I was languishing (a writing update)

If you are like a significant number of people I know, you have read this article, "There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing" and it resonated strongly with you.

It definitely did for me. Since around the beginning of the year, I've felt a sort of general malaise, a sort of "what's the purpose of anything, anyway" feeling, characterized by a lot of glazed-eyed doom-scrolling on my phone.

It took me a while to recognize it, and it took until I read that article to learn that there was a name for it, and I was not alone. But as someone who struggled with mental health when I was younger, it was a concerning feeling.

The pandemic hasn't always been like this, for me. When things began to shut down and I was home for longer periods of time, I was still in the thick of writing A Generation's Secrets, so while things were locking down, I was escaping away into Regency England to write. 

The trouble with AGS is it is LONG, now decidedly more than 300,000 words. While I have been getting closer to a publication-ready manuscript, it can take up to 2-3 weeks just to do a pass of the novel, reading through and making edits.

I have to confess, this is my very least favorite part of writing. I love the early part, the outlining, the initial draft, smoothing that draft into something better, something I'm excited about. Eventually, though, every book reaches a point where I am so. very. sick. and. tired. of. it. I. never. want. to. see. it. again.

I had told myself I was going to see it through and published before I started on my next project, one I've been excited about doing for what feels like years, now. But when I started to realise my mental health was slipping, I decided I needed to make a change.

What got me stabilised after my mental health issues in my 20s was learning about Flow, and understanding that the creative process of writing is the absolute very best Flow for me. And so I decided to make a compromise with myself, even though it meant A Generation's Secrets will be slower to get out as a published novel: I'm editing on weeknights, and writing on the weekends.

So far, that seems to be doing the trick. Knowing I get to spend my weekends in Flow gives me something to look forward to, and after going so long without writing I can almost feel the neurons buzzing while I work! As had been the plan, I'm taking a break from the series with this one, The Crimes of Elizabeth Darcy, and astonishingly I'm already at 20,000 words (alas, though, only page 14 of a 90-page outline, so this might be another long one).

I wanted to share because I think many people are at that point in the pandemic where they are languishing, too. And I wanted you all to know why AGS will be slow in publishing (and yes, we ARE still working on the audiobook for A Season Lost, as I know some folks have been wondering about that, too).

I always knew The Crimes of Elizabeth Darcy was going to be a fun one to write (I like to think of it as a guilty pleasure, both for readers and for the author), and I am having loads of fun with this one. I'm looking forward to sharing it in beta format, possibly sooner rather than later if I keep writing at this pace.

I hope you are all well, dear readers.