How to Get Work Done–Even in “Challenging” Times

Unless you’ve been living under a very large rock, or literally out in space, you’re aware that it’s been a rather… interest year, between the pandemic, the current riots, and other things.

Now, while there have certainly been some inconveniences for me over these past several months, it’s been a super productive year, writing-wise. A couple months ago I released Galaxy Ascendant 6, An Ancient Stirring, ran a very successful Kickstarter campaign for Galaxy Ascendant 7, A Worthy Sacrifice, and, of course, I’ve also written four volumes of Light Unto Another World–that’s about 200,000 words–and prepared outlines for 6 more so far. Things might not be perfect here, but my levels of writing productivity have not dropped in the slightest.

The same can’t be said for all writers out there, however. Some of our “friends” over in the tradpub world especially are having a very tough time of it lately. Here are just a few wonderful samples.

Oh, woe is them, these blue checks with their advances, their ready mainstream support for anything they do. Poor folks just are too stressed to do their job. Wonder what they’d do if they had jobs that didn’t allow them to slack off like this?

Now, the purpose of this post wasn’t to make fun of the pathetic excuses for human beings that infest the tradpub world. As fun and as easy as that is, that’s not particularly productive. No, I’m here to give you a couple very brief pieces of advice on how to stay productive during these oh so challenging times.

First, make sure you actually enjoy what you’re doing. Don’t be a grifter; that path leads to unhappiness even if you make money at it, and eventually leads you to self destruct. Just look at good old Chuck Wendig, who has now gone private after managing to piss off the entire internet. I’ve never seen any sign that he truly enjoys writing, and it shows in his horrible work.

Second, recognize that this is a job, even if you’re not making a living from it yet. You treat writing like a job, a proper job, and I guarantee you’ll find more motivation to keep working, even if other issues slow your pace.

Third, man the hell up. Seriously, just be an adult. There are always going to be problems and challenges, on personal, national, global levels. So? You are most likely not directly impacted by these large issues on a daily basis, so why are you letting it stop you? You have goals to reach. Work toward them! There is always some time to write, and if you are truly motivated, you’ll find the time. I wrote a 20,000 word story in 5-15 minute intervals over 2 months of basic training, by hand. You can find at least a half hour or an hour a day to work on a project you’re excited about.

The world is not ending. This will pass, given time. And, if anything, the craziness should only help get the creative juices flowing.

So join me, the other authors associated with PulpRev, and all the stable indie authors out there as we show the “professionals” just how it’s done.

On a personal note, I have a number of projects currently in motion, from the Galaxy Ascendant series, whose 7th and final book will be coming in July, G-d willing, to my Patreon & Subscribestar, where I hope to start, soon, releasing exclusive content, and, of course, my next big project, Light Unto Another World. You can read a bit about it here. Four books are already written, and I hope to start releasing them by the fall. Something very different, but awesome, and I’d even go so far as to say important. Nothing is going to stop me; there’s going to be a lot of great stuff to come, no matter what craziness engulfs the world next.

Just look at who we’re up against, and you can see to whom the future belongs, G-d willing.