Get It Together

We are now halfway through October and I’ve published a whopping three short stories and, now, one blog post.

Woof.

To say this year has been stressful is an understatement.

When the country is falling apart because people believe in a reality fabricated over decades by Fox News and the like, I have an incredibly hard time being creative.

I spend so much time on social media and news outlets.

I’m at this weird point where I don’t want to know what’s going on, but I absolutely do because I need to be informed.

There have been so many TikTok videos of people expressing the same feelings, so I know I’m not alone, but being a blue dot in a red state can feel lonely at times.

There was one person I came across who said something along the lines of how now it is more important than ever to be creative.

That creativity is essential to combating authoritarian regimes.

And I’m really trying.

Especially since I write romance and erotica, two niches Republicans want to eliminate from the public sphere.

And so here I am, trying to get my ass in gear and create.

I’m lucky to still have a day job that allows me the time to write fiction.

And I almost lost it.

Earlier in June, DOGE wiped us out.

I’m a technical writer working on a government contract. Even though I have known this was coming since November, it still hit so hard when we were notified that we were being laid off.

And I had done little to prepare.

I decided to see it as an opportunity to really get into my writing. But my finances were nowhere near ready to support me so I freaked the fuck out along with everyone else.

But I got so lucky.

The one technical writer selected to stay decided she was done and wanted to move on to other things. I was next in line.

So, while I still have a day job, and who knows for how much longer that will be, I am working toward a steady writing schedule.

I have become so addicted to my smart phone that after only moments of writing, I find myself gravitating to my phone for no apparent reason. It’s fascinating and terrifying.

I have little ability to set my mind to what I want to do.

So that’s where I’m starting.

I’ve been doing mini meditations and writing sprints to slowly get myself back into the groove of writing.

I have the last two shorts done in the incubus erotica collection drafted. I wrote them back in July and have had the covers done for ages now, but sitting down to finish them has been an absolute struggle.

Here’s to finishing the year as strong as I can.