Echoes of Accountability: Some writing got done, so yay?
We're still here. That's what matters.
It’s been another week, hasn’t it?
My novel writing got off to a good start this week, with over 2,000 words on Monday and a little over 1,200 on Tuesday. But then we had to make another trip to town on Wednesday, I had a freelance article to get done on Thursday, and to be completely honest, this morning my anxiety was ramping up and I had to focus on regaining my peace. That involved mainly putting down my phone, opening my Bible, journaling my spiraling thoughts, and going for a long walk outside where I listed out my fears to God. There may have also been some crying involved.
I’m not going to deny that we’re living in scary, stressful times, and it’s okay to admit you’re scared. But there is peace to be found, and it’s not found in dwelling on the scary stuff but in focusing on the good, in not imagining what might happen but taking it day by day and being thankful for each day we’re given on this earth.
This whole mess has me thinking a lot about priorities, and right now my writing is not at the top of my priority list. I’m also asking questions like, is it even worth finishing this novel right now? Does anyone even want to read about zombies and post-apocalyptic survival in this current climate? But then I get online and see people having Contagion watch parties and think, maybe this is EXACTLY the climate in which people want to read that sort of thing. I don’t know. People are unpredictable.
But I do know that, for the time being, what matters more to me than finishing this trilogy or selling books is spending time with my family and focusing on my spiritual life. That doesn’t mean I’m going to quit, but I’m not going to be pushing myself too hard to meet a timeline that I set when the world was a lot different than it is now. I’m going to give myself permission over the next couple of weeks to slack off a little, maybe even to give attention to some other stories I’ve been itching to write, and just be with my people and wait and see how this whole thing shakes out.
I’m generally an optimist, and I tend to think things aren’t going to end up as bad as a lot of people are saying. But at the same time, I have a feeling that we’re all going to be touched in some way by this thing by the time all is said and done, and we’re all going to have to adjust to a new normal. So I’m loosening my grip on the plans I had for my writing and publishing this year and I’m just going to play it by ear and see how things go.
And if you’re fretting about how your plans are going to be impacted, I invite you to do the same. It’s hard to let go of our plans, but there’s a release in doing so, and freedom and relief in deciding to take things one day at a time.
This got both longer and heavier than I’d planned. I had planned to say most of this in podcast form, but once I started I realized how wiped out I am (it’s been an emotional day) and I just don’t have a podcast in me this week.
But I do have some gifts that might help take your mind off of things for a while. I’ve enrolled all of my indie e-books in the site-wide sale Smashwords is having from today through April 20th. You can get all my novellas and short story collections free for the entire duration of the sale.
This doesn’t include my Restless Spirits series, because those aren’t indie and my publisher controls the pricing on those. It also doesn’t include the Damned books because those are currently exclusive to Amazon. But you can still grab Dominion of the Damned for only 99 cents, and there are still 17 ARCs of Deliverance of the Damned available on Booksprout until the end of the month. Also, both of those titles are available to read free in both Kindle Unlimited and Prime Lending.
Also, if you need somewhere to talk about whatever, this thread is open to all if you want to leave a comment. You can talk about what you’re scared will happen, but I’d also love it if you’d talk about something good, something you’re thankful for, or maybe plans you need to lay down for a while.
Hang in there. We’re going to get through this.
♥Jean
Friday Distractions
“Funsies” sounds a little too flippant for our current collective circumstances, so I’m just going to call it what it is.
I think I’ve recced MiddleClassFancy here before. But yesterday they kept me entertained while I waited a small eternity for a site I needed for my work to load, and gave me some much needed laughs, so they’re worth recommending again. Here are a couple of gems from yesterday’s scrolling.
This one’s funny because it’s true:
And I watched this one several times and laughed harder every time (you’ll have to click through to watch the video. Trust me, it’s worth it).
Echoes of Accountability: Some writing got done, so yay?
Hang in there honey, and do what you need to do. Hubby and I are adjusting as we are both working from home for an uncertain amount of time. I'm extremely grateful we both CAN work from home in this, but it's definitely changing things up and making them strange. (My dog goes back and forth between 'This is the best thing ever' and 'Why are you still here? I want my quiet time.') For now I'm just doing my best to do work during work time and lay it down when that time is over. I'm reminding myself to read more, send more mail, and just do what I can to relax aside from that. We'll get there. Stay safe.