Being a Better Writer: The Importance of Taking the Occasional Break

Morning readers! Well, actually, afternoon. Today’s post is later and a bit shorter. Because … I’ve had a frog in my throat since Friday evening, and while I’m doing pretty well to kick it out, that also means doing what I can to kick it out, and so today after arising and doing my usual morning … I was tired enough that I said “forget it, naptime” and crashed in my living room for another couple of hours.

The good news is that alone left me feeling a lot better. Sleep is powerful when you’re ill. And a frog in the throat isn’t anything deeply worrisome, but it is annoying, and left on its own it can get a lot worse, so I’m doing what I can to kick it out. I can hit midrange notes now (I was restricted to nothing but low tones Saturday evening and Sunday) so bit by bit I’m getting better.

I almost made today a sick day, but let’s be honest, if I was aware enough to read a book while Factorio finished my rocket yesterday, I’m aware enough to do a quick short post for Monday. That, and once I had looked down the list, there was a topic that was definitely worth posting about for today.

But really quickly, before we get into that, I do have some good news from the weekend: Colony picked up a fairly lengthy review on Goodreads! They loved the book, referring to it as an “underdog” that people had clearly slept on, and hoped more people would give it a chance.

Especially nice as the last “review” someone posted to goodreads admitted that they actually hadn’t read it, and just rated it based on what appeared to be some skimming of the first half and the synopsis. Yeah, real professional there.

Anyway, if you want to check out the newest review Colony has picked up, you can check it out here. And yes, the discord channel was amused that the reviewer did get a few early-story details wrong (like the team being hired by SoulComp, not the UN) but it is a huge book with a lot to keep track of, and they still liked it so … whatever!

Speaking of which, if you’d like to join the official Unusual Things Discord Server, The Makalay Camp, you can! Just hit that link there and say hello!

With that all said, let’s talk about today’s topic. Let’s talk about the importance of the occasional break.

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Christmas Break Begins!

I started it later this year, readers. But yes, I am officially on my Christmas break. What does that mean? Well, does it mean I’ll stop working on Hunter/Hunted?

No. I still want to work on that. And I will. Does it mean that there will be no posts here? Well … again, no. But it does mean that I’ll be taking a break from Being a Better Writer for a few weeks, starting today.

Simply put, readers, I am tired. These last two weeks I’ve been pulling 14 hour days easy, between keeping up with writing and all my extra shifts at my part-time job. Plain and simple I’m just tired. Not like “why am I doing this?” tired. No, not that. Just “I’m exhausted and need a break to recharge” tired.

I mean, I do this every year. And don’t worry, I’ll throw some stuff up here (sales, comments, etc) so that it’s not dead. I just need some time to recharge. Crud, I’m so burned out I’m making errors in almost every sentence I type. That’s pretty tired for me.

So yeah, I’ve still got a few work shifts left, and I’ll be writing, but here, Christmas Break has begun.

Oh, and if you missed it, don’t forget to read the Christmas Post I put up last week.

Anyway, Being a Better Writer will return around New Years, so if that’s your favorite feature of the site, that’s what you’ve got to look forward to!

Gone Fishing

If you’re seeing this post … it’s because I’m not currently connected to civilization.

I’m out on a commercial fishing vessel, working the deck in pursuit of the mighty halibut. Only for about a week, though. So I should return soon. At which point, regular content will start back up.

For now, just kick back, relax, and enjoy what’s already up. Do an archive binge. Reread your favorite post. Check out the links page.

And I’ll see you in a week or so.