Avatar photoSteven Savage

Tired Is OK, Tired Is Not OK

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, Steve’s Tumblr, and Pillowfort.  Find out more at my newsletter, and all my social media at my linktr.ee)

If you subscribe to my newsletter you know I’ve been exhausted lately.  The decrease in blog posts and the less enthusiastic updates may have also tipped you off.

So anyway, I’ve been exhausted.  Work, various world crises, allergies, friends and family with COVID, and so on have really piled up.  I’m not saying I’m unique – I’m not – I’m just noting that “yeah, stuff got to me.”

For a while I kept trying to force myself to get active, and as you can guess it failed.  Finally, I had to accept that it’s OK to be tired.  I’m pretty sure some of you out there need to realize that as well.

Look, the state of the world has been dismal and we’ve got plenty else piling on.  I’m trying to catch up on Monkeypox and heat waves, it’s a bit much.  I get that you’re probably tired, and know what it’s fine, you’re human.

I am annoyed that things I want to do aren’t done, but I’ve accepted it.

The funny thing? Now that I’ve been able to admit I’m just tired I’ve tried pushing myself to see what I can get done.  This isn’t done out of guilt or anything, it’s done as a way to see if pushing myself is therapeutic.  I’m actually getting more done!

This isn’t out of guilt or self-loathing, it’s a test of a treatment.  It’s going pretty well!  Though some of my other treatments are things like sleep in more.  However, I’d never get to trying to deal with my tiredness without accepting it.

Next time you’re feeling tired – which might be now considering the state of the world – it’s OK, accept it.  That’s the way for you to start to treat it, because you won’t fix it by ignoring it or berating yourself.  You have to start where you are.

Where you are may be really damn exhausted.

Steven Savage

Writing With Friends, Friends With Writing

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, Steve’s Tumblr, and Pillowfort.  Find out more at my newsletter, and all my social media at my linktr.ee)

Serdar’s latest article on feedback investigated why we need feedback to know we’re not going wrong. Positive feedback has its limits, after all.

That article got me thinking about feedback from my fellow writers and socializing with my fellow writers. These are things that I others value, but I’ve come to realize that you don’t always get them from the same people.

It’s essential to have feedback from fellow writers because they’re fellow writers. There are some things only a fellow writer can provide, such as the best tools or personal stories. Even your fans can’t give that kind of feedback.

But we also want to socialize with fellow writers. We want people to get us and share our triumphs and complaints. Writers want to connect with each other – just like anyone else. Forget feedback – can I just hang out with someone who sort of understands.

These things don’t always come from the same people, which is a difference I’ve struggled to deal with. COVID isolation has only made it worse, cramming all my writing relationships into a few social media apps.

Sure, I want feedback from my fellow writers, but the ability to learn from each other may not mean you’re friends. You may not have enough similarities, be too busy, etc..  You may find some writing relationships only work in the professional sense.

But as for being friends with fellow writers, that’s a whole different sphere. Your friendship may be built – or grow around – things unrelated to writing. You may find you enjoy hanging out and don’t want to drag writing into it. Friendship is different than professional relationships.

As I navigated COVID and our current “not quite a disaster but damn” phase of COVID, I and others are trying to build and rebuild relationships. I find myself craving feedback and friendship with fellow writers, something they often share. We’re constantly trying to sort out what we’re looking for or what function a writer’s group serves.

We writers might need to pause and what relationships we’re looking for – and how current relationships work. We might have more than we know, less than we wanted, or find we’re confused about relationships.

But at least we’ll know.

Steven Savage

Steve’s Update 7/10/2022

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, Steve’s Tumblr, and Pillowfort.  Find out more at my newsletter, and all my social media at my linktr.ee)

“Think Agile, Write Better”: I had a few interruptions, but seem to have my pace back. It’s still slower than I’d like because of the “change of voice,” but that’s the way it goes.  I’m going to push this hard so I can get a draft out to people.  

It’s fascinating to write because it’s helping me review my own writing and see where I did well – and flaws where I didn’t practice what I preach!  It’s really a personal book and I can’t wait for my beta readers to check out the new tone.

The Seventh Sanctum rewrite: I’ve got the setup tested, but did not get it out like I wanted because my attempts at “uninterrupted time” did not happen.  There’s a few parts where I need an uninterrupted block of time and focus, which I haven’t had.  So at this rate I’m just going to keep trying to ram it out while staying nimble.

The Way With Worlds series: As note on hold until Q3 or so, when I’ll write “Disaster Response and Worldbuilding.”  Cover conversion goes well – I’m going to try to do one a week.  As for converting the books over, that’s probably much later this year.

The Compendium of Writing Advice: I’m putting off even thinking about this until September.  I need it off my mental plate!

Plus there are giveaways!

Steven Savage