Look, I’m saying it with best wishes, but maybe you should consider hiatus without any set dates.
Problem is, you can spend some time without doing work, but as long as you have it weighting on your mind, you will still gain some measure of fatique as if you did work on it, human brain is weird like that. So it adds up until some nasty writer’s block case.
Sometimes you need to let go, allow yourself completely switch your mind from it, spend some time without it weighning on you, and you could feel relief and new encouragment even after relatively short amount of rest.
I had something like this while working on my graduation work in university. I spend several months agonising over it, then completely let myself go for a couple of weeks, even accepting the fact I could quit, and then I did it in like couple of days.
Deadline for current update: Complete Stillwater one night stand: Monday(explicit stuff included)
Deadline for the rest in this segment: Mouse and Carrington early August.
Convention on-going, no work.
As LiliArch mentioned, it’s a roleplaying-game convention in Finland. Also includes “nerd” culture near it like card games, miniature games, board games, national championships for said games, lectures on subjects relating to fantasy and scifi stuff, etc.
It’s the largest convention of its type in Europe, I believe, so it’s always full of interesting things to see and try out.
The “rope” is short hand for “roolipeli”(roleplaying game) in Finnish. Also, supposedly, it does actually also mean rope, but the fantasy adventuring climb you use to climb over obstacles, rather than something you use for BDSM purposes.
I appreciate the thought, but I don’t think that’s going to work for me in this particular moment.
Currently it has(or has had) more to do with my insecurity writing on the subject matter at hand than a writer’s block or anything like that, since romance content is quite alien to me, and with the Mari Badr version getting a really good reception, it means I feel like I have to do equally well with the Stillwater version, which means huge anxiety over it and so on. (I’m prone to anxiety so it’s nothing new or alarming in itself)
While the method you described could work were the circumstances different, I don’t think I can reap the benefits since I don’t want to waste any time. Ironic, given that I’ve kinda wasted the last four months in a sense(practically speaking I should’ve gotten this done in a month, max). Were I to take any more time off, it’d be more stressful than relieving, I feel. I couldn’t help but think about not working on it every day, and so on.
Thus, it’s better to get the update out, and then work on the next. Theoretically the Mouse-Carrington stuff SHOULD be far easier since they’re much simpler than the Stillwater and Mari Badr versions anyway(per my plan anyway). There’s also nothing new to learn, and I have a good idea of what I’m going to do for each down to the specifics.
Also, I know my own personality full well, and I’m also very easily distracted and addicted to things. If I ignored Cyberpolice on purpose, I’d fill my time with the exact same things I do right now, without the potential to actually get anything done. A few weeks could pass and I wouldn’t be in any better shape to work than I am right now.
The core issue is my own life management skills in the sense that I can’t just decide “Oh, I’ll work for four hours today and relax the rest of the time”. The only way I can get stuff done is that if I set up a routine and follow it every day, but it’s tough to do when working on “uncertain” writing like what I’m doing now.
When I’m writing on subject matter I know well and am confident on, it’s not a problem to follow through once I have it set up, but with this kind of stuff it’s always really hard, since I might get stuck and not progress in a “how can I write what I want to do so it works” kind of way, rather than a “what can I write in the first place” type of writer’s block.
As such, it often happens that a routine is broken as I’m at a loss as to how I can write a certain segment in the way I want, and researching it isn’t being fruitful, then I have to quit for the day, and the next day when I start, the same problem persists and I get little to nothing done and the routine breaks.
Anyway, I appreciate the concern, but I think right now it’s best to continue the way I have, even if it’s incredibly inefficient. There’s so little left that it’d be crazy to take a break now.
If I do end up having similar problems with the Carrington and Mouse versions, then I’ll consider it, but at present I don’t foresee it being an issue. (but of course that might just be my usual terrible future prediction skills )
Deadline for current update: Complete Stillwater one night stand: Possibly tomorrow(explicit stuff included)
Deadline for the rest in this segment: Mouse and Carrington early August.
Convention over, work continues(hopefully finishes) tomorrow.
Well, it’s not so much that the current stance works great, but rather that I know what won’t work for me at the moment.
I won’t forget it. It’s always good to have different methods to try in the tool chest should the need arise.
Deadline for current update: Complete Stillwater one night stand: When it’s done this week(explicit stuff included)
Deadline for the rest in this segment: Mouse and Carrington early August.
Guess there’s no point in having the perpetual “tomorrow”, since it seems to be more dependent on chance than reality. Either I slowly churn it done this week, or I complete it in one day if I get a grip.
