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2025-01-30 - Uh, whoops?

Hi there,

I'm sorry for not posting regular updates for the last ... three years. My consistency in writing has been all over the place.

I have not forgotten about this project nor stopped working on it. When I started this project, I don't think I truly understood how differently writing fiction and non-fiction is. The majority of my fiction writing in the past had been in classes, where there was always a deadline. A hard stop point. When I write non-fiction, there's a finite "have I taught the person what I know" point. It may be less measurable than a deadline, but still it is measurable.

With fiction, especially a collection of short stories, I am constantly revising, throwing out, editing, etc. I don't really know when I am done. I have recently been talking to other artists about this, and two suggestions have appeared:

  • Use the theme as the marker, have you said what you want to say about the theme?
  • Give yourself deadlines and use that as a forcing function.

Both of these seem pretty obvious, but it is something I hadn't really thought about. I had mostly been thinking about the theme of the book, not the theme of each individual story, which was what was causing me to throw out stories, rewrite, churn, etc. I also hadn't given myself a hard deadline, as I am self-publishing this.

I also have heard mixed things about updating you all on progress. Some folks when I was getting started gave me feedback that the updates weren't interesting. I took that as I shouldn't write updates. But a few folks last year told me the main reason they follow kickstarters is for the updates.

So, given the advice received and the interest in updates, I am committing to three things:

  • Monthly updates throughout 2025
  • A deadline for writing of July 1st, 2025
  • A shipping deadline of November 1st, 2025

Thank you for all of your patience. I hope you all enjoy the updates and the final product when it arrives in your homes.

/Nat