Hoping in the Dark

Right now it seems hard to be optimistic about the future. I've struggled to be positive or even excited about what the rest of the year holds. There has been a lot of pain, chaos, loss and struggle already this year. 

What I keep remembering is that is okay and healthy to not be positive all the time. That way leads to toxic positivity and that's no good for anyone because it ignores pain and hard truths in front of us. Pain can often tell us when something is wrong and that is a vital voice to listen to. 

I have no idea what the future holds or where we go from here. What I hold onto is that I know of so many amazing people fighting for changes, so many healthcare workers making a difference and saving lives and so many artists spreading creativity around the world. The actions of every day people give me hope because it helps me feel less alone in the tumbling of a world that feels strange and scary. 

I'm holding on to the people I love and creating the things I love as my dock in the dark waters of 2020. Take my hand and we can hang on together.

This is my latest pep talk from my Newsletter which I have finally sent out! If you're not part of the newsletter, you can sign up here.  

Camp NaNoWriMo!

July is just around the corner and that means that Camp NaNoWriMo will be kicking off soon!

What is Camp NaNoWriMo? Inspired by NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) held every November, this camp offers the chance to try to complete a word-related goal throughout the summer. The goals are more flexible for you to set yourself (rather than the standard 50,000 for NaNoWriMo) and are open to all sorts of projects.

Because of the flexibility and customizable nature of the camp it can be a great launching point! I’m hoping to use the month of July to get started on some new projects!

Here’s one of my favorite YouTube channels, Heart Breathings, talking about Camp NaNoWriMo for her.

If you sign up, let me on so we can cheer each other on!

Lucky Potion Oracle Companion Planner!!

OddMixMarket is one of my favs and I was thrilled to help with writing intrepretations for the Lucky Potion Oracle Deck. Now he's put together an amazing companion to go with it!

I'm a bit planner obsessed so I am so excited about this. With the beautiful artwork from OddMixmarket, a weekly layout with space for goals, habits and even tracking your water, this companion is gorgeous! It also contains some snippets from my Lucky Potion intrepretations to give you something to meditate on for the week.

The kickstarter is live now and runs through July 15th so if you're into oracle decks, awesome art and planners, don't miss out!

Festival of Magic Review on Speculative Chic!

My review on an amazing DnD one-shot adventure is now live on Speculative Chic!

Running Dungeons and Dragons games while on lock-down has led to an increased number of games, so I’ve turned more and more to pre-written one-shot adventures. This is the latest adventure I have run, and let me say that rarely have I enjoyed a game more.

The premise is simple: a Festival of Magic is returning after tragic incidents and needs some extra protection to make sure that things go off flawlessly. Your group of adventurers is hired on to keep an eye on things.

Then the flaming octopus shows up at a bar.

Read the review here.

Black Lives Matter

Just in case, it's not clear I stand: Black Lives Matter.

If you're looking to get involved and do the work, I suggest starting with some of the great resources on the official Black Lives Matter website

Con-Tinual

Are you missing conventions? I know I am.

2020 was the year I planned to return to attending conventions on a regular basis so I’m bummed that isn’t able to happen.

However, some friends have some up with a great option to help ease that pain, a virtual non-stop space for nerds to gather, talk and share. Authors talk about books, vendors share their items and debates about the best Star Trek episode linger on.

It’s like a convention right on your Facebook feed!

Join in the fun on the Con-Tinual page and I’ll see you there!

(I’ve just realized my last few posts all are about Cons (ConCarolinas, Control and now Con-Tinual) so that’s fun.)

Control

Control is one of the hardest things for me to let go of. I like being able to control things. Not in an evil dictator sort of way but in a way that means I know what is going to happen. You do X task and y happens. I want a simple formula that works with known results. 

So why in the world do I write, right?

Writing is one of the fiels where you have the least amount of control. I cannot garuntee anything. I can't control how well a book sells or if a publisher or agent likes my work. I can't control the number of five star reviews or how many people give a book a bad review. I can't control what the markets will do or what the next hot genre will be with 100% accuracy. 

At times it is incredibly frustrating and difficult at times. It makes it hard to really decide what to work on at times. It's easy to get lost in the 'nothing I do really matters, so what bother' kind of nihilism.

What I have found helps is to focus on what I can control, however small that might be. 

I can control my writing, showing up for the work on getting words onto the page. I can control the time I spend staring at social media and doubting myself. I can control how much time I spend being inspired by other creative work.  I can control how I am taking care of myself (and the answer to that question is usually very poorly. I am working to get better at self-care.) 

What matters is that I am turning my focus to the things I can do, not what is totally outside of my control. I can't change Amazon adjusting the way royalty rates are handled or that another writer is able to easily create 10,000 words a day. What I can and must focus on are the things that I can do. 

Look small and focused on where you can make an impact and start there.

ConCarolinas all Online

The full schedule for the online ConCarolinas is now available!

Make sure you join in next weekend for some amazing online panels, discussions and fun!

Full schedule is available here.

The Quitcast and Writer Burnout

A shift from the sleep saga and into a series I have recently found and loved. 

The Quitcast talks about things for writers to consider quitting. The video series on Burnout is one of the best discussions on the topic for writers that I have seen. It made me realize just how very badly I burned out in 2019....and 2018... and 2017....and... 

Well you can see a pattern emerging. 

I highly recommend checking out this series and learning a bit more about how to manage your energy and be aware of what burnout is, how it hits, and how to get out of it. 

Episode 1 of the Quitcast’s discussion of burnout in writers.

The Sleep Saga Begins

If you follow me on social media you'll notice I've been posting about having a hard time sleeping. This has been going on for months, before lockdown even started, and I have, for the most part, been just continuing on as though everything is normal and super fine.

I've finally accepted that if I want my sleep to get better I've got to make some actual changes. So starting last night I'm starting my project, The Sleep Saga, where I will try different techniques to create the perfect bedtime routine to get a great night's sleep.

So the first strategies I am trying:

1. No screens for at least 30 minutes before bed.

2. No books. (I get sucked into novels way too easily and stay up late reading!)

3. No caffeine after 12.

4. Lavender lotion on my face and lavender spray on my bed sheets.

5. Chamomile or other soothing tea before bed.

Night one was a success with me getting over 6 hours of sleep naturally for the first time in months so whoohoo! I'm hoping that sharing my journey here will help anyone else struggling right now and also will keep accountable with actually doing it. Fingers crossed for that mythical 8 hours!