The last time we spoke, I wrote about how hard it was to square my current lifestyle with the needs of my writing, which explained why I have not had as much output in the last year. Mainly, I spoke about how I was doing more in-office work, which limited my time and, more importantly, my headspace to pursue extracurriculars. The other thing was that I seem to be writing a lot without getting anything done — a symptom of either choosing large, ambitious projects, or not knowing which project I like best, as well as possibly not being able to focus on quality control the way I’d like.
It’s still true that I have too many things on the go. But I’ve cut the knot in my own way — I quit my office job recently.
No, I did not quit to seek my fortune as a writer of TG Fiction. I still plan to seek out another desk job, but the truth was, getting up in the small hours of the morning, pushing myself to go an hour down the road (90 minutes door to door) and coming home just in time to have dinner and crash out on the couch for a job about which I was not overly passionate was not working with any aspect of my life. I needed a change.
While I am on the job hunt, a status I expect will last for some time, but who knows, I do have some mental and physical energy to pursue my passion. I’ve been out of work for two or three days (depending on when you start counting — technically because of vacation payout, today was the first day I will not be paid for) and I’ve already written 5000 words.
The thing is, that 5000 words is of a story I had not planned on writing. I got an idea, I had to pursue it, and there you go. I may only be halfway into the story, or a third, depending on what happens. but the point is, I may not have crossed anything off my to-do list, but I did prove that I am not letting this time go to waste.
Assuming I don’t find myself full-time employment in the next few months, it’s going to be a very busy summer for me. I want to finish a lot of what I started over the last year, which includes:
- At least one new novella, maybe two, one of which I have already written a large chunk
- At least one, but maybe three or more, new installments of Poles Reversed (at least one of which I’m already well into)
- A number of short (or medium) stories that have been on my mind for a long time
- Continuing my work with characters at The Trading Post, including introducing at least one new one
- Further work on my first-ever Fantasy novel, which I hope to have done in Fall 2026
- As well as a ton of stuff under my true identity that I won’t be speaking about here
This is all in addition to job-searching, getting a good night’s sleep, walking and playing with my dog, gardening, keeping my house clean, running a ton of other errands, appreciating my wife, and maybe occasionally seeing family.
I’ve also tentatively accepted my first-ever commissioned story and am preparing — but not quite at ready — to open myself up to more.
It’s clear that I’ve set my sights way, way, way too high, but there are a few things to note here: All of the above goals are just that: goals to aim for. I am not obligated to meet all, or any of them; they are simply things that I hope to achieve with the time available to me. I accomplished a lot while I was working 8 hours per day at this very desk — what could I be capable of now that I have nothing but time?
In all, I don’t want to pressure myself into producing — I’ll be happy if I can at least spend the majority of my time on the road to getting these things done, even if I have little to show for it.
I hope to have something more for you soon (at the very least, there will be stuff at the Trading Post.) Thanks for your support, and be kind
-Liam