Taking a Break

I don't do that enough, that header thing up there. If you're any kind of creative (and all it takes is the enjoyment in making things to be one), then you have probably hit one of those stubborn spells where you just don't want to give up until it's done.  Sometimes it's putting together that impossible piece of Ikea furniture that can help anyone relate to this.

With these monster projects, it's just not feasible, which might very well be the reason why the fanfic scene hit a point of annoyance for me right now. I'm not in instant gratification projects when it comes to sharing (the work, yes, but the output is secret until it's done) and I can't relate so I don't try to.  I need to take breaks.  No matter how much I burn the midnight oil, I have to multiply that by two months to get a draft into something I'm proud to start petitioning for a market. On a side note, I love fanfic, but I realized it's something for me and not something I want a fandom for.

Which brings me to a thought I've been considering.  I would love to do a webtoon.  There, I said it.  It's one of those things I can do for free that doesn't have to be a huge undertaking. It will give me a chance to share my art and short visual stories, gain exposure that could generate income if it is successful. That might be a nice in-between project in the years to come that lets me ease back into comic book art once more.  I do have a couple friends that have asked me to do comics with them, but it's also something I don't have the equipment to do quickly unless the art quality is low or the process is tedious shouldering all of the art myself.  

After doing everything myself for my first self-published vanity project, I'd love to be able to delegate some work to other people and have time for more projects I actually want to do-- namely drawing and writing.  I can do the technical part, sure, but I'm not fond of it.  People who love it should do it and I'm more than happy to hand it to someone who actually doesn't have the blind devotion to it that I do.  Let them catch things with their cold icy reflexes.

I've resigned myself to giving up some control to let UnNamed be more market-friendly, let it get the attention it deserves.  I wrote nine books, fanfiction, blogs, a few other incomplete (so far) drafts in other genres to get UnNamed where I was confident it would succeed.  

As I've said before, I've always known that my first series was rough.  I knew it broke the anal rules of 'show, don't tell' and more besides, but it would have been pointless to completely rewrite them when the ideas were more important.  Maybe it's because I'm a comic book fan writing a book.  I don't give a shit if you tell me what to see-- I can override that with my imagination and never held it against an author.  I did however keep that in mind for UnNamed.  I kept a lot of things in mind for the market, but ultimately, it has to keep me entertained too.  There is me and people like me who will not have what we want if we write for everyone else because it's what we're supposed to do. Writers claiming 'rules' are pretentious.  Someone's success does not dictate yours.  I pore over advice blogs a lot, but some of them just border on ridiculous when applying common sense.  Chapter length equating success? Purple prose vs. short and sweet? At some point, you are assuming way too much about taste.  Bookmarks are a thing, skim what you don't like, or just move on.  That's what people do and some advice kind of just seems condescending and pointless even for beginners.  Hell, even harmful for people of all skill levels that DO take things literally.  

I'll say this again-- it's extremely oxymoronic to be subtle about writing advice.  There is no point in giving it unless it is literal.  Explain the shit.  Vague advice is fucking pointless.  And you know I mean it because I used my dirty, foul, uncouth emphasizers which clearly show my lack of intellect, if you believe everything the internet tells you.  

In any case, authors have a range of goals and definitions for success, I don't have to tell anyone that (or maybe I do because assumptions don't do a lot of good). 

What was I even talking about?  That header tells me I took a weird turn into the wrong part of town.

Who plans blogs anyway? (Not me...)

In any case, breaks are super important, whether I like them or not.  Sometimes 'breaks' are mini-projects, not just stopping to eat or relieve myself or the basic needs like exercise. Did the same thing with crochet, where I always had two big projects laced with smaller ones to get some smaller gratification from sharing things that were done quicker. I find that this applies to any current obsessions.  Some people are completely absorbed in one project.  Good on you, but that never works for me.  I keep my worlds ready in containers and can easily reabsorb multiple places. Then again my childhood was about waiting for people who didn't show up, so call it a survival skill that I could always slip into many places at once.  And while it does boggle my mind when people literally only do one thing ever-- what do you other than write? You mean there are other things?-- it usually becomes a little clearer once you learn about their lives.  Some people who are creative hold long, boring day jobs and are lucky to get an hour or two of what they really like to do.  I was there once.  Still had a million hobbies that I spread thin, but to each their own. Even then, take breaks! And I will keep hoping for the day that the economy really works for people someday. Without going into politics, I do believe it is possible to stop touting the 8+ hour work day as viable.  I've seen some good articles on the productivity of people.  Only thing stopping it is corporate greed.  Sorry, capitalism, you're crippling human progress.

Okay, back to my editing.  I love bloggy breaks, but I really had no point but to ramble. I kinda need to do that sometimes.  Whoever had the advice to use a blog as an author rant, I love you.  Really.  Because there is zero gratification in taking it to the dinner table with family or starting shit on social media.  This is the absolute best outlet that still lets my friends and family choose to be a part of it. Or lets passive-aggressive randoms drop hints about stalking me. Whatever. (See what I did there?  Counter terrorism...) No, seriously-- I just don't want people telling me what they consider appropriate. Agree to disagree on morality, always...

I did say back to editing. I'm turning into my mom on the phone.  Good-bye can signal another 30 minutes of talking. Man, I miss that though.

Mwah!  Keep writing... or doing all the other things.