The Pace of Writing

I have been writing books nearly continuously for the last six years. In that time, I’ve had seven books published, with three more due out this year. Most of these books have been shorter works, but, considering I’m only a part-time writer with a full-time job, it has been a major time commitment. Now, I’m nearing a break. My last, major commissioned project is nearing completion. I have a couple of other projects on the go, but they are comparatively small.

            The truth is, I’m worn out. My writing pace is incompatible with other life events, most notably the care of my young daughter. With the end of my current projects in sight, it is a good time to take stock and reassess.

I need some time to refill the creative well which is running a bit low. Certainly, the amount I have called upon it has outstripped the time I have spent filling it. For me, there are two ways to restock creativity. The first is through reading. Reading is by far the best way to collect ideas, and ideas breed and multiply. Absorb a few from other writers and pretty soon you’ll be overflowing with new ideas of your own. The other method is travel, seeing new stuff. This doesn’t have to be long trips to strange foreign lands (although those are great), this can really be as little as going to a new neighbourhood, or the valley just over the hill, or even going to a new museum. It doesn’t hurt that I live in a country that is covered in history.

So, going forward, I intend to spend less time and less mental energy on writing and more time reading and seeing new things. I especially want to devote some time to revisiting a few of the authors who originally made me want to be a writer. 

This doesn't means that I’m going to quit writing. I don’t think I could even if I wanted to. I just want to free myself from long term commitments and work on more short pieces. Most importantly, I want to return to writing fantasy short stories, from which I derive the greatest satisfaction. Heck, I might even manage to write a few more blogs.

 Also, I want to spend more time enjoying my works. This is most true for my forthcoming wargame, Frostgrave. I want to be free to participate in the excitement the game will hopefully generate in the gaming community.