Damn. I'm a bit embarrassed that it's been more than a year since I last posted here. That wasn't intended, but I've been spending way more free time than usual on my side hustle (SH) series – nearly 155 hours across all of 2023, 195 hours in 2024, and 33 hours so far this year – spread out over multiple releases.
(Another shoutout to Clockify for its easy tracking utilities, which I've gotten a lot more comfortable with over the last year.)
Ditto further prep work on my RW epic/grimdark fantasy project and brainstorming another series, only this time in the progression fantasy subgenre. It's a close cousin of LitRPG, and both the subreddit and this piece from Will Wight do a pretty great job of laying out the particulars. For now, I'll just refer to it as Project Blightborn, or BB for short, since I'm only just starting to outline and otherwise get my ideas in order.
I'm planning to wind down the SH series either later this year or in 2026, partially because the earnings potential in that niche is proving to be too small, but also because I feel that it's served its purpose and should no longer be my focus.
I've learned a ton from the experience, plus made a few hundred bucks along the way, but I'd honestly rather focus entirely on my main RW and BB series, plus any related offshoots. Those two are more creatively satisfying anyway, and they're within big enough subgenres to earn actual money at the rate I'm able to write. Plus, I'd like to avoid the kind of burnout and motivational pitfalls that invariably follow doing tons of work on something I don't feel that strongly about in creative terms.
I'm still working fulltime with my local university, although it's been a bumpy few years. Multiple rounds of layoffs and other consolidations, and it doesn't seem like we're through the woods yet. Writing on the side has proven to be an enjoyable distraction for me, but there's not much positive reframing to be done about the shit employment situation in the US right now, or the dropping enrollment numbers that are kneecapping public colleges and universities all over the country.
The only notably nice change in terms of my day job is that I transferred to a new role last summer and am now back to supporting an academic department. There are a lot of good folks there, both in terms of faculty/staff and the student body, so even though I'm incredibly busy now, it's something of a clean burn. Sure, I'm bagged at the end of the day, but I'm feeling like my contributions matter again. Like they're meaningful. It sounds like a small thing, but it does wonders for my motivation and sense of professional satisfaction.
Beyond all that, I may not be gaming nearly as much as before, but I'm still blowing off steam with some of my favorites, both new and old. Last Epoch has their new and much anticipated Season 2 coming in April, for which I'm stoked, and Path of Exile 2 has been a refreshing take on the first game so far. It's a little rough right now, but still tons of fun, and I eagerly await its v1.0 release. And finally, the upcoming 9070's from AMD are sounding pretty great, so here's hoping they're close to MSRP at launch.
Gonna wrap this one up for now, but hopefully I'll (e)see you folks again later this year. Orbital HQ, out. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Hello there, would-be commenter!
Welcome to my humble corner of the internet, such as it is. Please be respectful when posting here. Full stop. All comments are currently sent to moderation, so expect at least a short delay before your contribution makes landfall.
To be clear here: I welcome commentary of virtually all kinds — whether critical or otherwise — but this site is intended to be a safe space, and anything resembling spam, hate speech, or ad hominem attacks are unwelcome and will be interred in the Phantom Zone of moderation and subject to summary deletion. Repeat or sufficiently egregious one-time offenders will be met with the Blogger ban hammer.
In short, please be nice, because I won’t ask twice.