Looking into the Abyss of 'Why Bother'

by Judy Black

I have to be honest, the past month I have been struggling. 

My mind constantly circles the 'why bother doing this?' question constantly. I wonder if I'd be better off spending my limited free time sleeping or catching up on all the TV shows I still haven't watched. I wonder if it's worth it, or if anyone would care if I stopped making things. 

Thankfully, I have a wonderful group of creative friends who worry about this too, but who also grab my shoulders and shake me while lovingly screaming 'I'd care if you stopped making things you weird little potato!' which is very reaffirming. 

But, almost every creative person I know struggles with this question. Circles this abyss and feels it start to pull them apart.

Creating things is hard in the best of times. 

Creating things when *gestures vaguely to the chaos of the world* is happening, feels impossible, like trying to bail out a boat with a cracked teacup.

But every time I think 'I'll just stop, why bother?', I can't bring myself to put down the cracked teacup. I want to create, I want to share stories, and games, and weird little ideas with all the people out there like me. Creation is a way to share pieces of ourselves with the wider world, to say 'I'm not alone, and neither are you' and it feels magical when that connection is made. 

So, to everyone else out there circling the edge of the abyss, staring into that bleakness of 'why bother?', I see you and I'll hold your hand until you can move from the edge, and you'll hold my hand when I inevitably teeter towards the edge because that is what art in all its many forms does.

It connects us when we feel like no one else understands our hearts. 

So, I guess all this rambling is just to say, why bother? Because I want all the other weirdos like me to feel a little less alone in this chaotic, scary world. 

This article originally appeared in Judy Black's email newsletter.

[Link] THE LIES BEHIND PRODUCTIVITY

by Andrea Judy

Sharing time! I'm obsessed with productivity tips and blogs. Articles like '7 Habits Only Happy People Have' and '12 Ways You Waste Time Every Day' devour my morning and leave me feeling productive even when I have literally just spent 3 hours on LifeHacker and have nothing to show for it but chapped lips, dry eyes and a lingering sense of guilt. 

While I love reading about these tips, it's just because it feels productive without me having to actually do anything hard. Reading an article? Psssha, that's easy work and a total time waster, but this article will teach me how to optimize my morning so I get everything done and become a productivity ninja! 

That's not to say that these articles don't share good advice or fun tidbits of information that make you feel great about yourself. (I mean, did you know that millionaires tend to smile a lot. I smile a lot, I'm totally on the way to being a millionaire since we have so much in common.) However, at some point it's time to stop with the fun articles and buckle up for a ride. 

Read the full article: http://www.judyblackcloud.com/blog/2017/3/13/the-lies-behind-productivity

[Link] Writing with a day job

by Andrea Judy

Most of the writers I know manage some kind of a day job for at least 40 hours a week, but sometimes a lot more than that, as well as all of their writing projects. It can be really hard to figure out ways to manage that and in my case, I don't even have a spouse or kids to complicate my schedule further. What I want to share today are some tips and tricks I’ve found to help manage my energy while spending my day working.

1. Taking a serious look at what my schedule actually looks like.

I know that it may sound a little silly but actually conceptualizing the times that you are committed to anything related to your day job is vital. If your commute is an hour in the morning then you probably can't try and squeeze in an extra 45 minutes of writing without sacrificing some major sleep. If your job allows for remote working then maybe you can easily fit that in first thing in the morning.

Know the reality of your job: do you actually get to take a lunch break where you could write? It's a really vital part of figuring out what times are even available for you to write. Know when the busy seasons are for your day job. If you work in financials than the end of fiscal year is probably going to be a really stressful time for you. By knowing that, you can try to mitigate the number of projects or external creative due dates you have during that time. Be aware of the most stressful times in your job if it follows a pattern like that and try to work around them.

2. What are your priorities? 

Figuring out what projects are the most important to you can really help make sure that when you do you have time to work on your creative endeavors you actually know what to work on. For a long time, I spent a lot of energy spinning my wheels trying to figure out what project I was even supposed to be working on or wanted to work on next. I lost a lot of time by not having my priority set. Now I know what projects I have coming up and what projects I really want to accomplish. It really helps make sure that the limited time I do have is used well.

Read the full article: http://www.judyblackcloud.com/blog/2018/10/15/writing-with-a-day-job

[Link] Tabletops and Storytelling

by Andrea Judy

I was really late to the part with tabletop gaming. While I played once or twice in college, it never really clicked until after college when I joined a small group that played together once every two weeks or so.

That group made of only 4 people (3 players and one dungeon master) hooked me and I've been playing regularly ever since. I've even run a few campaigns of my own and have always enjoyed the adventures that can be built through storytelling and dice rolling. But one thing I've really been noticing more and more is how playing tabletop games has taught me a lot about storytelling and what makes a compelling tale.

Let's start by defining what a tabletop game is. A tabletop game (like Dungeons and Dragons) is a game played with a group of players and led by a dungeon master. The dungeon master controls the enemies, and the general plot, but a good DM (Dungeon Master) will work with the players to tell a collabrative story. It requires a lot of imagination and innovation on all parts. The game is played by rolling dice to determine successes or failures. Combat is done in a similar way. You see a flash of Dungeons and Dragons at the very, very beginning of Stranger Things.

So what can you learn about storytelling through a tabletop game? Lots. Here are 5 things I've learned over the years.

Read the full article: http://www.judyblackcloud.com/blog/2017/2/6/tabletops-and-storytelling

[Link] The Long Con: Conventions & Conferences

by Andrea Judy

I love conventions. I've been going to them for over ten years. I started at small anime conventions and graduated to DragonCon and GenCon in recent years. When many writers approach me for advice on what they can do to improve their craft, I usually tell them to find a convention with a good literary track, go to the panels and take notes.

Many fantasy and science-fiction conventions have a series of panels (a track) devoted to writing and publishing. You can learn a lot from listening to professionals talk about their craft and better yet, it can be a great chance to meet other writers and network. Many of the writers that come to conventions are happy to talk shop with you and answer any questions you have.

Now, there are also a lot of writing conferences, and I've been to quite a few of those and they are also a great resource for writers at many levels in their careers. I've found the main differences between a convention and a conference is...

Read the full article.