A few mundane things before I get back to writing

[ratbones]

1. New WIP here, brain being consumed, very pleasing given how long it's been since that has happened. It is important for me to just commit to a story concept, any concept, and then get words onto the screen, even if they're all the wrong words. It starts to become a good story and the right words via work, it's not handed down from on high already like that, at least not for me. Anyway - I was for various reasons unable to muster excitement until I'd pushed through that initial effort, but now, now I'm into this fic (and still a little scared about screwing it up but I think I can just let that fear be.)

2. I bought a new laptop! An Asus TUF A17. Fingers crossed that I have chosen well, within the limits of my budget. My current laptop has been used almost every day for 11 years and finally this year started to show real signs of aging, and then went downhill fast. It's gotten bad enough that just flipping through tabs quickly will make things creaky, and I'm not a tab hoarder (although it somehow still loads Warframe and lets me play, if I'm patient with it) and also there are a couple of annoying issues with the screen, so I'm eager to get my hands on something that's not geriatric. I should be receiving it next week.

3. There is no reason why January should be any better than December. New years are obviously arbitrary and January is possibly my least favorite month. So I'm thinking about ways to effortfully make things look brighter for myself. The two items above are a big part of that. Trying to get myself into stretching/yoga; I'm physically active for my job, but frequently a little sore from going between physical exertion and hunched over my desk with no stretching out in between. Trying to meditate more, too, and find where I can fit mindfulness in around writing. They're both really important to me but they are just a little bit in conflict.

4. Not doing a great job of being socially present at the moment, apart from DMs and email (maybe) and my own comment sections, but I'm kind of letting that go by the wayside to ease some pressure till I feel like I'm on less uneven ground, mental health-wise. I'm getting there. Apologies for the general silence.

Comments

[naye]

I am of the very firm opinion that social presence is not a job and that you cannot get behind on it. It's something to engage with when and if and in the amounts that gives you the "yay, socialization!" buzz and there should be no guilt involved. (I say this and then I grimly edit out my apologies every time I haven't posted for a while, because apparently my brain doesn't care about my opinions?) That said: it is lovely to hear from you! ♥ Yay new laptop! I hope that the Asus arrives swiftly, treats you well, and that you will have everything you need on it.

My reading brain broke early in 2020, and I am trying to put it back together with baby steps: one fic or one chapter of a fic per day in December. I'm currently making my way through Frith's Cloudfarers, but I have Black Scales open in a reading tab! I am optimistic enough about my progress to be excited to actually get to read it.

Trying to get myself into stretching/yoga
If you find a way of getting yourself to do it please share! I need to myself but. Somehow it's just. Not enough to get past the but I don't wanna. (I'm already walking and using the exercise bike every single day! Isn't that enough meatpuppet maintenance??)

[ratbones]

I would love to internalize your take on social engagement...seems like it's not so easy to do, but I can at least remind myself of it when I start feeling guilty. (I tend to feel particularly guilty about receiving comments on my stuff and not leaving comments elsewhere, but that's not terribly logical because it's other people's choice whether they leave comments on my things.)

I hope your reading brain continues to recover! I'm saving Cloudfarers as a bit of a treat, it looks VERY enticing. Black Scales will be there whenever you get there! <3

Ahhh you're already doing lots of dedicated exercise every day, adding another thing is hard! I'm much less of a daily-streaks person than you are, I think, but I've been managing quick yoga sessions almost every day recently. Had a couple of rough weeks where I seemed to put all my stress into my back, so I was achy as hell and stretching out was near-instant gratification - even just ten minutes and I felt so so much better. Less achy now but still noticing that it makes my body a lot less grumpy with me. The positive conditioning seems to have trained me, somewhat, or at least gotten me started.

[naye]

seems like it's not so easy to do, but I can at least remind myself of it when I start feeling guilty.
Yes, please do! ♥ Nobody wants you to feel guilty!

Getting instant gratification is a great motivator! In my case I'm lucky enough that I'm not constantly sore - it just gets bad at night and wakes me up ridiculously early, which is...suboptimal. But maybe if I stuck to doing some basic stretches for a couple of days and got a full night's sleep that could do it. Hmm.

[ratbones]

Ooh, interrupted sleep is awful. If you discover that stretching lets you sleep more and better, that's a pretty good incentive too! If a bit less classical conditioning than mine.