chapter, there a lot of character moments that I just

truly loved. Here are some of them:

- Cindy asking Jimmy if he's ever going to just leave her hanging, and Jimmy respondingthat that will never happen. These two mean so much to each other, and I wanted them to

verbally acknowledge that once more.

- Cindy harshly telling Betty that she can handle setting the autopilot. I've loved writing the

evolution of their friendship over the course of this book. Cindy finally respects Betty at thispoint and is the first to help her. But of course, she does it in her own angry way.

- Nick saying that Jimmy has to hurry and blow up the engines, and Jimmy correcting himby saying they're sabotaging the reactors. I can't express how much I love that there was a

pause before Jimmy said this. Jimmy knows that they are in a life or death situation andthat every second counts, but he still stopped to ponder whether or not it was necessary tocorrect Nick. He decided that it was.

- Cindy and Jimmy working together to sabotage the first reactor. This short scene, to me,shows exactly how much they've changed since fifth grade. Here, they are working in

perfect harmony with each other. Jimmy has more technical knowledge, but Cindy's smart

enough to keep up and is a more creative thinker. I absolutely loved how after Jimmycomplained that he was having trouble breaking the safety protocols, Cindy suggestedswitching gears and accessing the self-destruct mechanism. It didn't end up working, but it

was a really great idea. She knew they were having trouble and immediately came up withan alternative way to accomplish their goal. It was an out of the box solution, and Jimmyimmediately acknowledged it was a good idea and tried it.

- Libby attempting to understand how to sabotage the reactors. Just her saying, "Okay," indefeat before Jimmy and Cindy quickly nod before returning to work.

-Cindy immediately jumping to Libby's aid and calling Libby her sister. I love how fearless

and skilled she was and how the Yolkians were momentarily paralyzed with fear and awe.

- Libby's remark about the alarm. I laughed when I thought that up.

Sheen's actions at the end of this chapter deserve a section all their own. Even though he

understands the necessity of blowing up Animus, he still can't reconcile doing this with the

fact that he and his friends are supposed to be the good guys. Even though Jimmy wantedto let the Yolkians go, he was willing to sacrifice them to save his friends. Sheen wasn't

willing to do this. Sheen and Carl are the moral centers of the group, and I'm glad he stoodup for what he thought was right.

Well, that's about all for this chapter. A week from now this story should be done. I can'twait to see what you all think of the ending. Thanks for reading.


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May 16th Update

Just a quick update again. Here's my writing schedule for the near future. These are all thelatest dates possible so I won't disappoint you by being late.

-Commentary for Chapter 21 will be up by Monday night at the latest (The next few daysare very busy for me.)

-Chapter 22 will also be up by Monday night.

-The epilogue(s?) for Pushing Through along with the Author's Note chapter will be up byThursday night.

-The first chapter ofThe Lost Chapters will be up by next Thursday night (May 31st).

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May 14th Update

Sorry for it taking so long to get chapter 21 up. I've written about half of the first draft, but

I'm having trouble getting the rest of it right. I'm going to take today off and try to get athe rough draft finished tomorrow after work. Hopefully I can get this thing posted onWednesday or Thursday.

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May 11th Update

Well, Chapter Twenty, Cherenkov's Gun, is online. I have a lot to say about this chapter,and I'll start with its title. Cherenkov's Gun is a portmanteau of the phrases Cherenkovradiation and Chekhov's Gun. Chekhov's Gun is a literary device that says don't put a gun in

the first act if it's not going to go off in a third. It basically means turning a small detail from

earlier in a story into a major plot point later on. In this case, that detail was the cruiser TheFlaming Justice in chapter 14. Cherenkov radiation is the type of radiation released from a

nuclear weapon, such as the Yolkian cruiser once Jimmy sabotages its fusion reactors.

As I've been saying since the beginning, I've known the general plot of this story ever since

I first started writing. This chapter, however, is where things take a dramatic turn fromwhat I had planned. Originally, I mentioned a large nuclear power plant in Animus inchapter 14, not a repair station and damaged cruiser. Jimmy would have wanted tosabotage the large nuclear reactor and blow it up. I assumed this would cause an explosion

akin to a nuclear bomb, but my research showed me that that is physically impossible. Eventhe worst case scenario of a nuclear power plant being sabotaged would be nothing


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compared to a nuclear weapon. So I decided to have the group turn a Yolkian cruiser into a

weapon instead. I won't lie, I was inspired in this regard by the video game Halo. Once thestory is done, I'll try to type up the outline I had for this original idea.

This chapter ended up being pretty different from its first draft. Orignally, Jimmy became

pretty much catatonic with grief over losing Barak and Miranda. Cindy took charge of the

ship for a short time until he snapped out of it. I got rid of this idea because having Jimmybe depressed over their deaths but able to keep functioning seemed more realistic. Also,

Jimmy originally used the phrase "Cherenkov's Gun" in the chapter himself. When Nickasked how he could destroy Animus, Jimmy would have looked out the window andmuttered, "We use Cherenkov's Gun," with a grim smile. Even though I liked the idea, it

had its problems. Jimmy was in no mood to make jokes, even a very clever one. ANd it

insinuated that he had had the plan ready for some time, and I wanted to show that he wasjust coming up with the idea while explaining it to his friends. Lastly, I'd intended for the

chapter to end with the group boarding The Flaming Justice. This means that a lot of what

would have been in this chapter will actually be in Chapter 21. I didn't want to undercut thegroup's important discussion, so I let the chapter end with them agreeing to follow Jimmy'splan.

My favorite aspect of this chapter was the group sitting down and discussing amongst

themselves whether Jimmy's plan was ethical. That last part of this chapter says so many

things. It shows how different these kids are from their enemies, how they refuse to letthemselves be defined by hatred and revenge. Even Jimmy and Ike, who have lost the most

and are in favor of the bomb, still end up agreeing to the plan for the right reasons. They doit to protect Earth, not to get revenge. It also shows how mature these kids all are. They

are all 12 - 14 years old, but they understand that their actions will determine the fate oftwo worlds. They're not just going to drop a nuclear bomb without considering all of its

ramifications. And lastly, it shows how much they've changed since the first chapters ofTheFinal Battle.

When I realized that I wanted the group to have a long discussion about the ethics of using

a nuclear bomb, I immediately cursed myself for writing them so differently in The FinalBattle. In that book, no one posed any arguments against an asteroid strike, which wouldcause far more damage than The Flaming Justice ever could. That is a mistake I made, and

I tried to retcon it by having Jimmy explain how they felt it needed to be done to save theirparents, but more importantly, they had never taken a life. They'd never really understood

the consequences of death. I hope that's a good explanation for thier actions back then, butthe truth is I think it was just a mistake on my part. I don't think Jimmy Neutron would

have decided to destroy a planet and be proud of that decision, as he was when heexplained it to Nick and Cindy.

I enjoyed writing the different characters' opinions on Jimmy's plan, as well as the reasons

for those opinions. Even though they all agreed to drop the bomb at the end of the chapter,

the group was initially evenly split on the best course of action. Carl didn't want to drop thebomb because he simply doesn't want to kill innocent people. Sheen still felt guilty for killing

Dopsil and didn't think the good guys would do what Jimmy was suggesting. Betty didn'twant to hurt innocent Yolkians like Barak. Both Betty and Libby felt dropping the bomb

might exacerbate the conflict. Ike wanted revenge for Miranda's death. Nick has never likedthe Yolkians and thus backed Jimmy's idea, at least until he was reminded of the alien

children. Jimmy, at first, was merely thinking about Earth's survivial without considering thetrue damage his decision would cause. Cindy supported Jimmy and reluctantly agreed that it

needed to be done. Everyone eventually changed their decision or the motivation for their


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decision, but that's what they all thought at first. And I like how Jimmy still shows he's ateam player by requiring the vote to be unanimous.

One reviewer mentioned that he envisioned American leaders having a similar conversation

during World War II. I definitely had the same thought while I was writing this chapter. I

was trying to really understand how hard it must have been to decide to drop the bombs on

Japan, how insanely difficult it must be to put the philosophy of "the many over the few"into practice. It's easy to say those words, but when it actually comes time to kill people,

it's a lot harder to back them up with actions. One final thing I really wanted to do with thischapter relates to this. I wanted to have Jimmy truly understand for the first time what itwas like for Barak to have to choose between the lives of his friends or the entiretey ofhumanity.

