My Summer Writing Update: Combating Anxiety and Sharpening Focus

Summer is officially upon the Northern Hemisphere. The sun is shining. Birdsong fills the air. I decided to celebrate the season by bringing back my personal writing updates. I used to post these in the early days of the site but they fell away and were eventually archived. I believe starting them back up will help me combat the state of languishing I have been experiencing these past many months.

It was easy enough to justify procrastination with, “There’s always tomorrow,” when I was younger, but as body aches and gray hair spread, came awareness tomorrows are indeed fleeting. I’m sure splitting my focus between a few projects was a big part of the problem, along with an unhealthy anxiety which left me paralyzed with thoughts of dread and failure. I finally talked to my doctor and starting medication, which was a lifesaver. Now I just have to oil my mental gears and stoke the fires of my writing passion.

These writing updates not only serve to introduce myself and my goals to you wonderful readers, but provide myself a roadmap through the twisted forests of my imagination and keep me on track to finishing what I started. Sure, I can just post a list on my whiteboard, again, but a public update gives me a self-imposed sense of accountability. Plus the opportunity for someone to question me out when a potentially interesting project mysteriously falls off a future update. I also believe it’s beneficial to let other struggling writers know they’re not the only ones going through productivity hell.

With that all said, let’s kick this off with my current primary writing priorities:

Manuscript 1 Draft

Genre: Fantasy Thriller

There are decades of history behind this project. It began as a short story, then evolved into a screenplay, then transcended into a novel. With every step, I expanded the history and culture of my world of high magic. Blame so much time writing screenplays, but I wrote this book in present tense, which apparently is not a popular reading choice. This draft is converting it to past tense and sharpening the story. I labeled it a Fantasy Thriller because it is more of a mystery than fantasy; no elves, no evil gods, and no prophecies. My vision was a thriller story of powerful characters encountering a dangerous unknown, but with magic instead of machine guns. I originally pitched the script as “Lord of The Rings meets Predator.”

There will be a detailed article on its history, especially interacting with movie producers, closer to publication.

Manuscript 2 Draft

Genre: Technothriller

This book began as a screenplay idea years ago. I even started writing it, but set it aside. However, my current reading diet of creature feature thrillers has me excited to finish this novel and add it to someone’s beach reading list. I won’t go into detail at this time other than to say the story solidified after watching a Nova special on quantum mechanics. I completed the first draft and am now laboring through the second.

Deep In The Keep Publication Schedule

And now we reach the biggest anxiety trigger of them all. Establishing a routine is vital for a serious writer, but my warped perception of time passage, due to anxiety or undiagnosed placement on the spectrum, can make it torturous. This wasn’t much of an issue when I was posting articles whenever, but then I researched making Deep In The Keep a viable side hassle or potentially something greater.

Based on what I read, I need to generate at least 30,000 views a month to generate a part-time income, and over 100,000 views for potentially full time. Naturally, my brain fixated on the numbers and went into stand-by mode. Forget 100K, reaching 30,000 a month seems gargantuan. Some articles have amassed thousands of views, while others barely have hundreds. I haven’t reached 100,000 combined views for the site! Material isn’t as much a challenge. I have many articles, either conceived, outlined, or started. My plan is to forget about the numbers, and keep it fun and reasonable.

My publication schedule will be one article per week. Once that flow becomes mentally routine, I’ll see how best to expand it. While posting on Friday gives readers the weekend to enjoy an article, posting on Sunday gives me the extra time for completion and polish. So that’s how this phase will start, with new articles posted every Sunday, or Monday if I’m travelling, of course. It is summer after all. Got to enjoy the season. I will continue to look into diversifying my content based on what catches my attention or may be interesting for readers.

Wrap Up

Thank you for spending the time to read this article. You will see how the publication schedule works out in the weeks ahead. I look forward to the autumn update on my manuscripts and providing updates and insights into other projects. Enjoy the summer!