You’re right, I shouldn’t bring people’s hopes up only to dash them.
Once this update is over, I’ll post a more detailed account on what’s done(exact word count for the update, rough explanation of where in the creation process I am, etc).
However, that won’t help with the current “problem” at hand, since I can’t work at a linear rate, which also means an exact date is impossible since I myself don’t know that. Suppose there’s 3,000 words left until it’s done. It’s not as simple as saying it’s “3 hours of work left”. Those last 3,000 words can take a very long time, or on the other hand those 3 hours of work might be very hard for me to squeeze out of myself.
The only way I could give an exact date is if the update was already done. Anything beyond that is just an estimate.
I wish it was different, but it isn’t. I do understand the feeling of disappointment, but there’s not much I can do about it in the end, since I need to post daily to keep myself attached to the work itself.
The reason why the topic itself says the “Minor update XYZ” is exactly due to this, so that you don’t have to check the thread for the update, since it says it in the topic title, which is changed once an update is out. Many readers only check out the thread once an update is out, which is understandable given my track record. That’s the only way to not be disappointed, I’m sad to say. Perhaps at some point I can get a proper work routine going and it’ll be different, but that’s clearly not how it is at the moment.
Instead of demanding an exact release date, we should respect the author’s process and choose not to check the thread if it causes frustration.
There are many WIPs that take much longer to update, and there’s no trace of the author’s status or the WIP itself. So these daily updates are perfect for those interested in knowing how is going the project and allowing us to see that the WIP is still being worked on. Besides, as Tiavals has mentioned, it also helps the author to stay attached to the project.
The author has a life outside of writing the project, so it’s understandable that they cannot dedicate the 24 hours of the day on writing. It’s normal and understandable for updates to take time.
Unlike many WIPs, the wait is worthwhile because each update provides highly detailed and complete content.
So, if you don’t want to lose hope, simply avoid opening the thread until the title is updated.
Man, I was writing an epic about your daily updates just to watch my brain fry and forget how the English lexicon works.
Well in a nutshell: I too was annoyed by the constant daily messages getting my hopes up for an update only to see “No updates today.”
But ultimately it’s a testament to your dedication to your work and to this story. Something that I personally would not be able to imitate, my creativity is easily broken.
PS: I’ve made an anonymous feedback form on google docs. (linked in opening post too)
Feel free to post there if you have any feedback you don’t want to post on the forums for whatever reason. (positive or negative, or on a subject matter you feel is awkward, or whatever the reason may be)
(Edit: It’s been tested to work, all feedback is anonymous even if you’re signed in to your google account)
Deadline for current update: Complete Stillwater one night stand: When it’s done this week(explicit stuff included)
Deadline for the rest in this segment: Mouse and Carrington early August.
Question: Do you find posting the daily updates motivates you to keep writing? Do you think that if you didn’t post the updates, you wouldn’t be making as much progress?
Genuinely curious. Either way, I think the fact that you post updates daily is commendable. Some authors go months without posting anything. Keep it up, man. You have my full support
If I didn’t post the daily updates, I would’ve given up on Cyberpolice years ago, on multiple occasions. Near the beginning, and especially during that time when I didn’t get a real update out for a year. My progress was very slow and sporadic at the latter instance, if I hadn’t posted daily updates I would’ve lost the “thread” that kept me to the project, since the way I worked wasn’t the smartest, being scattered in several sub-paths that required a bunch of thought each.
For someone else time away from the project could’ve invigorated them, but that’s not how I’ve been historically speaking. If I step away from something, that’s it for that project. So I can’t step away for a moment longer than I must due to other reasons. That’s why I’ve been so hesitant to accept that advice whenever it’s given to me, it just hasn’t been beneficial to me in the past, at all.
The reason why I started it in the first place was because I have motivation issues and the like, and I easily give up on projects. With daily updates, that’s harder, since it keeps it in my mind, rather than drifting away from it due to other interests.
I don’t have anything to add I just wanted to send some encouragement and say that cyberpolice is one of my fav wips on this site and if you just need some time to push something out then that’s fine
Deadline for current update: Complete Stillwater one night stand: When it’s done this week(explicit stuff included)
Deadline for the rest in this segment: Mouse and Carrington early August.
Deadline for current update: Complete Stillwater one night stand: When it’s done this week(explicit stuff included)
Deadline for the rest in this segment: Mouse and Carrington early August.
Deadline for current update: Complete Stillwater one night stand: When it’s done this week(explicit stuff included)
Deadline for the rest in this segment: Mouse and Carrington early August.