I think that's about everything I have to say about this chapter. What exactly does the rest

of this book hold in store? There are only three chapters left. The next chapter will consist ofthe group putting Jimmy's plan in action. I can't say anything about the chapter after that, I

think it's best to leave it completely unspoiled. The final chapter will be an epilogue, whichwill be split into two distinct portions in one chapter. Also, I'll be posting an author's note as

a chapter by itself for the first time. I'll put that up as chapter 24 once the story is done. Ihave so much that I want to say when I've finished writing this story.

One last thing to discuss, and that's The Lost Chapters. That is the tentative title of my new

project, which I'll begin working on as soon as I'm done with Pushing Through. This will be

unlike anything else I've ever put on the site. It will take place in the same universe as TheFinal Battle and Pushing Through, although it is not a sequel or a prequel. Instead, it will bea collection of eleven independent chapters that take place in various points in time. Each

chapter will focus on one of the ten major characters ofPushing Through and The Final

Battle, with the exception of the eleventh chapter. That last chapter will focus on the groupas a whole. The ten characters are Barak, Miranda, Jimmy, Cindy, Carl, Sheen, Libby, Betty,

Ike, and Nick. Some chapters will take place before The Final Battle, some will take placeafter Pushing Through, some will take place in between the books, and others will take place

during them. One of the chapters, which I am extremely excited to write about, will serveas an extra epilogue of sorts. I'm really pumped to write this, and I hope you all enjoy it.


May 8th Update

Well, it's time for commentary yet again. Chapter nineteen is titled Redemption, in obviousreference to Barak Neroma's actions throughout this chapter. There was an alternate title to

this chapter that almost made the cut, but I'll get to that at the end of this commentary. Fornow, I'll start with my thoughts on the beginning of the chapter and work my way through

it.

The first section of this chapter deals with Barak seizing control of the control tower. This

was a big moment for his character, because we see how he has completely abandoned his

people to protect the humans. He killed Yolkian soldiers before in chapter 15 (how long agodoes that battle seem?) to directly save Libby and Carl's lives but now he just mowsYolkians down without clear provocation. Even though he's no soldier, he still knows how to

fight. I tried to show that Barak and Karab, being twins, share each other's skills to someextent. Barak is smarter, but Karab still showed his intelligence by rapidly reprogamming


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the dead soldier's shell. And while Karab is undoubtedly the stronger warrior, Barak haslearned a few things from him and can hold his own in a fight.

The name Sagittarii is given to the gunships in this chapter. Sagittarii is the Latin word for

roman soldiers who specialized in archery. I thought this was a fitting name for a rangedgunship.

In the original plan for this chapter, I did not intend to mention Barak spotting the gunships.I originally planned on having Barak break off from the group during Miranda's death lastchapter. He would have done this because he would have realized that he could sneak to

the gunship repository and provide air support for his allies. He would have sneaked awaybecause he didn't feel that the humans would trust him to break off on his own. He wouldn'thave been mentioned again until he appeared outside Veras' chambers. I decided against

this route because I made the humans more trusting of Barak than I originally planned, so it

didn't make sense for him to just leave without telling them. Instead, I had him rememberthe gunships after denying air support to the Yolkian soldiers. My major concern with the

final draft was that by showing Barak notice the gunships, the audience wouldn't be asshocked when it turned out that the gunship at the end of the chapter was friendly.

I want to talk about having the kids take part in another huge battle. While I greatly enjoy

writing action scenes, I'm a little concerned that I've been laying it on a little thick for thepast few chapters. I've tried to incorporate as many critical character interactions as I can,

and I really like the moments I've shown the kids have mid-battle. My favorite from this

chapter has to be Sheen shoving Jimmy down and risking his own life to see if the elevatoris online. I never planned on writing that; it was a spur of the moment thing. As soon as theidea popped in my head, I knew it was exactly something Sheen would do. He's brave and

somewhat reckless with his own life. Another great moment was just picturing the elevator

ride to Veras' chambers. These kids have just been fighting for their lives, and once thatelevator stops ascending they know they'll be doing it again. They have four minutes of

quiet to ponder all that they've been through and the girl they've lost. I loved everyonerealizing that they never knew Miranda's last name. It's Candor, in case you're curious. Her

name was Miranda Candor.

One thing I was really happy to write was the line "For Jimmy, anger had taken a backseatto the only emotion powerful enough to rival it; love." The exact opposite line was used in

chapter 43 of the Final Battle, before Jimmy and Cindy boarded Goobot's shuttle. Back then,

I wrote, "Love had taken backseat to the only emotion powerful enough to rival it, anger." Ibelieve anger and love are the two most powerful emotions out there. I truly think that afterwatching Cindy nearly die on Goobot's vessel, seeing her get cut and bleed in Veras'

chamber would make him nearly hysterical with fear. Of course, other than Cindy, Libbywas the only one who could snap him out of it.

I figured it would be pretty shocking for most readers to have Ike, who is not a member of

Jimmy's main group, kill King Veras. He was the one to have suffered the most pain fromMiranda's loss, although Jimmy isn't far behind in that regard. And even though Jimmy wastrying to kill as many soldiers as possible on the battlefield, it's important to note that it was

self-defense at that point. Those soldiers were shooting back at him. You shouldn't forgethow hard it was for him to move past his guilt for killing Eustace and Goobot. I don't want

to spoil anything, but just know that those feelings are going to play an absolutely huge rolein the final chapters.


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I really tried to tug at your heartstrings while writing the goodbyes between the characters

at the end of this chapter. This wasn't like their goodbyes before. Everyone in that room

truly believed that they were going to die. At that point, no one had any hope for survival.Even when Jimmy and Cindy undertook their suicide mission in The Final Battle, they still

had a little hope that they would pull through. In this chapter, everyone truly believed thatthose were the last words they would share with their friends. I tried to include every

meaningful character interaction I could possibly think of. You'll notice that Ike is the onlyone who didn't say goodbye to anybody. He spoke to the group as a whole, but didn't

directly address any individual. If he hadn't seen Miranda die, he would have spoken to herand Carl. But he was too heartbroken to even say goodbye to Carl.

I love how goodbyes between the characters have been a recurring event in these two

books. They said goodbye before leaving Earth in The Final Battle, before Jimmy and Cindy'ssuicide mission, before setting down on Yolkus in Pushing Through, and now once more in

this chapter. My favorite goodbye in this chapter has to be between Nick and Jimmy. I know

I keep saying pretty much everything about these stories was my favorite, but showing theevolution of the friendship between these two characters really has been one of my favorite

aspects. When Nick attacked Jimmy back in the beginning ofThe Final Battle, the two ofthem weren't even friends, just classmates. Now they're practically brothers. I love how

Nick didn't just initiate the handshake, but pulled Jimmy into a hug. Even though they'vebutted heads occasionally during this adventure, mostly in regards to Barak, Jimmy is still

Nick's best friend. And as he so wisely stated, working together with Jimmy has been "morethan an honor."

And of course, there was Barak's death. I (somewhat sadistically, I suppose) enjoyed

creating a false sense of security once the gunship mowed down those soldiers. I tried myhardest to really rack up the suspence by cutting back and forth between the injured soldier

and the kids boarding the gunship. I actually considered on ending the chapter with the

soldier firing his gun and confirming that it hit its target, without identifying who that targetwas. That would have been an awesome cliffhanger, but I felt it was a little too cruel since

you can't just turn the page to find out who died. I didn't want to make you wait a few days

to find out Barak had been killed. And I have to admit, I love the ending I chose, withJimmy being in complete shock and Nick screaming for Betty to get them out of there.

Well, I think that covers pretty much everything in this chapter. Only four chapters remain,with the last being an epilogue. What could these chapters possibly be about now that Veras

is dead, you may ask? I'll give you all two hints. The alternate name for this chapter was "AJob Half Done," and next chapter will be titled "Cherenkov's Gun." I'm hoping to get Chapter

Twenty up by Thursday or Friday night. Thanks again for reading, and a special thanks to allwho have been reviewing and sharing your thoughts on this story.



