read title please.

Chapter 1- : PROLOGUE START :

I don't know how to write a diary. Mahmud went and forced me to actually sit down and write.

I've only read books my whole life.

Not that it matters.

I don't think I am in a state to be writing about what happened. I hope writing actually helps like Mahmud told me it would.

That's…. If I even write it all in the first place.

Here goes nothing.

The bells started to ring as I pushed through the library door. The familiar scent of papers greeted me with a pleasantly intoxicating smell. A smell that promises fresh knowledge.

The door swung closed behind me, making the bell ring again. My presence was announced by it twice.

Heading inside, I gave a glance towards the librarian's desk as I always did.

It was to simply greet him. I was a regular for years after all.

But I wasn't able to greet him as he wasn't there. In his place, a book was laying down on his desk.

It was one of the oh so similar cryptic books. These always have a mouse’s drawing etched on the top.

I suspected it to be the logo of an author or a publisher. But, I didn't find anything resembling the exact look of it.

And even more of a mystery were the contents of them. They had cryptic symbols.

I never was able to decipher those in what little time I gave myself to learn about them.

And I wasn't here to decipher them today either.

The only thing that was written without any cryptic symbols attached to it was, “The Land of The Truth”.

“The Land of The Truth, Huh?”, I thought as it seemed idiotic to read about.

It was simply a rubbish children’s fantasy that made them hopeful of a bright future.

“I thought it was a spoken legend?”, I murmured beneath my breath.

Having a book for it was quite childish. And quite frankly, idiotic for an adult.

I let the book do its own thing and looked around.

“So he was arranging the books?”, I exclaimed questioningly as I saw him do his job.

After a bit, he finished stocking up. That's when I stepped forward to examine what was just added.

Knowledge is the only weapon one can wield. But that comes at the cost of angering the government.

One of the books caught my attention. Largely because of how it looked a lot like a rotten diary.

I wasn't actually rotten. Just the design of it looked old and beaten up.

I picked it up thinking it might be one of those cryptic books the librarian has.

It wasn't that.

It was actually normal, apart from the unique look of it.

"That one? Sharp eyes you've got. Take it with you. No charge”, the librarian spoke out from his desk while piercing me with his sharp eyes fixated on me.

He held the book from the desk with his left hand covering his mouth with it, while his right hand remained behind him.

It was a pose that reminded me of the butler characters that I read about in books.

After a bit of awkward staring from me, he walked away to his desk without further acknowledgment.

I ignored him as I always did with strangers. Mostly because he was acting weird.

Finally opening the book, I was greeted with the name of it.

Evils and Pawns.

There were no attributions to the author and no table of contents.

Strange, I thought.

It was precisely strange because firstly, the title was inside the book.

And secondly, it wasn't a children's fantasy. That's why it should have those attributions and a table of contents.

Otherwise, the government wouldn't allow for such tom foolery.

Only children's fantasy and books solely targeted towards children are from those exceptions.

Because only the government publishes that genre. And they don't need attributions to make themselves known.

That is the law.

Looking past the first page, I was again greeted with something shocking for supposed new books.

It had pages that were ripped or torn off of it.

At that point, I was quite sure it was probably a first release from some newbie author and the publisher scammed him.

That kind of thought crossed my mind because there was only one copy of this book.

Or it could have very well been a returned book that got misarranged.

Either way, I didn't know.

The story recounted a war from hundreds of years ago.

"The evils of the world must be eradicated.

Otherwise, history itself will be rewritten.

They are planning something great, something truly evil.

If they succeed, no one will know the truth of the past".

My stomach tightened as a result of reading it. Not that I believed it all, but what if history really was twisted?

I knew enough about this world to consider it a possibility.

I returned the book to where I took it from and read other ones I found interesting.

About two hours had passed while reading it. I took two books with me so I could read at home.

The librarian started to move quickly through the stacks towards the manager's room.

