Even though I’ve been posting weekly for the past eight months or so, I decided to take last week off as part of a shift in my writing regimen. After more than a year of revising, formatting, promoting, & whatnot, I’m finally coming to terms with being burned out. And not just mildly so.
I’m talking burnt…to…a…crisp.
One of my responses to the level of entanglement I found myself in—besides getting more sleep—was to delete all but two of my social media apps from my phone, along with a handful of browser bookmarks that linked to various sites. Granted, I can still check the same apps & data sites on my laptop, but that requires actually sitting down with intention rather than randomly checking stats while, say, waiting in line at a grocery store.
No big deal, right? It’s not like readers are waiting with bated breath for each installment as if they were expecting the last puzzle piece of a unifying theory of everything or a blueprint for a time machine. After all, most of my posts have been honest reflections related to my writing journey & the status of my latest novel, Core Haven: Hope Amid the Ruins. Fascinating in their own right, to be sure, but not by any means earthshaking.
So you might ask, “Do you still enjoy writing posts like this?”
Yep.
“How often do you plan on posting so I can mark my calendar accordingly?”
Biweekly.
You clear your throat and ask, “Biweekly? As in every two weeks or twice a week?”
Oh yeah, I’ll go with bimonthly instead.
“Since bimonthly has the same clarity issue, how about #1 under the biweekly entry & #2 under bimonthly?”
Nah, I reply, the hell with that. I’ll just say my plan right now is to post semimonthly or fortnightly (gotta love English, right?).
The bottom line is it’s time for me to ease up on focusing on the minutiae related to my independent author’s journey & start enjoying my everyday life even more, including spending time with family & friends & getting outdoors.
Of course, in my case, that also means continuing with my deep dive into writing my next novel. I’m happy to report that the first draft for Part I is done & Part II is in the chute.
Till my next post a fortnight from now.
Drew
Latest review of Core Haven: Hope Amid the Ruins, 2-9-26
P.S. At the time of this writing, Core Haven: Hope Amid the Ruins has maintained its 4.8 out of 5 with 52 global ratings & 50 customer reviews on Amazon, along with 4.62 out of 5 with 132 ratings & 121 reviews on Goodreads. Not too shabby, right?
My first self-published novel, Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown: A Tale of Survival, is currently available on the Kindle Store.
My companion novel, Core Haven: Hope Amid the Ruins, was released on July 31st, 2025. Available now.
