This is my 35th week posting on Substack. Emails from Substack tell me that I am in the top 8% of publishers on their site. That’s fine. It sounds good to me.
My work schedule will be different for the next few months. I need to get back to working on the drafts for the big novels and try to get book two published before the end of 2024. The draft for book 2 is complete. I just need to edit it. I have a draft for another novella completed, but it’s just going to sit for a while.
It may seem strange to say, but after about 3 years of attending 30 to 40 meetups per week, last week I attended zero. I have been slowing down all of this year, starting in January. After spring break, I was attending less than 20, and it kept decreasing. Two weeks ago, I was at three, and last week I was at zero. It felt like a relief to let that go. It is a lot of work attending art, writing, book discussions, and other meetups and being very productive with many different creative projects.
Now that I am at zero, I feel that I have reset something inside me. I think there was some negative psychological pressure that was building within me, and I had to find some way to break it down. I felt tired. I am taking a break. Weeks from now, I may reverse course and start adding a few meetups—one per day.
I have given up all my meetups for now. I will keep working on projects, but I will use my time and energy carefully and try to have more time for relaxing, doing nothing, or watching movies.
One thing I have needed to do is research for my stories instead of spending time and being sidetracked by reading the “popular novels” that the book group meetups I am part of are posting for their meetings. There are benefits to reading popular novels, but that is not what I need to do more of at this time.
See I am planning more work for myself already. The big story thread for the novels can’t continue until I have gained more knowledge.
I have completed reading 54 books this year so far. Some of the books are on science topics, history, religion, and other writer’s novels. The goal is a minimum of 90 books for 2024. It has been around 90 books for each of the last three years. Right now the goal is to read fewer novels and do more research for my writing projects. I read the book Four Battlegrounds (Subtitle: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence) by Paul Scharre about two weeks ago and it felt good and enjoyable to read it. I am currently working on the audiobook version of Upheaval (Subtitle: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis) by Jared Diamond. I feel I am learning something and moving in the right direction and that feels rewarding to me.
I may be posting less on Substack, but I am not sure. Some engine in my head might turn on and then I will have several things to post. Thirty-five weeks is a good writing streak posting little messages on Substack. It is a good habit. I have one post ready for next week.