jpagaduan.com

Category: writing

  • Writer’s block

    When I have writer’s block, it’s procrastination in disguise. It’s not that I can’t write, it’s that my brain is trying to come up with last-minute distractions. My go to method for dealing with this is a cup of coffee (iced when it’s warm, hot when it’s cold) and some journaling.   Occasionally it’s not procrastination.…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • But why fantasy?

    Why fantasy? Well, it’s comforting. I grew up with nerdy parents, who passed their love onto me. I also have always enjoyed stories about fantastical things that would never happen. My dad is the biggest reason I’m so big into fantasy. To this day he is still one of the few people in my life that, if I like something,…

  • Nonbinary

    I’m sure people have noticed by now that my pronouns are they/them. That’s because I’m nonbinary. Nonbinary falls under the trans umbrella, though you don’t have to identify as trans to be nonbinary. I myself do identify as trans, though I have no desire to medically transition. You don’t have to transition to be valid. After…

  • 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…

  • Mental Illness and Me, part 2

    Over the last twenty years I’ve been diagnosed with most everything under the sun at some point. For most of that time the only thing doctors could agree on was that I’m bipolar. I mean, it’s kind of obvious when the first antidepressant I tried right off the bat made me manic for a month.…

  • Chronic Pain part 1

    I have psoriatic arthritis, and it’s currently untreated. It means that I’m in constant pain. I medicate my pain with cannabis, and for the most part it helps, but what I need (and what I don’t have access to) is an immunosuppressant. The inflammation that causes my skin to heal so fast it flakes off…

  • Schedules and How They Work for Me

    9:00 am: Wake up, make coffee for breakfast   9:05 am-10:00 am: Pet Skye, put Skye down, try to get words done, rinse repeat  10:01-10:20: write  10:21-11: pet and wrangle Beerus (much like Skye)  11:00 am-1:00 pm: words   Lunch  Afternoon reading or school stuff or time for other projects  Dinner  Television (currently Star Trek Deep Space 9)  School maybe, other projects maybe  More words  …

  • Mental Illness and Me, part 1

    I’m bipolar. With that comes both therapy and medication. Therapy helps sort out my headspace and keeps tabs on where I am at any given moment, but medication is what really helps. Therapy is good for coping skills, for sounding off when frustrated, for validation and a kick in the pants when I’m being my…