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May 25, 2015

A lifestyle designed for productivity

I’ve been thinking about procrastination a lot lately, mostly because I’ve been doing so much of it. Okay, maybe that’s not fair—it’s not that I’ve been procrastinating, I just accidentally constructed my life to constantly generate interruptions in my writing. Whoops. It turns out that being a wandering author isn’t the best thing for one’s productivity, at least for me. Seeing my friends (and staying for cheap) is great, but every time I get into a groove, something shakes me out of...

March 15, 2015

From LEGO to author

To many of those who knew me when I was younger, this whole writing thing came as a surprise. It surprised me too. I had to break down a lot of mental models to get to the point where I could call myself an artist without sarcasm or scorn. I’ve tried to trace it back. For the longest time when I was younger, I considered myself a realist—which, as we know, is a cynic who doesn’t want to admit it. I was dismissive...

January 29, 2015

My lost job, and the beginning of my travels

So, funny story. A few months before I published Wage Slave Rebellion, I got laid off from my job. I’m sorry for not mentioning it until now. It’s not out of shame, nor a desire to keep parts of my life private. I do intend to keep some elements of my life private, but such a key detail isn’t among them. As for shame, do you really think someone who wrote a book called Wage Slave Rebellion—and those italics were for emphasis—was happy with his job? Possibly,...

January 8, 2015

I can’t believe it. This is really happening!

People are paying for my stories. They’re taking the money they earned doing hard work, probably work more important than mine, and giving it to me because they want to read my stories. Holy crap. This is really happening! I can’t believe it. When you decide to follow your dream, there’s a part of you that thinks you can’t possibly fail. There’s also another, larger part that’s convinced you’re totally doomed. When you actually ship your product or start selling your...

December 2, 2014

The brick walls

“The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” -Randy Pausch I came across this quote at Zen Pencils today, and it was just in time. I’ve been dealing with some hurdles in the publishing process. I wanted to be coming to...

November 13, 2014

Impostor syndrome

Some creatives suffer from Impostor Syndrome. It’s a very real problem, and it’s always fascinated me, because I have no trouble with it at all. Neil Gaiman, in the commencement speech which I reference frequently, said: The first problem of any kind of even limited success is the unshakable conviction that you are getting away with something, and that any moment now they will discover you. It’s Imposter Syndrome, something my wife Amanda christened the Fraud Police. In my case, I was convinced that there...

September 28, 2014

I’m back!

After a long (but fun) month of traveling abroad, Stilts it back. I’m not going to bore you with the details about my trips, because that’s not why I’m here. I did have a few particularly insightful experiences that you’ll hear about shortly, but after that it will be back to business as usual. Expect more activity in the next few days, along with a small blog-related announcement. (Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad.) After that will be the final sprint to publishing my first book,...

September 4, 2014

Vacation, & a taste of what’s to come

September is going to be a busy month. Rather than sitting around, writing about anime, preparing the season preview, and finishing my book, I’m going to try to do all of those really fast, because Stilts is going on vacation! I’ve got two overseas trips planned, one for work (blegh), and one for fun (yay!). If any of you happen to be in Munich at the end of the month, and you happen to see a ridiculously tall blond man at Oktoberfest yammering about something nerdy...

May 29, 2014

Private accountability

In my ongoing battle for productivity, let me tell you about my latest weapon. A few months ago, I told you about Jerry Seinfeld’s productivity secret about not breaking the chain. After that I began publicly tracking how long my “chains” were, but I stopped doing that a while ago. Why? Because even though I’m not published yet, and am therefore not a professional, I prefer to act like I’m one, and I feel that constantly talking about how much I am (or...

May 23, 2014

Ashamed

I look forward to being ashamed of my first book. Not because I think it will be bad. I’m ridiculously proud I’ve what I’ve done so far, and will be even more so when it’s ready for you all to read. It’s because I’ve read many a writer’s first book, and then their later books, and I know how vast the difference can be. I will be ashamed of my first book when I have written ten, and when they’re far better than the one...