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May 7th Update

Chapter Eighteen, Pressing On, has been uploaded. I've been dreading this chapter for a

long time, because I was forced to say goodbye to my favorite character, Miranda. She'sbeen slated to die ever since I began this story, although I've recently been debatingwhether or not to go through with this plan. I ultimately decided to stick with my original

design and kill her off. It wasn't an easy decision, but I couldn't change her destiny just


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because I liked her so much. I'll go through the major points in this chapter by order, so I'lldiscuss her demise in more detail at the end.

This chapter had an alternate first draft that was significantly different from the version

posted on the site. In this version, Barak became violent with his brother, who was much

less eager to help him save humanity. The guards were alerted to the humans' escape right

away, which made this chapter much more chaotic and action-packed. I got about 2,000words through this draft before I realized I wasn't liking the direction it was taking. I wanted

a lot more stealth involved in the first half of the chapter, and plus I didn't like the way Iwas characterizing Karab. So I threw that draft out and rewrote it. I like this version a lotbetter, and I like how Karab turned out.

I was glad to get in Miranda's catchphrase one last time. This time it was Ike who corrected

another character by saying ,"It's a kukri." I felt it was a nice little moment between him

and Miranda. I also liked her telling him to stay alive because he's not done annoying heryet. That's pretty much the most emotional she could get with him.

While not as action-packed as Chapter 15, I was glad to incorporate another battle scene. I

loved the kids getting tired of being screwed over and agreeing to just blow every alien theysaw away. Jimmy, Carl, Sheen, and the other more moral characters of the group only

agreed to this because they didn't face any kids or civilians. If they'd been fighting in themore residential park, they would have disputed Nick's idea. I really like how at the end,

everyone was fighting as a single unit and winning for a short time. Like I've said before,

not all of these characters were friends when this journey started, but they've become morethan that now.

Again, Barak had cause to split up from the group. I was worried that Nick agreed to himleaving a little too easily, but I felt Jimmy made a strong point when he said that Barak

could have just left them in prison if he wasn't truly on their side. One moment I really

enjoyed writing was Nick asking Jimmy to have his back when he said they shouldn't letBarak leave. Even though Jimmy didn't agree with him, Nick still trusts Jimmy enough tofollow his lead.

Another huge shift in this chapter was Barak deciding to use the humans' names. Up until

this point, he's only used called Neutron by name, except for when he repeated Eustace's

name in chapter 8. Barak did this as a way to distance himself from his allies so that hewouldn't feel as bad about betraying them. That obviously didnt' work, and he is now fullyon the humans' side, so he's decided to use their names. I liked him noting how strange thenames are to him, just as how the Yolkians' names seem odd to us.

Now on to Miranda's death. This is arguably the biggest moment in the story so far. Up until

this point, every adventure Jimmy and his friends has ever had has resulted in everyonemaking it back home safe. Sheen and Cindy were injured severely in The Final Battle, but

they both ultimately made it home alive. For the first time, these kids are facing the deathof one of their own. This is going to have drastic ramifications in how they think and act inthe last chapters. And now the question swimming through their minds, especially in Ike'sand Jimmy's, is are they killing Veras to save their planet, or out of revenge?

One reason I really hated killing MIranda is because I loved showing the growing bondbetween her and Jimmy. While I debated having her survive the story, I realized that if she

did live, Jimmy would offer to have her leave her father behind and live with him as a sortof adopted sister. Jimmy's parents would surely have agreed to this, and Miranda could


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have truly had a family again. Once I came up with this idea, it became even harder to kill

her off. But ultimately I knew that her death was too integral to the remainder of this story,and it wouldn't be realistic for everyone in this tale to make it home alive.

Just because Miranda's dead doesn't mean you won't feel her presence in the final chapters.

The gang is going to take her loss hard and will never forget the sacrifice she made to help

save their planet. There will also be a chapter in The Lost Chapters devoted to her past.

One last thing to mention is the name of this chapter. I've mention before that "We'll presson," is one of my favorite moments from The Final Battle, so I was excited to finally use it

again in this story. I was hoping that as soon as you saw this chapter's title, you'd knowthat something horrible was going to happen to this team.

Only five chapters remain in this story: four main chapters and an epilogue. Everythingthese kids have fought and died for is going to come to an explosive head. I can't reveal

much about the next chapter without saying major spoilers, but I will say that one theme of

the final chapters of this story is choice. Barak isn't the only one who's going to make ahard decision by the time this book is over. As always, thanks for reading this story and this

commentary.

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May 5th Update

I just wanted to let everyone know that I 've made a facebook page. I had a real facebook

page a while back, but I never really got into it. (I'm kind of backwards when it comes tosocial media. I've sent like two text messages in my life.) Anyway, this facebook page isjust a way to discuss JN fanficiton and connect with my fans. The name is Quiet Thinker, so

please feel free to check it out and use it as a means to discuss anything about me or JNfanfiction (It doesn't have to be about my stories!).

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May 4th Update

Chapter 17, Forgiveness, is split into three major sections. These sections deal with the

group's confrontation with Barak, Ike and Miranda's discussion, and Karab's breaking Barakout of prison. I'll start with Barak's story.

I love Barak Neroma. He is a truly good character who was forced to do a horrendous thing.

Although Miranda is still my favorite character of the story, Barak isn't far behind her. I justfind it so sad that by trying to do the right thing and save humanity at the cost of his

friends, he ended up ensuring Earth's destruction. Understandably, Jimmy and his friends allfeel betrayed by his actions, but after talking to him most can understand his reasoning.

Nick debating whether or not to kill Barak was one of my favorite scenes to write. Of all the

children, he has been the one who's had the least faith in Barak. I loved having him


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completely flip out and attack the force field, but I loved him realizing that he doesn't want

to be like his enemies even more. I also loved how other than Jimmy and Ike, he is the one

who cares most for Miranda. I've tried to subtlely show that he respects her abilities andcares for her.

I tried to incorporate a little callback to The Final Battle with the Yolkian guards laughing

and Sheen clutching his ears. During his assault on the aliens' mining vessel, he noted thatthe Yolkians' laughter sounded like nails on a chalkboard to him.

I also really liked writing the conversation between Jimmy and Barak. Jimmy truly thought

of Barak as his friend and had a hard time believing that Barak betrayed him. I liked havinghim start to break down at the betrayal before realizing that Barak couldn't be heldaccountable for his actions. And of course, his speech to Barak about not being the bad guywas a near reflection of the speech Cindy gave to him back in chapter five.

Onto Ike and Miranda. The subplot of Ike's crush on her has been one of my favorites of this

story. Whereas Miranda has easily come to accept Jimmy as a friend and a brother of sorts,she's having a harder time letting Ike in. I thought the moment between them was sweet

without being out of character. I absolutely did not want them to kiss, because Miranda hasnot even begun to deal with the issues of her past. I can't imagine her being able to kiss

anyone without thinking of her father. I felt her flatly refusing Ike's request to be kissed wasrealistic, and it was one of my favorite moments of the chapter. But I still wanted them to

get a little closer, so I felt having them hold hands would be nice. This relationship doesn't

really have any romantic potential, at least not for a long time. Miranda has too manyissues, not to mention that Ike is more than two years younger than her. But it was still anice moment.

Lastly, after being mentioned in chapters eleven and fourteen, Karab Neroma finally makes

an appearance. As I briefly explained in chapter eleven, Karab and Barak have identical

names. Barak is Karab spelled backwards, and vice versa. In order to truly sever theirfraternal bond, Karab changed his name to Yujup. Why Yujup? Because Karab wished to bethe exact opposite of his brother, who was a human sympathizer.

There are twenty-six letters in the alphabet. Yujup is the opposite of Barak. B is the second

letter, and Y is the twenty-fifth. Both are one away from their repective side of the

alphabet. A is the first vowel, and U is the last. Ris the eighteenth letter from thebeginning of the alphabet, and J is the seventeenth from the end of the alphabet. I couldn'tdo the eighteenth, because that would have been I, which is a vowel. And K is the eleventh

letter from the front of the alphabet, whereas P is the eleventh from the back. So Yujup isthe exact opposite of Barak.

Now I know I haven't gone into too much detail about Karab's character. Pretty much allyou know is that he is a Royal Soldier who detests humanity. Barak once saved his life, but

he already repaid that debt by not turning him in for heresy. So why did he choose to savehis brother? That questions will be answered right away next chapter.

