Going Forward
"Hi, it's me. I'm the problem. It's me!"
Epiphany time! I have discovered I’m one of those people who can either post like a drunk raccoon on social media or I can write books. I can’t do both. I discovered I have become something of a dopamine addict and an attention-whore since 2008 or so. The good news is, no one’s forcing me to give up writing in order to troll social media.
The bad news is, I can’t do both.
So I’m going to choose writing over doomscrolling and drunk-raccoon posting.
The other thing I realized is I’m easily influenced by the excitement of others. That is the vehicle of my distractions: someone posts online about their cool new project, their upcoming Kickstarter, their new magazine, what have you. These are almost always fantasy or S&S projects. And I get excited . . . which pulls me away from what I actually WANT to do, which is write historical fiction set in Antiquity. It does this because I’m a dopamine addict, as mentioned above. Crank out a short story or two! How hard can it be? THEN go back to writing the Book.
Why not multi-task? Write both. Work on S&S on Tuesday and your historical epic on Thursday. Apollo’s dictum, from Delphi, is “Know Thyself.” I utterly lack the ability to multi-task. Even at the Night Job, attempts to multi-task end up spiralling into chaos. My brain is “one and done”. Start a task, follow it to the end, and then start another. Not start a task, then another, then another . . .
That’s why I’m not working on multiple projects. One project. See it done. Then begin another. That’s just how I’m wired. And rather than try to rewire my brain, it’s time I acknowledge its strengths and lean into what I know I can do.
THUS, we get to my point: I would like to extend my thanks to all the editors who have invited me to submit to their projects. I appreciate you thinking of me. But, I must graciously decline. I have something I’m working on, and it will take all my available time.
I plan to blog around twice a week, time and energy permitting, but I do not intend to talk about what I’m working on. Loose lips sink projects and all that. I hope this blog, going forward, can be a place where I share things that interest me. I will also be shuttering my various social media accounts. I’ll probably keep Discord and access to BlueSky (because that’s where I find most of my news), but I do not intend to be an active participant.
Let’s recalibrate the brain back to 2005, shall we?
I was in the same boat. I've been a professional cartoonist for 35 years and counting and over the last decade I got sucked into the blackhole of social media. I deleted it all six months ago. I decided I don't need to be the voice/face of my work, my work can speak for itself. Best decision I've made in a really long time. :)
I get it. Probably a good idea. Will I see you on the Book of Faces?