His eyes were darting while his steps performed uneven jumps of distance.

He looked like someone who was carrying news.

I paid him no mind. People with jobs. always had their little urgencies.

The city outside stretched like a living organism. It was quite the dense weave of streets, alleys, and looming structures.

Above the cobblestone roads, sleek trams kept gliding silently on elevated tracks.

They were powered by an energy civilians could never touch.

Our homes ran on ordinary electricity, while the government's hidden power drove the city's infrastructure forward.

Little little lamps were lined up the streets, glowing softly through the fog. Their steady humming lights were a quiet reminder of who truly held control.

Market stalls bustled with life beneath them.

Polished wood and iron frames kept gleaming in the light.

People moved with practiced precision. Each of their smiles and greetings were rehearsed.

It was as though freedom itself had been staged.

I moved through the streets, slipping past the crowds and the elevated trams.

Two Capital Guards stood outside a convenience store, gossiping in loud and irritable tones.

Curiosity ran through me.

I bought some bread from the store.

I used to work here until recently. It helped me get ahead of the line to confirm payment.

Finishing my purchase, I quickly slipped back outside.

Creeping in closer, I was able to listen to what the guards kept saying.

"These damn RATS are everywhere. Making our work harder than it should be."

"Yeah. And those brats who 'made' another 'Transport Device'.

What fools!

If they wanted to travel the sea, they should've killed themselves before the storm hit them."

"Water transport?

Ha!

They think they can do the impossible. Now they'll learn not to meddle with the unknown!"

Their conversation was filled with arrogance and cruelty, but what made it worse was the pretense of legitimacy.

The government openly called for inspections, welcomed testing, and even praised the innovators.

Yet everyone who dared to explore the sea vanished.

Official reports claimed "Accidents", but the truth was far darker.

The inspections and tests were slaughterhouses in disguise. My parents had been victims of the same facade.

I was hiding. Helplessly witnessing my world dissolve as I ran for my life.

What were you thinking? Mom, Dad…

What could I have done to stop them?

I moved away slowly. I had to be unnoticed and keep a low profile.

Night was falling, and I needed to return home.

I had to meet a friend who would deliver crucial information.

The streets had emptied. The lamps were glowing softly over the foggy cobblestones.

The distant hum of the trams was fading.

At my doorstep, I paused and had an observation process.

Everything seemed ordinary.

And so I opened the door carefully, stepped inside, and shut it quietly behind me.

As I was going towards the living room, a sequence of knocks were heard from behind.

Knock… pause… Knock.

Pause…

Knock… pause.

Knock… Knock… pause… Knock.

The sequence confirmed our code, and I let out a quiet breath of relief.

I found a man standing in the doorway.

It was Steve.

He had a black top-hat, cane in his left hand, and a confident stance.

"May I enter? It's risky out here," he said as he stepped in without waiting for approval.

I barely registered his ignoring of me, before closing the door behind him.

He was already in my living room.

His left hand gripped the cane and the right one held papers.

Standing with his legs crossed and a smirk on his face, he gave a smirk.

"The World Is Filled With Lies," he intoned, as his voice was poetic.

"If you start to mingle with the unknown, be prepared to put your life on the line.

What I share now will mark the start of a new you. The old you… will become A Lie.”

Title: Lies Were Told

Author: Half Heart (me)

Chapter 1- : PROLOGUE START :

I don't know how to write a diary. Mahmud went and forced me to actually sit down and write.

I've only read books my whole life.

Not that it matters.

I don't think I am in a state to be writing about what happened. I hope writing actually helps like Mahmud told me it would.

That's…. If I even write it all in the first place.

Here goes nothing.

The bells started to ring as I pushed through the library door. The familiar scent of papers greeted me with a pleasantly intoxicating smell. A smell that promises fresh knowledge.

The door swung closed behind me, making the bell ring again. My presence was announced by it twice.

Heading inside, I gave a glance towards the librarian's desk as I always did.

