“Business”

I am currently on holidays, so things will be a bit weird for the next two weeks. In fact, next week I will be away from home entirely, first on a family trip, and then to Can*Con. Things are moving so quickly, and though I have the days to myself now, I feel like I haven’t any time at all.

I know I owe you all another couple of lore posts for The Lioness of Shara Mountain, and I do intent to get to it, but I am trying to organise a great many things right now, so they’ve rather fallen to the wayside.

I also owe my Ko-Fi supporters a monthly report. That will be coming this week. A week late, but at least not overly late.

As I’m writing this, I’m trying to come up with a blog post for Black Gate Magazine, which is due for publication the same day the Starlings are reading this post (Tuesday for anyone wondering). I have no idea what I’m going to write, and the more I stress, the more it eludes me.

I also have to finish the leather pieces I’m restocking for Can*Con (it’s just the two “Go Away I’m Reading” leather dust jackets), and there are two paintings I want to get done before Can*Con. One will be the usual painting for a silent auction to help raise money for the convention. The other is a gift.

And there’s editing work to be done.

And a book cover idea to explore.

I’m going to die of “too much stuff to get done.” That is an official diagnosis, damn you.

It’s a good problem to have, really. It means that things are moving.

I’m also very lucky to be able to take time off. That does mean that I’ll be able to work around very specific activity times (of which there seems to be a lot this week). Next week will be better, as, though I will be away from town, it will be quieter, and so I will be able to do a lot more as my days are less likely to be interrupted. More solid working time is nice.

I have to say, I have been on holidays for exactly one day, and I’m already feeling better. Other than the stress of getting everything ready on time, the ability to go out and about whenever I feel like it is really nice. I’ll try not to get too used to it, though as, as soon as Can*Con is over, it’s back to work.

All of September feels a bit like a lost month, really, as I was spending my evenings attempting to get my apartment in order. It was a wreck of a place as I was unable to function properly following the loss of Galahad. I can be quite untidy usually, but this was different. I was doing pretty deep cleans in between trying to live life - go to work, teach martial arts, go to martial arts training - that sort of thing. It did mean that a lot of time was spent on cleaning instead of the things I wanted to be working on - writing, painting, creating content for my Ko-Fi supporters. That sort of thing.

With the apartment in order, more or less… I’m realising now that I forgot to dust this week… and the bookshelves need some serious attention… I hope to be getting into a better schedule for the last few months of the year. With careful time management, I might be able to get done what I wanted to by the end of the year.

And if I can keep to it, by the time 2026 rolls around, I hope to have developed a habit of being creative. I have, I think, more or less established a journalling habit. There are some days when it doesn’t happen, but that’s because I’ve made the commitment to prioritise sleep, and I get home quite late Tuesday and Thursday, thanks to martial arts training. I’m in the process of developing a reading habit (I’ve spoken before about finding myself unable to read, and how I’ve been spending a bit of time before sleeping on reading… most nights. Again, I skipped some due to the prioritisation of sleep). It has been really nice to return to things that have brought me joy and kept me sane in the past.

As I move more fully towards my goals, I really do need to prioritise my creative life. This does, unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your view), come at the expense of spending time on line. Fortunately, because being too much online is not good for anyone’s mental (or physical) well-being. Unfortunately, because being online a lot is what helps writers form communities and foster relationships with readers and other writers. It’s where all the marketing happens, and I’m already terrible at the marketing stuff.

I’m a bit stressed about how to get the word out about my stuff in an already saturated market, and taking more time away doesn’t feel like a smart business move.

Except, I can’t market anything if there is nothing to market. So I have to take the time to create. Which means I can’t spend a lot of time online. Which means I can’t spend a lot of time fostering community, and trying to make my presence noticed to readers.

It’s quite the conundrum.

Still, I plan on being better about actually getting up and making stuff. Who knows? Maybe it’ll pay off to do it this way, and I’ll be able to escape the office job and then have a bit more time to be online.

Who knows about anything, really? I just know that drawing and painting make me happy, that writing is what I want to be doing with my life, and that I have to be the one to make it happen. So I’m trying.

Here’s to three months of making dreams happen! But as of now, I have to get writing those other blog posts!

Slán go foill!