It probably won't come as a surprise

It probably won't come as a surprise that recent political developments caused possibly the blackest of crashes I have had since November 2016. It's not just me; almost all of my various writer friends on mailing lists (yes, lists; I'm a dinosaur) have been... similarly distressed; they've also struggled with the long covid lockdowns, partial lockdowns, and immunity-determined isolation. I live with my long suffering spouse and two sons, so my house was never entirely empty.

I am trying to crawl out from the pit into which I tripped.

First: I want to thank one particular patron for support for months above and beyond what I could ever have asked for from any single person. I haven't asked if I can mention him by handle, but he knows who he is.

For everyone who has supported me to date: please, please, please do not feel guilty if changing financial circumstances means you cannot financially support me now or in future. I know my books are important to every person who has supported this patreon to date, but the life you are actually living, food on the table, roof over head, expenses unplanned for involving family, etc., are absolutely necessary. The fact that you were here at all gave me a lifeline when things were up in the air and the only voice I could hear was absolute terror. It gave me something to listen to that was not simple fear.

It pulls me through, gets me back on my feet, and keeps me writing, even if word count is, in any other circumstance, pathetic.

Second: I have been writing, but have not posted first draft because, when struggling, imposter syndrome causes me to want to throw it all out and start again >.<. I apologize for that, and hope to be what passes for normal for those who have writer brains soon.

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This post is mirrored from https://michellewest.ca/

I find it hard to have a conversation on Patreon, and have created a WordPress Patreon only blog to make it easier for me to find new comments and respond to them, sometimes at length.

This post is https://michellewest.ca/2022/07/01/it-probably-wont-come-as-a-surprise/; you should be able to hit Login with Patreon, and should be able to read posts there at the same levels you can read them here.

I'll answer comments here as well if this is your preferred format, but probably not as expansively (which might be a good thing!).