A Bigger Scratching Post

It is not going as fast as I would have hoped, but it is going at the pace I need.

I have been digging out my older writing works. Some of them are one shot short stories and others are partials for unfinished novels. I am brushing up one or two and will see if there are any literary journals that the stories might fit. This seems to be a better option to me as opposed to trying to randomly sling a completed novel at a publisher when I have zero credentials.

The To Do list is still lengthy. Getting my page here looking the way I want it happens only in short spurts. Doing it a little at a time seems better for me as I am not an expert at this. Maybe someday if I garner enough of an audience I’ll get someone to do it for me, but for now I can only rely on myself.

In some ways I am putting the cart before the horse. Getting an audience before having any book or novel to offer seems counter intuitive, but the way I see it you can have a following before you even have anything to really offer. The fickle nature of social media can have you either drowning in attention or sitting in a dry lake of apathy that occasionally has a nasty flash flood. However, neither can happen if you don’t have a boat to get into.

The slowdown comes due to the fact that I still am working full time while taking care of my aging mother, catering to nearby relatives, and nursing my relationship with my spouse. All this while trying to keep the family financially solvent and closing out situations that still linger after my father’s passing last year. It takes a lot of energy out of me and some days I only have enough energy to eat dinner, see to mom, and then put myself on the charger by either gaming, watch something, or just put my head on a pillow.

Granted, my situation isn’t as bad as it was this same time last year. I don’t feel so mentally and emotionally exhausted to the point that I couldn’t generate anything creative. Having zero in the tank was frightening for me. It wasn’t until the beginning of this year that I was able to write something. Before that I had honestly thought that the events of the year had tapped me out of being able to create anything at all. That for me would have labeled my soul officially dead.

It has been exciting to brush off these older pieces and knock them into better shape. It has also been interesting to see how much I’ve progressed as both a writer and as just a person in the last 5 years. Yes, I have had a few what-was-I-thinking horror moments while reading a few passages. The cringe was fierce. Things I wrote just three years ago had me breathing sighs out my nose and I broke open a whole fresh box of red pens knowing I was going to need them.

It is a welcome aggravation.

Social media wise I’m putting together the bits and pieces of what I need. Website wise, equipment wise, study wise. There is a lot to study and understand about what will and won’t work for me as a writer and gamer/streamer. Some Social Media can be very intensive and while I don’t intend to be a heavy content provider I still want to streamline what I can do so it isn’t as difficult to keep working at it.

Again, all this is coming at a slow pace, but a good slow pace. One that I don’t feel overwhelmed at and that’s what matters.

Game on!