Housekeeping Update - Diaper U, Gardening, & Backlog

Just wanted to let everyone know what's going on with me - I'll keep it short and stick to the important stuff.

I'm still a bit behind schedule. (And to those of you who I've got commissions outstanding, I'm very behind schedule - sorry.) It's been a combination of two things - overwork at my day job and a bit of writers block.

With regards to the overwork - I was burning myself out. I recognized it. I've talked to my employer and actively chosen to reduce my hours, because the alternative is that I slowly crush myself from overwork. Normally, I'd be worried about money from doing this, but Patreon income is enough that I can actually reduce my primary day job hours without worrying about making ends meet.

So - thank you, so, so much. <3 I'll get that backlog sorted, and I'm very excited to do so, because I'd much rather be writing for you than grinding down my soul working seventy hour weeks. 

For the writer's block, though, I've come to a realization:

I'm not a Gardener, I'm an Architect.

If you don't know, there's a distinction in writers circles between people who write without an outline, following the story wherever it leads - So called, 'Gardeners', because they're letting everything grow naturally and just pruning to keep things in shape - and people who write based off an outline, knowing everything that's going to happen in advance - Architects, working from a blueprint. (I've also heard it referred to as Pantsers and Plotters.)

I'm writing The Baby Bet as an architect, working from an outline - surprises still come up that I adapt to, but I know my beats. Diaper U started as a pure garden, following it along to see where it went.

And like I said - I've realized I'm not a gardener. I can write a short story without an outline. I can't write sustain an ongoing project with more than two or three installments - anything bigger than that, I *need* an outline. (And heck - even writing a sequel to an existing story often leaves me feeling like I wrote something lesser - I just can't continue to improvise forever.) 

So - I'm going to take some time to sit down and write an outline for Diaper U, and then rewrite the existing chapters. There's going to be some changes to the structure, because the structure is what I was starting to really dislike, and what needs the most fixing. 

Because I'm working from existing writing, it won't take me as long to get it all fixed. Updates are soon to follow.

I'm really excited about this story again, and can feel the writer's block melting away.

Also... I've got something else in the works, once I catch up on backlog. Because I've always got something else in the works. 

Thank you for your continued support!