Well . . . I’m still here in some capacity, but this week was busy. My son and I had a bunch of doctor visits and I was trying to figure out a job search. The situation is still a raw wound that I’m trying to come to terms with. For some reason, I forgot that putting in an application doesn’t mean I’ll get a quick response or a job. No idea why my addled brain skipped that obvious fact. So, I didn’t shed as much anxiety as I’d hoped. This is another reason why I won’t touch my writing. God only knows how terrible it would be if I tried to write while in this mental state.
On the plus side of things, I am doing some good research on work-from-home positions that might help me in the short term. I can get a job with flexible hours that allow me to continue taking care of my son when he’s not in school. It’s going to be a long shot and I still don’t know if my resume is going to be good enough to help. I’ve always had trouble here and my jobs have routinely come from me getting in as a temp or happening to know someone already inside. Still, it looks like these would be easier to get started than the applications, so it could bring something in quicker. I’m checking out civil service tests as well, which is a long term possibility.
This topic is a little boring, but I don’t have any story ideas to report. War of Nytefall: Lost is still slated for September 7th, but War of Nytefall: Rivalry has been pushed back until March. I can’t afford to do much with it and I need to redirect the time I’d use for editing. It’s better to delay it then make an attempt that has a very big chance of failing horribly. This leaves me with no Christmas releases, so I might do a sale on pre-existing books like dropping both Legends of Windemere bundles to 99 cents for the holiday or something. Nothing is planned yet, so don’t think that’s a promise. No idea how I’ll even attempt to write the 4th book too considering my time constraints. Might drop to 2 releases a year (March and September) unless things change, but that’s not looking like a possibility.
There was some fun to be had this week. We had a family outing to the big zoo last Sunday and had a blast. A few animals that typically stayed in hiding were out, which is always exciting. Later in the week, we went to one of the aquariums in the area and he had a few big adventures. They have a bird feeding area and one landed on my son’s hand. He didn’t get scared like in the past and was happy. He got poked by an albino hedgehog by accident and got to feed the rays too. In Mystic, Connecticut, he was told the proper way to feed rays, so he didn’t let a single fish go to waste. The biggest surprise for him though was getting a picture with a sea lion. He got one where he’s getting kissed on the head and that made his day.
I might do some blog salvation work this weekend and week between parenting and job hunting. Nothing major since one site I’m going to sign up with has skill tests that I plan on taking when I have time to myself. Mostly, I’m going to try and schedule the M-W-F posts for November and maybe December. I know I said that I’d cut things down, but I can’t do job hunting and stressing alone. Since I don’t dare touch my notebooks and projects when I’m this tense, blogging might be a better path to relax. That actually gives me an idea for a topic (mental health in fiction). I have a post coming up tomorrow that asks for ideas, but I should do it here too. Anyway, let’s put a few goals on there:
- Last full week of summer, so having fun with son.
- Job hunting.
- Schedule a few blog posts.
- Make sense of life.
That’s really it. Hope everyone else had fun.
Legends of Windemere 
Job hunting is never easy and plenty of us remember the problems of trying to get work to help the family budget, which must fit in round school hours and holidays, especially if your other half does shift work and you have no family nearby. Good luck.
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Thanks. I do have family around to help and my other half has a 9-5. The tough part is that it feels like I have to get something fast and that just ups the stress levels.
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Looking for work, is never easy and usually frustrating. Wishing you the best on that.
On another note, your son has one of the “cool dads.” Seriously. You write stories. You have a blog. You spend time with your son. How cool is that?!?
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Thanks. I’ll let my son know of my new title. 😜. Seriously, many people seem to think I’m lazy because I stay home with him.
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Lazy, Charles, with your output? Hmph!
Don’t undersell that aspect of your abilities when applying for jobs… what you have achieved with the books, publishing, promotion of them and the blog should not be underestimated. That is one heck of a skill-set.
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The problem is that people don’t see it as work unless you make enough money to pay the bills. That eventually wears everything down and forces situations like I’m in now. I’m trying to promote myself for jobs and use my experience as an author, but writing jobs aren’t easy to come by. I’m hoping to find something as a proofreader or editor. These days one has to take what they can get, I guess.
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Think outside the box at what the last few years have taught you… skills like planning, visualisation, attention to detail and deadlines, multitasking, budgeting… all the exportable skills.
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Put them all on my resume. All I can really do is submit and hope I get an interview.
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I hope all goes well, Charles, You deserve a break.
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Sounds like grasping the reality of job hunting is working it’s way in. I suppose it is a good thing since it is a concrete step in an uncertain situation
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Not as concrete as I’d like. One of the reasons I went into full time writing was because I was getting bounced from one job to another. Praying that doesn’t happen again.
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I’ll pray with you. 🙂
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Sending positive thoughts, Charles. The perfect job is out there; you just have to believe ❤
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Thanks. For now, I’d rather find a paying job than a perfect one. 🙂
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Best wishes, Charles, going forward! It’s never easy to change directions in life, however there will be surprises along the way to keep you positive. Stick to your four goals and look for the good things along the way! 📚 Christine
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Thanks. Hopefully the changes aren’t too drastic that I never touch my stories again.
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It’s always a bummer when you’ve changed direction and the waiting starts. You will have a routine based around writing? That routine is firmly in your brain and going, “excuse me? What are we doing?” A difficult time, but one that I hope won’t continue. Good luck. 🙂
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Yeah, the author routine that I carved out isn’t happy with me. As much as I understand, it really hurts to pack everything away for the time being. When I have a day of searching that results in nothing substantial, I can’t stop myself from thinking I could have made a little progress on a writing project instead.
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Best to you, Charles.
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Thanks
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You’re welcome.
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The zoo trips sound like they were fun.
Good luck with the job hunting, and have fun with your son.
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Thanks.
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