It was to simply greet him. I was a regular for years after all.

But I wasn't able to greet him as he wasn't there. In his place, a book was laying down on his desk.

It was one of the oh so similar cryptic books. These always have a mouse’s drawing etched on the top.

I suspected it to be the logo of an author or a publisher. But, I didn't find anything resembling the exact look of it.

And even more of a mystery were the contents of them. They had cryptic symbols.

I never was able to decipher those in what little time I gave myself to learn about them.

And I wasn't here to decipher them today either.

The only thing that was written without any cryptic symbols attached to it was, “The Land of The Truth”.

“The Land of The Truth, Huh?”, I thought as it seemed idiotic to read about.

It was simply a rubbish children’s fantasy that made them hopeful of a bright future.

“I thought it was a spoken legend?”, I murmured beneath my breath.

Having a book for it was quite childish. And quite frankly, idiotic for an adult.

I let the book do its own thing and looked around.

“So he was arranging the books?”, I exclaimed questioningly as I saw him do his job.

After a bit, he finished stocking up. That's when I stepped forward to examine what was just added.

Knowledge is the only weapon one can wield. But that comes at the cost of angering the government.

One of the books caught my attention. Largely because of how it looked a lot like a rotten diary.

I wasn't actually rotten. Just the design of it looked old and beaten up.

I picked it up thinking it might be one of those cryptic books the librarian has.

It wasn't that.

It was actually normal, apart from the unique look of it.

"That one? Sharp eyes you've got. Take it with you. No charge”, the librarian spoke out from his desk while piercing me with his sharp eyes fixated on me.

He held the book from the desk with his left hand covering his mouth with it, while his right hand remained behind him.

It was a pose that reminded me of the butler characters that I read about in books.

After a bit of awkward staring from me, he walked away to his desk without further acknowledgment.

I ignored him as I always did with strangers. Mostly because he was acting weird.

Finally opening the book, I was greeted with the name of it.

Evils and Pawns.

There were no attributions to the author and no table of contents.

Strange, I thought.

It was precisely strange because firstly, the title was inside the book.

And secondly, it wasn't a children's fantasy. That's why it should have those attributions and a table of contents.

Otherwise, the government wouldn't allow for such tom foolery.

Only children's fantasy and books solely targeted towards children are from those exceptions.

Because only the government publishes that genre. And they don't need attributions to make themselves known.

That is the law.

Looking past the first page, I was again greeted with something shocking for supposed new books.

It had pages that were ripped or torn off of it.

At that point, I was quite sure it was probably a first release from some newbie author and the publisher scammed him.

That kind of thought crossed my mind because there was only one copy of this book.

Or it could have very well been a returned book that got misarranged.

Either way, I didn't know.

The story recounted a war from hundreds of years ago.

"The evils of the world must be eradicated.

Otherwise, history itself will be rewritten.

They are planning something great, something truly evil.

If they succeed, no one will know the truth of the past".

My stomach tightened as a result of reading it. Not that I believed it all, but what if history really was twisted?

I knew enough about this world to consider it a possibility.

I returned the book to where I took it from and read other ones I found interesting.

About two hours had passed while reading it. I took two books with me so I could read at home.

The librarian started to move quickly through the stacks towards the manager's room.

His eyes were darting while his steps performed uneven jumps of distance.

He looked like someone who was carrying news.

I paid him no mind. People with jobs. always had their little urgencies.

The city outside stretched like a living organism. It was quite the dense weave of streets, alleys, and looming structures.

Above the cobblestone roads, sleek trams kept gliding silently on elevated tracks.

They were powered by an energy civilians could never touch.

Our homes ran on ordinary electricity, while the government's hidden power drove the city's infrastructure forward.

Little little lamps were lined up the streets, glowing softly through the fog. Their steady humming lights were a quiet reminder of who truly held control.

Market stalls bustled with life beneath them.

Polished wood and iron frames kept gleaming in the light.