There are only six chapters left in Pushing Through. Five are main story chapters, and the

last will be an epilogue. There is still a huge amount of stuff that I have planned, whichmeans the rest of this story is going to be nonstop chaos. The fact remains that Veras needsto die if Earth is to live. Everyone is going to have to pull out all the stops and be the best

they can be to reach Veras once more. I can't say much about next chapter without spoilinganything, but just know it's going to be a very eventful chapter.


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May 3rd Update

Alright everybody, commentaries are back. Sorry for the long wait, but here's my thoughtson chapters 15 and 16. Let's start with fifteen first.

Chapter 15 is called Mission Accomplished. I was hoping you all would open up the chapterand go, "Oh good. Jimmy and his friends succeed and kill Veras!" In actuality, the title

refers to the success of Barak's secret mission: to bring Jimmy and his friends to Yolkus for

public execution. There is obviously much to say about Barak, but we'll save that for a littlebit.

Undoubtedly the hardest part about writing Chapter 15 was conveying a clear sense of thebattlefield. This was a long chapters, and there were battles in over a half dozen different

locations. I have it easy since I created them and have clear pictures in my mind (not to

mention my trusty blueprint hanging nearby), but I didn't want you all to be confused aboutthe battlefield's layout. That's why I tried to describe each new location in full once the kids

moved into it. I felt it kind of broke up the flow of action, but it was worth it if you could

actually picture what was going on.

I have a lot of moments that I really love in this chapter. The first was Jimmy tackling

Miranda and saving the lives of the Yolkian kids. King Veras and his soldiers have no qualmswith fighting and killing human children, but Jimmy is nothing like them. Even Miranda,

whose led a life tougher than most of us can imagine, won't kill a Yolkian child in cold blood.

I felt this quick scene really did a great job in showing the differences between these tworaces.

Another favorite moment also involved Jimmy and Miranda. It takes place in the shoppingplaza after the park. Nick is taking cover behind a row of chairs, and Jimmy and Miranda arestuck ten meters away from him. The moment is when Jimmy taps Miranda's shoulder and

motions at a new piece of cover. She nods and they both jump towards the wall of plants. Ididn't think anything of this moment when I wrote it, but while I was editing the chapter it

really struck a chord with me. It reminded me of how Jimmy and Cindy shared a silent

conversation about whether or not to kill Barak back in chapter 7 by glancing at a pipe andeach other. Jimmy and Miranda didn't need any words to communicate with each other. Itstruck me as a very siblingesque move. I hadn't intended for this to happen, but I feel that

Jimmy and Miranda are beginning to feel like brother and sister a little.

I also loved the entire confrontation between Cindy, Betty, and the four Yolkians after the

security station. It was a fierce fight, and it really brought a nice end to the whole Cindy /Betty plotline. Their scenes were my favorite to write overall, and I love how as soon as

Betty was in trouble Cindy didn't hesitate to help. She's grown up a lot since she screamed


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at Betty for saying hi to Jimmy three days ago. Plus it gave Sheen a real chance to shine.

Once again, he's saved Cindy's life. I loved having the opportunity to get him to say "I do so

relish these times of peril". This was a great line of his in the original movie, and he said itagain in The Final Battle. I really wanted to get that line in this story as well.

My last favorite moment has to be Libby, Carl, and Barak bursting onto the scene while their

friends wait for the elevator to arrive. Libby's been so eager to help out on this mission, andI loved picturing her flying into the fight and saving everyone's asses.

Lastly, I loved Jimmy assuring Barak that they are both friends. Barak responds by using

Jimmy's first name for the first time.

Overall I loved writing this chapter and have been looking forward to writing it since I first

conceived of the story. I felt I may have cheated my fans a little bit with The Final Battle bylacking a huge battle scene between the Yolkians and all of the kids. You got to see Sheen

fight a small ship full of aliens, and Jimmy and Cindy had some good fights on their hands,

but it was nothing compared to the confrontation they had been preparing for. So I didn'twant to hold back in this chapter, I wanted it to be a really chaotic and long battle.

On to Chapter 16. The title Betrayal refers to King Veras' lie to Barak about preservinghumanity. He never intended to leave Earth in peace once Neutron was secured. Rather,

humanity's greatest weapon is now in his clutches leaving the planet completely

defenseless. So now you all know exactly what Barak's plan was this entire time. The plot tokill Veras was but a ruse to bring the humans to him.

I love Barak. He's such a tragic character. He is one of the only Yolkians who wishes forpeace between Earth and Yolkus, and he deeply respects humanity. He may have lied toJimmy and his friends, but he did it so save their planet. He was given a terrible choice.

Help murder a handful of children, or condemn an entire planet to death? Barak is not evil;he did not take the choice lightly. But in the end he made the only decision he thought hecould. Even if you don't agree with his actions, I hope you all at least understand where he

came from.

Now it's time to discuss Barak's role in past chapters. Ever since he first appeared in

Jimmy's lab, I've tried to write him so that many of his words and actions could beinterpreted in multiple ways. I'm going to go over some of these instances and discuss

them.

In chapter 7, Barak hesitates a lot during his discussion with the children. This is the first

time he has met his victims face to face. He tries to lie about his plan and focus on the

bigger picture of saving humanity, but it's hard for him to look into the humans' eyes andlie. In addition, he starts to use a line that will be repeated with slight variations over thecoming chapters. He assures the humans that "Humanity must be saved." Barak says this

as a way to comfort himself and remind him of what is at stake, as well as telling thehumans a truth amidst all of the lies. Barak does indeed plan to help save humanity. It isjust at the cost of Jimmy's and his friends' lives. Also in chapter 7, Barak protests Libby

coming along. He says it's because everyone coming should have experience fighting

Yolkians, but really it's because Veras requested that only those humans involved inGoobot's death should be brought.

In chapter 9, Barak yells at Miranda that if she kills Jimmy, she kills their entire planet. Thisreferences the fact that Veras specifically requested that Jimmy must survive the journey to


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the royal chambers. If Barak cannot uphold this end of the bargain, humanity will not be

spared. A short while later, Barak appears despondend in the grocery store and goes off by

himself to cry. Jimmy says that Barak is probably upset about betraying his people, butBarak couldn't care less about that. Barak is overcome with guilt about murdering the

children he has begun to get to know. After taking time alone, he assures Jimmy that he willfocus on the mission from here on out. He also says that "Humanity will be saved." This is

Barak realizing that he has to move past his guilt and pain in order to save humanity. Nomatter what he thinks of the children, he must be prepared to sacrifice them.

In chapter ten, Barak looks out over the humans as they go to sleep and wishes them agood night. This places him in a very parental role, what with sending the children off to

bed. There was no ulterior motive in Barak's words. He likes the humans and wishes hecould save them, but he knows he can't.

In chapter eleven, Barak and Jimmy share a conversation at the end of the chapter. Barakis at first friendly and calm, having promised himself he would avoid acting suspiciously. Yet

after opening up to Jimmy about his brother and hearing Jimmy try to comfort him, it's hardfor him to continue the lies. He begins to talk and move slowly as he struggles to avoid

breaking down. He tells Jimmy that he wishes that their mission wasn't so dangerous for thehumans. This is is indeed the truth and as close as Barak can get to apologizing for his

actions. He follows this up with his old adage. "I shall do all I can to preserve humanity." He

doesn't say he'll do all he can to keep Jimmy and his friends safe, because that is a lie.Instead he promises to keep humanity as a whole safe.

Chapter 13 begins with Nick holding Barak at gunpoint and admitting his distrust in theYolkian. Barak tells Nick that the human must believe his intentions are true. When Nick

asks why he wants to help them, Barak again says that he will not let humanity as a whole

die out. When Nick asks what makes Barak special, Barak feels ashamed. He says he's notspecial but merely wishes to do the right thing. Barak wants no praise for his actions. The

cost of saving humanity is killing him. But he believes sacrificing the children is the rightthing to do.

Chapter 14 thrusts Barak's true motivations front and center. He wishes to keep the

humans together because it makes them easier to keep track of and he believes it givesNeutron the best chance of survival. Barak lies and says that Jimmy must be kept alive to

make the planet-wide threat because the Yolkians fear him, but of course he must really

remain alive to be executed. He asks the humans to avoid killing Yolkians not out of fear forhis brother Karab, but becaues the king will not approve of the deaths of his warriors. If toomany soldiers are killed, Barak fears that the king will renege on their deal. And of course,

the package Barak refers to at the end of the chapter is the human children, not data onEarth's defenses. Barak was never sent to Earth to perform reconnaisance.

