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Book Announcement
I am excited to announce I released a collection of short stories on the web novel site royal road! They’re a bunch of the stories I’ve posted to Patreon, cleaned up and ready to read for free. It’s been out for a little bit because I wasn’t expecting to be quite as ready as I was.…
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Motivation
I have executive dysfunction. I don’t have a diagnosis of ADHD, but I do have bipolar disorder, and executive dysfunction is often a symptom people struggle with and I am no exception. When I was in school as a kid it was common for me to either show up or do my homework, but it was rare I did…
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Imposter Syndrome
In the beginning, it’s hard to get started. There are always last-minute ideas to hammer out and things left to consider before a proper start gets underway. And once underway, it can take a while to get into a comfortable groove. After a few thousand words though, I’ll settle into a rhythm and make substantial progress. Towards the middle, which…
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Influences
Every creative person that has ever existed has their influences. Many of them are in our own fields. But plenty of them are outside of our fields as well. I can list a dozen authors that have played an integral part in driving me, but it’s not just authors I draw inspiration and motivation from. For one…
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Underwriting
I am a chronic underwriter. It’s something I’ve had to accept. My first drafts are lean, clocking in between 35k and 50k words for the first pass. It’s because I’m in a race to the end and my first goal is to get out as much as fast as possible. Details, unless they’re especially loud,…
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How many is too many?
WIPs (Work in Progress) progress faster if you mainly focus on one at a time. Of course, sometimes it’s not possible. Maybe you’re really stuck and need to get your head out of it for a while. Maybe (like me) you get so engrossed you absolutely need to switch gears for a little while to…
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I’m done. Now what?
I finished my first draft. It still needs work, so what comes next? Novel writing is a lot of work, and by the end for me it becomes all-consuming; pushing everything else out of the picture because I can’t focus on anything else. Now that I’m done with this draft, I feel spent, as well…
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Writing every day isn’t always possible
Why do I write every day? Well, it’s complicated. I personally prefer to, but lately life has been stressful, so I’ve been taking more mental health days than I usually do. Today all I managed was a couple lines in one document and two paragraphs apiece in two others. I got a few ideas started…
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Coping Skills are Fundamental
A small reason why I write is therapy. Not that I intended to do that, at least not at first. For a while in the middle, and even occasionally today, it can help me process some of my own difficult feelings. But the reality is writing can only do so much. At the end of…
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3 AM
Three AM and I are unfortunate friends. For as long as I can remember, I’ve struggled to sleep well. Even as a baby sleep eluded me, and it’s only gotten easier as I’ve gotten older. Three AM is said to be the time of artists and dreamers, but with it comes a few demons as well. I’m never up at three AM because I want to be, after…