Recent occurrences, and one big life decision

First off, let me say I’ve updated my events page – I’m going to be a busy writer in the run up to Christmas! Check it out.

Second off, I’ll be popping up in an anthology early next year – the Art of War. It’s for charity. You should totally order a copy – there are a LOT of great authors participating. We’re not fundraising for this or doing a kickstarter – the collators are funding it all themselves – so all you need to do is purchase a copy to raise money for Doctors without Borders.

Third off, I made a pretty big decision last month. It’s something I’ve been mulling over and pondering with my husband for a while, and finally got to the stage where it was do or die. No, I’m not having a baby. ARE YOU MAD? WHY WOULD YOU EVEN THINK THAT?

I gave up work. I’m now, for all intents and purposes, a full-time writer.

Holy.

Shit.

You.

Guys.

I’m still only just into this new lift – in fact, this is day 2 of being a full-time writer – so I don’t have any wise learnings to share with you. I’ve got a few basic plans, including making sure I leave the house and interact with people who don’t solely exist in my head every single day, and making sure that I get up and get dressed and brush my teeth at the same time as I would if I was going to work.

Because I am going to work. It’s just that my office is now significantly closer to home because it is, in fact, my home. This is my job now, and I need to do it very, very well. In order to justify giving up a salary for a year – because this isn’t permanent unless I sell a bazillion copies and earn serious royalties, or HBO/Hollywood come calling – I need to be super productive and write some seriously good words. I need to get ahead in the book-writing stakes so that when (if) I go back to work, I’m not struggling with adapting to a new company while continuing to produce enough good word count to hit my deadlines.

I also need to retain my sanity, my health and fitness, and my ability to interact with society. I need to be able to go for job interviews when the time comes and not discover I’m still in my pyjamas and all I can talk about is the best way to amputate a rotting limb or how to best someone in unarmed combat.

I need to not annoy the husband by forgetting to wash up, or put the washing on, or do the ironing, or take dinner out of the freezer, and all that stuff.

Still, although I’m already reminding myself not to forget stuff, the biggest thing to remember is: this is the dream. This is what I’ve always, always wanted to do. And this is my chance. I have to get it right.

And even more importantly: if I decide I can’t hack it, that’s fine too.

Maybe I’ll end up really missing going to work. Maybe the solitude will get too much. Maybe my brain will implode from ALL THE WORDS.

Who knows? Not me. But right now, it’s all about the fun. The creativity. The words.

It’s all about the words. 

Currently reading: Women at War in the Classical World, Paul Chrystal AND Godsgrave, Jay Kristoff

Currently listening: Dances with Wolves soundtrack

Currently watching: Killjoys season 3