And there it all is. Barak has been lying the whole time to do what he feels is right. Though

he has come to care deeply for all nine of the children he brought to Yolkus, he views themas a necessary sacrifice to preserve billions of other lives. But of course, Veras never

intended to leave Earth in peace. Barak has been betrayed, just as he betrayed Jimmy and

his friends. Barak has stolen Jimmy Neutron from Earth, thus removing their best chance atstopping the Yolkian assault. He has practically assured Earth's total destruction.

Only seven chapters remain in Pushing Through. Thank you all for reading so far, and Ihope you enjoy what I have planned for this story's endgame.


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May 1st Update

I just wanted to let everyone know I've been taking a couple of days off from writing,mostly to play Mass Effect. Chapter 16 will be up either tomorrow or Thursday. It will be a

relatively short chapter and will consist of a talk between Barak and King Veras.

I also wanted to officially announce that The Final Battle / Pushing Through saga will notend when this book is done. There are 8 chapters remaining in Pushing Through. After that,

I will be publishing The Lost Chapters. This is not a sequel, but rather a short collection of

independent chapters that take place in various points throughout these two stories. Eachchapter will focus on a different character and give you new insight into these stories. I

hope to start writing this immediately after I finish Pushing Through. I'll talk about thisproject more as we draw closer to the end ofPushing Through.


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April 29th Update

Sorry for lack of commentary updates. I'll be combining commentary on chapters 15 and 16into one super-long commentary when 16 is put up.


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April 26th Update

Faith. Faith in their abilities. Faith that they'll have each other's backs. Faith that they willsurvive the journey. Faith that humanity will be saved. Faith that Barak is their ally. Chapter

14 is up, and its central concept is faith. The time for preparations is over. There's no moretime for fighting amongst each other or doubting each other. These kids have landed on

Yolkus, and the fight of their lives is mere seconds away. The events of chapter 15 willdecide the fate of Earth.

Coming up with the design of the battlefield was easily the most difficult part of writing this

chapter. I'm no artist or architect, but I knew I would have to have an actual blueprint of

the battlefield for reference. I knew I wanted these ten fighters split into four groups, andI've known all along that one of these groups would head to a control tower while the other

three headed towards the elevator. But that's all I knew. I had to try to figure out exactlywhat this docking bay looks like and what all of these kids will encounter on their separate

paths. Their will be fighting in stores, warehouses, security buildings, and a park, among

other things. The next chapter will consists almost entirely of the Battle for Earth. When thisstory is done, I'll have to try to find a way to take a picture of the blueprint and post it on

the site (it's currenlty on a posterboard that's hanging beside my computer for quickreference).


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Splitting up the kids into four teams is something I've been really excited about. I figured it

was a good opportunity to throw these ten characters into groups that they wouldn't

normally be in, such as Cindy and Betty and Sheen and Ike. I tried to make the teams asinteresting as I could for you all to read while keeping them strategically viable. I tried to

mix and match melee fighters with shooters, for instance.

One thing I find sad is that the kids are leaving Barak's shuttle behind. I really liked comingup with the design for the Inquisitor, and I actually became kind of attached to this

imaginary vessel. I can visualize every inch of it so easily, and it was a great storytellingdevice that helped make all of these characters grow closer due to the close quarters. I

initially wanted the ship to remain unnamed, but I figured that if Barak was going to request

clearance to land, he'd need to say the name of his ship. I feel the Inquisitor is anappropriate name for a research vessel.

I really liked naming different parts of Yolkus. Bastion and Coronus hold no true meaning(at least none that I meant), but Animus is the Latin word for soul, which is fitting for a

capital city.

Writing the goodbyes between various friends and lovers was my favorite part of thechapter. I tried to give as many pairs of characters as possible some time together. My

favorite was the goodbye between Jimmy and Libby. It was one of the shortest, but I thinkyou really get a feel of how much they mean to each other. My second favorite would have

to be Sheen and Barak's conversation. Sheen is a highly skilled fighter, but he's still a kid at

heart and wishes to do the right thing. He just couldn't pass up the opportunity to apologizefor killing Dopsil.

One last thing I wish to mention about this chapter is the final few paragraphs. I really wastrying to create a sense of dread and despair on the Inquisitor as it barreled towards Yolkus.

I actually felt my own stomach tying in knots the closer they got.

I'm hoping to get the next chapter up by tomorrow, although who knows if that will actually

happen. I think it's going to be one of the best chapters yet, and I'm pumped to write it.


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April 24th Update

Chapter 13, Unity, is now up. The title refers to how all the members of this group arecoming together before the assault on Yolkus. Nick is moving past his distrust of Barak.Jimmy and Cindy were finally able to have some time together. Cindy and Betty took

another step in closing the distance between them. Miranda took a huge first step inattempting to become part of the group. And lastly, everyone bonded over watching Jimmyand Cindy's trivia game. Not all of these ten characters were friends before boarding this

shuttle, but they are going to have to work together completely if they want any hope ofsurviving.

This chapter, along with chapters 3 and 8, was very difficult to write. I've known for sometime that I wanted to have a "trivia" chapter onboard Barak's shuttle, and writing the J/C

dialogue was pretty easy. The toughest parts to write were the beginning and ending to the


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chapter. There are about a half dozen different versions of both of these, all of which wereat least partly written and then scrapped.

For the beginning, I'd initially planned on everyone having breakfast together again. I then

would have had Miranda attempt to join in in some way. The trivia game would have taken

place afterwards. This was scrapped because I just couldn't figure out a reasonable way to

introduce Miranda to the group by having her at breakfast. And it presented the challenge ofhow do I get Jimmy and Cindy to sneak into a closet when everyone's awake? Several

variations on this theme were tried out before I ultimately switched gears and started thechapter with Nick waking up.

Once I went in this direction, writing the opening came easier. In the first draft, Nick andBarak's conversation was much, much shorter. He basically only asked where Jimmy and

Cindy were and then apologized, still being unsure of Barak's intentions. Then I realized this

was the perfect opportunity to have another important conversation between a pair ofcharacters, and since I love writing for Nick I jumped write into it.

As for the ending, that was even more difficult. I went through several long, LONG ideas

and ending up throwing away a lot of written work. I had Ike and Miranda share a longconversation in the supply chamber. I had Ike wake up Miranda and get attacked by her as

a reflex. I tried the same thing with Jimmy waking Miranda and her breaking down fromguilt. There were more failed options, but none of them seemed to fit. They were getting

more and more complex, so I finally just decided to have Miranda have a few quick wordswith the group and the same for Jimmy and Cindy leaving the closet.

Now that I've vented about how difficult the chapter was to write, let me delve in a little

more about the final content. I like the idea that Barak has begun to form relationships withhis human allies. From the beginning, he's admired Neutron and still considers him his

favorite. But spending time with Betty inside the cockpit has made them grow a bit closer,

and I like the short conversation the two of them had. I love the idea of Jimmy and Cindybeing alone in a closet and they decide to play a trivia game. But of course this would only

lead to a serious J/C moment between the two. I'll take any chance I can get to describe the

evolution of their feelings for each other, so I enjoyed Cindy really thinking of whetherJimmy was more important to her than Libby.

There was originally a lot more humor with the kids watching Jimmy and Cindy, but I tonedit down because I didn't want a really funny chapter after the serious one before it. My

favorite line has to be Sheen shouting "Commercial!" as the story switches viewpoints from

the cockpit to the closet. I thought this was hilarious, but I almost got rid of it because I felt

it was breaking the fourth wall too severely. I compromised by showing that he shouted thisout because Jimmy and Cindy were taking a brief respite from their game while Cindy

pondered her next category.

The last thing I have to say about this chapter is that I really enjoyed giving Carl and Ike amoment together. I've probably spent too much of Ike's time having him fawn over

Miranda, so I wanted to do something regarding his friendship with Carl. I love that themost badass guy in seventh grade loves hanging out with Carl for some reason no one

understands.

