Almost all writers struggle with their craft at times, and I've definitely had my own bouts of writer's block. This time, however, I know it's something different. I've never actually made a lot of money from my writing, but in the past, I could be confident that I might be able to buy a week or two of groceries, or pay a couple of bills, but sales have definitely fallen off as the economy continues to struggle, and this couldn't happen at a worse time. My family is continuing to struggle, and we've had to take some drastic (legal) actions to make sure that we can keep a roof over our heads. Still, with me not able to find a "real" job, I know that I need to be making more money off of my writing, and this is putting a whole new kind of pressure on my craft. In the past, whatever I made was just extra money, but now, it needs to actually help us survive, and because of this, I'm finding it hard to write. This is a pressure I've never felt before, and I'm not always good at adapting to change...
Having said this, there are still some things that I'm getting written. I have a story that I'm writing for Boundary Shock Quarterly that's almost done. When I started on it, I thought it would be about 4,000 words. I have one more revision to do, and it looks like it will be close to 7,500 words. Hopefully they like it! This has to be done by October 1st, so I've found myself able to focus with the deadline closing in on me.
Everything else I'm working on, whether it's fiction or RPG titles, is nothing but a struggle. Maybe I need more deadlines in my life. I've tried to set artificial deadlines to see if that can stimulate my creativity, but my brain just laughs at that and ignores those deadlines.
For now, I will continue to try to get everything written that I can. We need the money, but I really don't need this kind of pressure...but I guess that's the world we live in. Maybe I'll find a job soon, and I'll find it easier to write. I know that sounds absurd, but that's just me.
No comments:
Post a Comment