On Burnout

Yep, you can probably tell this post will be a cheerful one.

So burnout is something that I think every writer hates to imagine happening to them. Part of it is the fact that any writer who is truly invested in the work they are doing hates to believe that the day will come that they will wake up, look at that wonderful fresh blank screen or that manuscript in slight need of refinement and say "Man I don't have the energy for this today." Another part is the fact that there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of advice on how to get over burnout. It's not quite the same thing as writer's block, where you are trying to get past a difficult part of a story or something. It's more a sudden exhaustion of your ability to create things, a fatigue that settles over you and prevents you from going through the whole process of writing, and that is a whole different animal to fight off. There's kind of an impression that makes it seem almost impossible to recover from.

In any case, burnout is probably what I managed to achieve for myself the past few months, and I've been paying the price for it lately. After publishing Murders, I launched into a rewrite of Broken Halo, quickly followed by writing over a hundred thousand words in Eagle's rough draft. At the same time, I was working quite a bit of overtime for my day job, trying to figure out a new career path for myself and my family, moving to a new apartment, and dealing with the everyday chaos that occasionally happens in life. Needless to say, I was a bit overconfident about my ability to handle that much of a workload, and my productivity after that point kind of broke down as I was trying to start a new project.

Since then I've been struggling to recover somewhat, a fact that's been reflected more or less here on my blog. My apologies to the handful of you who were looking for more updates here. I'll skip the stereotypical promise to update more frequently, but I hope that I won't vanish for months again this time. I also hope that no one takes this post as a sign that I am not planning on finishing the series that I've already started. Eagle will come out this year, though likely later than originally planned, as will Broken Halo. Glasswitch and Social Contract might be held off until the following year by necessity, but then again publishing eight or nine novels in two years was a bit ambitious for a part time writer.

In any case, I'm still working along, and hopefully avoiding the burnout this time. I hope all of you are doing well, and I will see you around.

On the Roller Coaster

Yeah, it's definitely been up and down these past few days.

My book has been selling really well! In fact, we're doing well enough that it's kind of inspired a paranoia level paradox in me. Am I just building my hopes up to be brought down hard later on? Will a bunch of the new readers decide it sucks now and one-star review me? Maybe it's all just a government conspiracy meant to lull me into complacence? (You can tell I've been writing cyberpunk, huh?) I am excited and uncertain and jumping up and down over this success in something I've dreamed of forever. It's kind of like a dog actually catching a car they've been chasing for years. What do I do with it now?

On the other end, somebody found a typo. Left an extra word in that needed to be removed. Crud. At least it is only one in like 120k words right? I just need to change that up.

Also, had a wonderful interview today that should be going up on the 20th. I will post the link when it does. Look forward to it.

I've been able to start work on the bonus material for Kingsley, and I am enjoying it immensely. For those not in the loop, I've decided that people who buy the hardback and paperback versions of Kingsley will get an extra little bonus at the back of the book, mostly as a reward for buying the more expensive version. My wife has been reading it over my shoulder and I've won a few appreciative head scratches, so it should work out well!

Also, I've been plugging away at Social Contract. Somehow all the success that Wolfhound is enjoying has put a lot of pressure on me to not screw up the new book. That stress is relatively frustrating at this point, because every first draft has giant gaping holes in it that need to be resolved. I should be worrying more about how to set up the setting and lay groundwork for the future character development, but then the realization that people are going to expect a good story out of me now intrudes. Grg.

Yeah, you can see how chaotic things have been. My own private little roller coaster. So far it is turning out to be a fun ride though, so I can't complain. Hope everyone is doing alright out there, and as always, thank you for your support. See you around!

On the State of the Writer

Friday was somewhat less than a good day. I think I basically hit my stress limit in terms of all the projects that I've been working on, and my brain decided to take a little vacation. My apologies for those who have been awaiting any news from me. I know there were many who were holding their breath. :)

In any case, my most recent question is if I should try to publish Kingsley indie style or traditional style. Going indie with Kingsley means further investment out of my own pocket, but it offers rewards quicker. Traditional means waiting a year or two to see if the publishers will want to pick it up, which will tax my patience, but it would reach a broader market and require less financial backing on my part.

Which side do you guys come down on? I know some of you have already weighed in, but feel free to give your opinions. See you around!

On Not Burning Out

Well, so I've managed to keep up my level of writing. I made 10,000 words at the very last minute of last Saturday, which brings the wordcount for Kingsley up to 60,000 words over all. It was an achievment that I'm actually kind of proud of. After all, I've made a goal and stuck with it in spite of the chaos my life has been lately.

However I am starting to wonder if I am risking a burn out. Sera is managing to keep me on the sleep deprived side, and 10,000 words is not an easy thing to do. On top of that I have my job, a beastly commute and other obligations to take care of as well.

So are there any tricks to keeping up a rough schedule without burning out? Or should I just not whine and get to work? Hopefully over the next couple of weeks I manage to figure the answer out, because life is only going to get more complicated from here. Anyway, I hope you are all doing well, and I will see you around!