I think that pretty much sums up everything about this chapter. The next two chapters may

take longer to update than usual. That's because they are both extremely important to theplot and require a lot of specific planning. They're also going to be some of the longest


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chapters yet. I need to make sure I take my time and get them done right. The next

chapter's going to start with the gang discussing the plan for the assault and is going to bea really emotional, dramatic chapter. And after that, the fight begins.

April 20th Update

Chapter twelve is now up. I have wanted to write this chapter badly ever since I startedoutlining this story. Where do I even start in discussing it?

Some readers may have noticed that having nightmares is a recurring even in this book.

Jimmy had one in chapter 5 and Nick admitted he had them in chapter 6. And of course,this chapter began with Miranda waking from one. I did this because nightmares played a

huge role in my real life novel Paranoia, and I wanted to pay a little homage to it. In

addition, I find the technique very effective at highlighting a character's fears.

This chapter also served as a bit of a callback to The Final Battle. Chapter 25 of that book

was the halfway point, and the chapter was dedicated to Nick, who was not a member ofJimmy's group of close friends. While I don't know what the exact chapter count will be atthe end of this book, I'm expecting it to be about 21 - 24 chapters, so chapter twelve also

falls about halfway through. And once again, I've expanded on a character outside Jimmy'scircle of friends.

Miranda is my favorite of all the characters I've created over the years. It was really difficultto write the first seven chapters of this book without her in them. And it was equally hard torelegate her to a minor role in chapters 8 - 11. I only wanted you to have bits and pieces of

her so that you would start to get mad at me for including a seemingly one-dimensional

original character. Then I wanted to knock your socks off with the revelation that she is theway she is because her father raped her.

This chapter was the easiest to write. I hammered it out in less than three hours, which is a

few hours less than I usually spend on a chapter. I'd already been working through Mirandaand Jimmy's conversation in my mind for a while, so it was easy to write it down and let it

flow naturally. The hardest part was figuring out exactly how to go from Miranda beingfurious at Jimmy to her being willing to reveal her darkest secret to him. But Jimmy is

unwaveringly good, so this quality naturally makes people willing to share their pain withhim. First Nick, then Barak, and now Miranda.

Very little was changed from my original ideas for this chapter. I originally wanted it to end

on a lighter note with Miranda telling Jimmy that if he wasn't so young, she'd have aromantic interest in him. Jimmy then would have responded that one girl was more than

enough for him to handle. I scrapped this because humor didn't fit in after Miranda's

revelation, and I don't want her to have a romantic interest in Jimmy. She views him as thefirst friend she's had in over half a decade. This means that she is unwaveringly loyal to him

now, and you'll see that in the next few chapters. Miranda is not going to forget what Jamesdid for her.


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So what exactly does the future hold for Miranda? She went to bed hopeful, but six years of

pain cannot vanish overnight. Jimmy's pushed her on the right track and she'll begin to try

to let her guard down, but she's not going to change into a completely different person.Starting next chapter she's going to try to become a true member of the group and become

more involved with the others, although it's going to be a challenge for her.

Only two chapters remain on Barak's shuttle. The next chapter is going to be considerablyless dramatic. The majority of the chapter is going to involve a furious trivia game between

Jimmy and Cindy that spirals out of control, much to the amusement of everyone elseonboard. The chatper after that is going to probably be pretty lengthy and consist of

everyone preparing for their attack on Yolkus. And chapter 15, let's just say I'm hoping it'sgoing to be an experience you won't ever forget.

Thank you again for all of your support in this story. I hope to get the next update up withinthree days.

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April 19th Update

Chapter Eleven, "New Perspectives" is now up, as well as a poll about these commentaries.Please take a second to pick one of the five responses and let me know how you feel about

reading these commentaries.

First thing's first. I'm really enjoying coming up with names for these chapters. Some of the

chapter names in The Final Battle were humorous, and some were very long. I wanted to

avoid both of these aspects in coming up with chapter names for Pushing Through. I wantthem to be short, sweet, and to the point, and I want them to reflect the darker tone of thisstory. "New Perspectives" refers to how in this chapter you get a look at the kids from Nick

and Betty's point of view, as well as learning more information about Barak's character.

I think that of the five chapters that will take place onboard Barak's shuttle, this is the

weakest one. I knew that going in. I am very excited about writing the three remainingchapters in this part of the story, and I tried to make this chapter as interesting as possible,but I knew I had to have a chapter depicting the kids training, which limits the space I can

give to other things such as plot and character development. I'm actually pleased with howthis chapter came out, but I think the next three chapters will be better.

My favorite aspect of this chapter is exploring Nick and Betty's characters and relationship.While not a large presence in the show, I've always liked Nick's character and it felt naturalto have him join Jimmy's gang in The Final Battle. I've really enjoyed writing him, and he's

easily one of my favorite characters in this story. I like how he's become very close friendswith Jimmy and has come to really respect him. At the end ofThe Final Battle it was a big

moment between these two when they shook hands. By this point in Pushing Through, Nick

thinks of Jimmy as his best friend. I've also enjoyed fleshing out Betty's character and

having her aspire to become a pilot after taking control of one of Jimmy's ships in The FinalBattle. I tried to show that Nick and Betty have a close friendship and that they briefly tried

dating, although it didn't work out. They began to date after they got back to Earth, but

their relationship only lasted a couple of weeks. But as Betty put it, there's no hard feelings.I began to like this chapter once I started to write their conversation in the main chamber,

and I really liked writing their brief checkers game later.


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On to Miranda. In this chapter you get another glimpse at how skilled she is in battle and

how cold she is to everyone. Again, there is a reason for both of these aspects of her

personality. I will confirm that what she said to Ike about her necklace was a joke. She maybe a badass, but she does not hunt sharks. She just doesn't do well with humor.

One aspect I really like about these shuttle chapters is how cramped the quarters are.

There's only four rooms on this ship: the cockpit, the main chamber, the barracks, and thesupply room. The only other spaces are the two small closets, and one of those was turned

into a bathroom. This space is only about the size of the first floor of an average house, soit's not much room for ten people. I like the idea of everyone having to sleep in the sameroom and for it to be virtually impossible to get any privacy. For example, the only reason

Jimmy and Barak were able to talk alone was because everyone else was in bed. During the

middle of the day when everyone's eating and training, it's impossible to be alone. Unlessyou're Miranda, who wisely staked a claim to the supply chamber. And I think at this point

everyone's too scared of her to be in there with her.

On to Barak and Jimmy's conversation. I think this is very important for a number ofreasons. It shows how much Jimmy's character has grown since he was abducted from the

League of Villains. Back then, Jimmy would never have trusted a Yolkian. But Sheen hastaught him to be more trusting, and Cindy taught him in Win, Lose, and Kaboom to be a

team player. Both Sheen and Cindy have really helped Jimmy grow. This conversation also

shows how caring Jimmy can be. Originally, I had Barak interrupt Jimmy and Cindy's chessmatch and ask to speak with him, but I felt it was a better choice to have Jimmy decide to

talk to Barak on his own. He knew Barak was sad and he is grateful for Barak's help. Lastly,we learned a bit more about Barak's past and how hard it is for him to try to save humanity.

I also want to add something. The first reviewer for chapter 11 said that Barak's shuttle

reminded him of the ship in Mass Effect, as did Jimmy's conversation with Barak. MassEffect 2 was a big influence on this story, as well as being my favorite video game. I'm glad

someone mentioned it.

I will tell all of you right now that you are either going to love or hate the next chapter. It is

going to basically be one long conversation between Jimmy and Miranda, and I promise you

will understand why she is the way she is after reading it. I hope you all love it, but I knowthose of you who are vehemently against original characters might not like it. I just hope

you come to love the character of Miranda as much as I do. I'm hoping to get this next

chapter up either tomorrow or Saturday. Thanks again for reading, and I hope you're allenjoying the book so far. I'm really enjoying writing it, almost to an insane degree. I was

almost trembling when I came home from work last night because I wanted to write so bad.I am so excited to continue writing this story.



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April 17th Update

Chapter 10 is now up. "A New Home" is the first of five chapters that will take place onboardBarak's shuttle. I'm really pumped to write these chapters because they are going to be

filled with training, strategizing, and a lot of really important conversations and interactions

between characters. So let's just jump right into things, shall we?