People moved with practiced precision. Each of their smiles and greetings were rehearsed.

It was as though freedom itself had been staged.

I moved through the streets, slipping past the crowds and the elevated trams.

Two Capital Guards stood outside a convenience store, gossiping in loud and irritable tones.

Curiosity ran through me.

I bought some bread from the store.

I used to work here until recently. It helped me get ahead of the line to confirm payment.

Finishing my purchase, I quickly slipped back outside.

Creeping in closer, I was able to listen to what the guards kept saying.

"These damn RATS are everywhere. Making our work harder than it should be."

"Yeah. And those brats who 'made' another 'Transport Device'.

What fools!

If they wanted to travel the sea, they should've killed themselves before the storm hit them."

"Water transport?

Ha!

They think they can do the impossible. Now they'll learn not to meddle with the unknown!"

Their conversation was filled with arrogance and cruelty, but what made it worse was the pretense of legitimacy.

The government openly called for inspections, welcomed testing, and even praised the innovators.

Yet everyone who dared to explore the sea vanished.

Official reports claimed "Accidents", but the truth was far darker.

The inspections and tests were slaughterhouses in disguise. My parents had been victims of the same facade.

I was hiding. Helplessly witnessing my world dissolve as I ran for my life.

What were you thinking? Mom, Dad…

What could I have done to stop them?

I moved away slowly. I had to be unnoticed and keep a low profile.

Night was falling, and I needed to return home.

I had to meet a friend who would deliver crucial information.

The streets had emptied. The lamps were glowing softly over the foggy cobblestones.

The distant hum of the trams was fading.

At my doorstep, I paused and had an observation process.

Everything seemed ordinary.

And so I opened the door carefully, stepped inside, and shut it quietly behind me.

As I was going towards the living room, a sequence of knocks were heard from behind.

Knock… pause… Knock.

Pause…

Knock… pause.

Knock… Knock… pause… Knock.

The sequence confirmed our code, and I let out a quiet breath of relief.

I found a man standing in the doorway.

It was Steve.

He had a black top-hat, cane in his left hand, and a confident stance.

"May I enter? It's risky out here," he said as he stepped in without waiting for approval.

I barely registered his ignoring of me, before closing the door behind him.

He was already in my living room.

His left hand gripped the cane and the right one held papers.

Standing with his legs crossed and a smirk on his face, he gave a smirk.

"The World Is Filled With Lies," he intoned, as his voice was poetic.

"If you start to mingle with the unknown, be prepared to put your life on the line.

What I share now will mark the start of a new you. The old you… will become A Lie.”

Hi,

I'm Half Heart, and I'm new to writing webnovels. Well kind of.... because, I started to write 10 months ago.

It was then that a story popped up in my head and wouldn't let me think of anything else if I didn't let the world know of this "great" story I came up with.

But as I started to write, I began to procrastinate to the point that it's been 10 months and I'm only at chapter 31 with around 35,500 words.

I am in a state that is basically, "I want the story to be written and completed, but I avoid writing and do something else every time I try to write."

It also doesn't help that English is my second language. Although I can speak and write English fluently, I never wrote anything "professional" using it. Whenever I write in English, I sound overly academic, likely influenced by how I learnt it and also chatting with ai chats a lot, as I'm an introvert.

Coming back to the main question, when you started to write as a new writer, what was your strategy to overcome procrastination?

I genuinely love the story I am writing and want to turn it into a multi volume epic as the story needs it to be like that. I even have the whole lore and main plot points written in a word document.

I would really appreciate it if your suggestions help me continue writing as I have already thought of a sequel story continuing the original but in a completely different way.

I won't share the story name or link as the rules suggest I should have at least 5 meaningful contributions. But, as you can see from my profile, I just created this account and am new to reddit.

Although, you can find the links to it in my profile's social links, if you want to give it a read and see if you can enjoy the story, or find anything I can improve upon.