I feel myself getting anxious. It’s a feeling that starts as a very low, soft hum deep down but, over time, it gains momentum and mass, slowly becoming more than just a niggling in the back of my head.

It’s gone from “sweet, you’re getting done with TWO books” to “These should be done already. What’s the holdup, man?” I really want these books to be finished.

In the video game industry there is a term called “vaporware” to describe a game that is taking so much time to be released that nobody truly believes it will ever hit the market. While I know that both of my books are not vaporware, I sometimes feel that this is the case. If every single aspect of this process was within my control, I would be able to push myself to simply buckle down and get it done. After all, that’s what I want–to get these bad boys out there.

Editing is going much more quickly than I thought it would and I am nearing the end. That light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger way more rapidly than I thought it would. After that, it’s all business, which I am not looking forward to. And, y es, there is a little doubt–pushing that final button and putting these books out there is a little scary…and exciting! Oh, I’ll do it, but I may have to throw up afterward.

Until then, I have editing to take care of. I also have artwork to get squared away. That second part is out of my control. I cannot draw and my eye for art is pretty much totally blind. I cannot create visual art. This process is out of my hands and, as I near completion of these two books, I’m beginning to get nervous.

I can, however, only focus on those things over which I have control. I will get done what I can and harangue the people that I need to. Hopefully I can keep the nerves to a minimum.

So, how much/often do I write? The answer: As often as my brain lets me.

I can’t write at home. Well, I mean, I can, but it’s more difficult. I have a myriad distractions no matter where I am at home. There is family, pets, TV, video games, chores, ninjas, and sometimes even pirates. These are the same reasons why I have a difficult time picking up a book at home. I have a billion things I want to do and, no matter what I’m doing, I am thinking about other things I want to do.

So when or, more appropriately, where do I write?

I can’t force myself to write. “You rush a Miracle Man, you get rotten miracles”. You rush me, you’ll get nonsensical crap that isn’t worth reading. Trust me. It doesn’t work for me, and nobody would want to read it. It would probably take me three times longer to salvage it than it did to write it in the first place.

I most often write on Sundays. By then, I’ve been able to put the busy week behind me, focus on what I want to accomplish, and put words down on digital paper. Throw some coffee into the mix and magic happens.

Yes, I have also been known to throw down some word fighting at work in between tasks. Most often, however, those segments require the most editing and reworking. This all tends to help reduce stress at work, as well. Taking a few minutes to craft an entire world is the perfect way to break monotony.

Lately, I’ve been working mostly on setting up all of the supporting materials in anticipation of when I release both books into the wild. This includes this website, Facebook, and I’m even getting familiar with Twitter (yeah yeah, stop laughing).

There are so many avenues for communication that it is mind-boggling. I recall the days when, if you wanted to get the message out there to the mass public, you had to code a website and hope people found you. Yes, those were terrifying, dark times. They were times when you had to listen to a modem screech and negotiate with another modem on the other end until they both agreed and made beautiful music together.

And everything took ages to load. Oh, the lag! But I digress.

I am trying to get the hang of all of the methods I can use to not only present my books, but also to discuss and gather feedback about them. I can see why, for some people, this can be a full-time job.

One day, I hope it is my full-time job. 🙂

–Sean

So, I’ll say it. I’m terrible at naming things. People, places, things, stuff, junk…all of it. Sometimes, I’ll rename something three or four times and maybe be happy with the outcome. I currently have a list of things to rename in both “The Call of Chaos” and “The Coming Storm”, which I will be doing very soon. It’s going to suck, but it’s necessary.

Every once in a while, I’ll be watching TV or a movie and find something that makes me think “Wow, that sounds like a name I would make up!” If there was ever any question, that’s not a good thing.

So, yeah, that is one of the tasks I have to do while I tighten up both books during the coming weeks (hopefully only two or three weeks). Yep. It’ll be me, sitting at a table in a coffee shop, talking to myself and randomly coming up with combinations of letters until something sounds right.

I guess, for the most part, that’s what writing a book is, anyway, no?