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This chapter was filled with quite a bit of humor. I really loved writing it, and I'm going to

be sad to have to stop soon. As these kids get closer and closer to Yolkus, things are going

to get more and more serious. Not to say there won't be a funny line here and there, buteven Sheen is going to have to stop slapping people once the battle starts. I really love the

running gag in this book that Sheen is obsessed with slapping. And I love bringing back thediner lingo from The Final Battle even more. Every term is an actual real piece of diner

lingo, just so you all know. And once I found out that salt and pepper shakers are calledMike and Ike, well, you should have seen the smile on my face.

Aside from the humor, two important points were addressed in this chapter. The first isSheen and how he's dealing with the horrors he faced in the last book. He may be a kid at

heart and obsessed with Ultralord, but the bottom line is he nearly died a dozen times over.

Having him reminisce about his time onboard the Yolkian mining shuttle was one of myfavorite parts of the chapter. And I really love how he kept a bottle of the nutrient paste as

a souvenir.

The other important plot point is the continuation of Cindy and Betty's feud. I wanted to bereally sure to write Betty as a three-dimensional character in this story. She's not just a

pretty face, but a young woman who wishes to be a pilot one day and just wants to berespected. Both Cindy and Betty see something in the other that they wish to be. Betty

wants to be respected like Cindy is, whereas Cindy wishes she could have the same effect

on Jimmy that Betty did. Cindy took a big step by apologizing to Betty in this chapter, and Ireally loved ending "A New Home" on a quiet note. I doubt that these two characters are

ever going to be best friends, but they've shown that they're capable of moving past theirissues to save their planet.

Now on to Miranda. I haven't really explored her character yet. Right now, she's still a semi-

stable teenager who appears to be obsessed with knives. Rest assured that by the timethese kids reach Yolkus you'll understand exactly why she is the way she is, and I really

think that most of you are going to like her. And her weapon of choice, a kukri, is one of thecoolest looking weapons I have ever seen. It's basically a machete with the top half of the

blade bent at an angle. If anyone has ever played Halo Reach, it is the knife that Emileused.

A theme of this book is friendship. I've been trying to have as many meaningful interactions

and conversations between pairs of characters as possible. We've already seen really long

and important discussions between Jimmy/Nick, Jimmy/Cindy, Jimmy/Libby, andBetty/Cindy. I've also tried to show shorter but still important moments between other pairs

of characters, such as when Nick mentions Ultralord to Sheen and tosses him the plasma

pistol. Another example is Barak teaching Betty how to pilot his ship. This theme willcontinue to be explored in the coming chapters.

On to deleted content. I've fallen into this basic pattern of writing. Day one: no actual

writing, just figuring out how chapter will flow. Day two: Write rough draft. Day three: Editand write final draft. This means that a lot of stuff is cut between the rough and final draft.In this chapter Sheen orignally drank the nutrient paste again and immediatley threw up. I

decided to shelve this because not only was it not as funny as I hoped, I thought it wasmore important to get a serious look into Sheen's mind. There was also a much longer

description of the kids putting the supplies away. Lastly, there was a huge altercation

between Miranda and Ike that was completely cut because it didn't seem in character forMiranda. (Again, you will learn more about her character soon.)


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One thing I want to mention is that this book is now almost halfway done. I'm expecting 11

- 13 more chapters, with four of those taking place on the shuttle. One thing I'm looking

forward to writing when this book is over is a top ten list of my favorite moments from bothThe Final Battle and Pushing Through. I've already started listing them out, and it's going to

be really hard to narrow it down to a mere 10.

Lastly, here's the basic outlines for the chapters 5 - 8 so you can see how certain thingshave changed from my original story design. Chapter 5 was split into two chapters so that

the J/C conversation could be a chapter all by iteself. As you can see, Jimmy's issues werenot originally resolved in chapter 5 by a discussion with Cindy. I decided to do this later on

in order to bring Jimmy closer to the way he was before. Again, there are slight edits toprevent spoiling you guys.

5. Family

The next day before school, Jimmy is hurrying through breakfast to get into his

lab. He is interrupted outside by Cindy, who says that it was sweet that he helpedSheen make Libby those flowers, although she cant help but wonder why she

didnt get anything. Jimmy goes on for a short time on how he and Libby havegrown closer since The Final Battle, but then pulls out his hypercube and reveals

that hes made Cindy a present as well. She says that she thought that thehypercube was destroyed, but Jimmy says he made another one. She is about to

kiss him when Carl interrupts them. Sheen and Libby are right behind him. They

head the short distance to the bus stop just in time to catch their ride. Carl wantsto talk to Jimmy. Carl says that he has to read a book a month for his English

class, and wants to know how Jimmy feels about him reading self-help books to

gain confidence. Jimmy tells Carl that hes fine the way he is, but Carl says he

doesnt want to stay the same coward while everyone else is changing and goingoff having adventures. Jimmy says hell help Carl pick some books out in

homeroom. After first period, Jimmy and Libby walk to their next class, which theyshare. Libby thanks Jimmy for helping Sheen with the flowers, and Jimmy says he

probably shouldnt bother lying and saying that Sheen made them himself. Jimmyhears a meow, but Libby says its nothing. They continue talking, but Jimmy sayshe definitely heard something. He realizes that Libby is carrying around Chowder

in her backpack. He tells her that this is horrible, but Libby says that hes had afever and that she needs to be near him. She admonishes him for abandoning his

cat, and Jimmy shouts that he has never had a cat. The day goes on, and Jimmyeventually meets up with Nick, who is still as shook-up as ever. Jimmy says hes

been working on something that might help him and tells Nick to come to his labafter school. The gang meets up at Jimmys lab after school. Jimmy invites them in

and are shocked to see Barak waiting in his lab holding what appears to be aplasma pistol.

6.Answers (This became chapter 7)

Nick immediately shoves Jimmy aside, whips out a pistol, and shoots Barak in the

control panel. Everyone is shocked. Nick cant believe what hes done, and Jimmyheavily berates him for bringing a gun to school. He tells Nick that it wont matter

if he saved the town if the principal ever finds out about that. Nick yells that he

knew this wasnt over. Barak comes to and interrupts their argument. Cindysnatches the gun from Nicks hand. She and Jimmy approach the fallen alien.

Barak asks if hes wounded, and Jimmy coldly tells him only his shell is broken. He


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picks up the pistol and realizes its some sort of scanner. Barak explains that he

was only examining his lab while he waited for Jimmy to return. Everyones

confused, and Barak explains that he has come because the humans are in gravedanger. He explains that the new king wishes to destroy Earth once and for all,

and that the humans only hope is to hurry to Yolkus, kill King Verez, and show theCouncil that the only safe course for both worlds is for the Yolkians to leave them

alone. The humans are skeptical of Barak, especially Nick. Jimmy ultimatelydecides to trust Barak, and Barak tells them they must leave now. Jimmy says he

needs the night to prepare, and Barak agrees. Jimmy and the gang discuss whoshould come, and Nick recommends Ike, Betty, and Butch. Cindy and Jimmy refuse

to bring Butch along, believing he could pose too severe a risk to the mission. Nickagrees to gather Ike and Betty for morning.

7. Reunion (This became chapter 8)

Jimmy wakes well before first light. He gives a heartfelt goodbye to Goddard and

tells him to monitor the city for anything strange and to watch over his parents.He tells Goddard to run holograms of himself and the other kids and to try to fool

the parents until theyre out of the solar system. Goddard starts to follow Jimmyout of the house, and Jimmy agrees that the dog can see him and his friends off.

Barak, Cindy, Nick, Betty, and Ike are already outside his lab. Cindy and Betty

exchange words, and Cindy says theyll get along fine as long as Betty admitsNeutron is still hers. Betty sarcastically asks why Neutron fell for the girl who

made his life hell, but admits shes more interested in Nick. For the moment.Jimmy welcomes Ike back into the fold as Ike lights up a cigarette. Ike says he

wouldnt miss it for the world. Jimmy says his backpack seems light, and Ike saysall he needs are his smokes and his bible. Jimmy gives a half smile as he sees

Sheen, Libby, and Carl stroll up. Libby has one of the flowers that Sheen have her

in her hair. Jimmy notices that Sheens posture and attitude seem different. Sheensays he wont let Jimmy come as close to death as last time, and he hopes to atone

for killing Dopsil by bringing peace between the two worlds. As Sheen mentions

atonement, Jimmy remembers Eustace and Goobot. He spots the gun holstered onNick and shivers, terrified of killing once more. He starts to say goodbye to Libby

and Carl, but Libby says shes not sitting this fight out. Jimmy starts to protest,but Libby says theres no control team this time and theres no crutches either.She wants to be in the fight with them and wants to avenge the pain that the

Yolkians put Sheen through. Jimmy says hes glad to have her aboard. He goes to

say goodbye to Carl, but he quickly says hes coming too. Everyone looks his way.Barak notices this and humorously turns as well. Carl says his self-help book says

he should find someone he admires and do what they would do in various

situations. Carl tells Jimmy hes looking up to him and doesnt want to be afraidanymore. Jimmy ultimately agrees to let him come, and Ike and Carl have a short

conversation. Ike mentions they havent hung out since Cindy stole Jimmys heart.

Carl is confused, but Ike reminds him of how they hung out in sixth grade whenCindy stole Jimmys heart sculpture for art class. Carl admits he hasnt thought of

that in a while. Barak nervously says that Libby and Carl shouldnt come since they

didnt kill any Yolkians before. Jimmy is confused, and Barak says they should only

be bringing people with experience. Jimmy fights with Barak and says that theywill be assets to the team. Barak sadly concedes and asks if they are ready. Jimmyagrees that everyone is assembled and they need only gather supplies. Suddenly,

a girl jumps out of a tree and unsheaths a knife.


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April 14th Update

Well, it's been exactly one month since I posted the first chapter ofPushing Through.Chapter 9 was just put up, and the gang is finally leaving Earth behind. This is the end of

the first section of the book, which has served to introduce the characters and plot. Ifyou've read The Final Battle, you already know what to expect next. A few chapters will be

spent detailing the three-day journey from Earth to Yolkus. Now, I think I went a littleoverboard with describing the kids' training on Little Boy last time, although overall I didlike that section of the book. I'm expecting roughly 5 chapters to be spent onboard the

shuttle. I'm reallyexcited about writing two of those chapters. After that, well, you'll all justhave to read and find out.

Once again, this chapter got away from me. The major sections of this chapter were alloriginally supposed to be in there: Miranda's explanation of her actions, the 3 teams

searching for supplies, and the final boarding of Barak's shuttle. I just didn't expect eachsection to last as long as it did. And believe it or not, there was stuff I had to get rid of while

writing, which means this chapter was originally even longer. I started to write aconversation between Cindy and Nick that somewhat mirrored Jimmy and Libby's

conversation. It would have dealt with Nick discussing how much Jimmy loved Cindy and

how he wished he had love like that. I discarded it after writing half of it because it didn'treally seem to fit either character. Nick's never really opened up to anyone besides Jimmy,

and I couldn't write Cindy as a good listener to anyone except Libby or Jimmy.

On to what I'm sure will be the most controversial aspect of this chapter: Jimmy and Libby's

conversation. As I've said before, I believe that Jimmy and Libby share a certain degree of

chemistry. Libby always struck me as someone who is intelligent and is interested inJimmy's intellect. While she may not be as good a mental match for Jimmy as Cindy, she'smuch kinder. And ever since The Final Battle, they've gotten even closer than they were

before. I think it's completely natural that these two pre-teens have an attraction towards

each other, although they have greater feelings for Sheen and Cindy. I really think the finalpart of their conversation, when Jimmy realizes that Libby can't compare to Cindy, was

extremely important. It shows that although LIbby is a great friend who could possibly be

more, he loves Cindy much more and knows she's the one for him. I've really enjoyedwriting Libby and Jimmy as extremely good friends, and that's how I intend them to staythroughout this story. That paragraph in Jimmy's mind was a way of telling you all that

incase you didn't read this commentary.

I'm glad you got to see some more of Miranda in this chapter. She's clearly rough around

the edges, although not as insane as she may have initially appeared. You're all going to

learn a lot more about her on the Yolkian shuttle, although there will still be plenty of stuffdedicated to all of the other characters. Obviously Jimmy, Cindy, and Nick are the major

players in this story, but I'm trying to give every single other character as much focus as Ican.

Some people may be asking: Quietthinker, why don't you just skip over the 3-day journeyand get right to the action? I would respond by saying that although I'm pumped about

writing what happens on Yolkus, I'm equally excited about writing interactions and

conversations between the main characters. We all watched Jimmy Neutron because we


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love the characters and their relationships with each other. Writing these characters talking

to one another and hanging out comes very naturally to me and I really enjoy doing it.

Chapter six of this story, Family, was one of my favorites and one of the easiest to write forthis reason. I have a lot of fun stuff prepared for the coming chapters. But of course, the

characters can't just be chilling out on this vessel. I'll also need to show you all exactly whatsupplies they'll be carrying, what their battle plan is, and how they are training. Maybe that

isn't important to every reader, but when I read a story I always want to know every detailof the preparations that come before a battle. Maybe that's just me, but I can't help it. I

think it's important to show the logical progression from plan to battle.

Thanks again to all who have been reading and especially to those who have been

reviewing. I have no idea when the next chapter will be up, but I'm hoping for sometimethis coming week.


XXXx

April 12th Update

Just want to apologize for jumping the gun yesterday. Chapter 9 of Pushing Through will

likely be up on Saturday, not today. Sorry about that.

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April 11th Update

How the heck do I start discussing this chapter? There's about a million things to talk about.Let's start with the basics.

More than any other, this chapter was both a joy and an utter pain to write. A while back I

wrote that chapter 3 was the most difficult chapter I have written. That was nothing. I

nearly lost my mind two days ago writing the rough draft for this. This chapter has moredeleted ideas and actual written content than anything I have ever written. In the original

draft, Jimmy and Cindy shared a much longer moment before she left the lab in thebeginning. In addition, Barak and Jimmy's conversation was nearly twice as long. Lastly,

Barak was brought to near hysterics by how advanced Goddard was. I decided to tone down

his excitement in the final version. It took four hours just to get to the halfway mark whereJimmy wakes up in his room. I was so exhausted and drained that I couldn't even get past

that point. I'm glad I took yesterday off from writing to clear my head and come up with amore cohesive plan for the chapter.

This chapter is unique in not just its length, but in the sheer amount of ground it covers.

Jimmy and Barak had a long conversation, Jimmy bode farewell to his loving canine, all ofthe kids were reunited, Cindy and Betty shared a moment that will have lasting

repercussions in coming chapters, and of course Miranda was finally revealed. In the


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original draft of this chapter, there was no Jimmy/Barak conversation and no Cindy/Betty

interaction beyond a quick "stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours." But once I

finished chapter 7, I knew that it was unfair to skip the conversation that Jimmy and Barakwould surely have while repairing the Yolkian's shell. In addition, I realized that this was theperfect opportunity to have a real look into Cindy's mind with her conversation with Betty.

I believe that this chapter was even more important to Cindy's character than chapter 5. Inthe beginning, I really wanted to show how much Jimmy means to her. It's no secret among

JN fans that Cindy's home life is less than ideal at best and possibly abusive at worst. Upuntil the end ofThe Final Battle, Libby was her only true family. Over the past month,

Jimmy has become an equally important part of her family, as evidenced in last chapter

when it was he, not Libby, who persuaded CIndy to trust Barak. Cindy now has to deal with

conflicting motives: on the one hand, she still feels the need to prove that she isindependent and capable, which is shown when she growls at Jimmy that she could have

defended herself against Barak. On the other hand, she's no longer afraid to let Jimmy knowhow important he is to her, evidenced by her comment about how sweet he is.

Betty's arrival showed a different side of Cindy. I've always believed that Cindy's temper

was her greatest weakness, and now that she's open in her love for JImmy, she can'tcontrol her jealousy of Betty. After all, Betty was Jimmy's first kiss, not Cindy. That fact

alone eats Cindy up inside. Seeing Betty brings back all of her old insecurities and the

thought of losing Jimmy terrifies her. I was not trying to write her as a girl whose onlyconcern is her boyfriend and is jealous to an immature degree. I merely wanted to display

how important Jimmy was to her and how her temper can get away from her. I initiallywanted Cindy and Betty to agree to be friends at the end of their talk, but it just didn't

seem to fit Cindy's state of mind. She had just broken down i

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