I’m getting overwhelmed by everything I “have to do” right now. And sadly, the more overwhelmed I get, the less likely I am to do any of it. I just get tired. Like down to the bones, aching tired. I think all day about all the things I need to get done that I can’t as long as I have a three-year-old trying to wrestle onto my lap. Then when his bedtime rolls around, all I have energy to do is crawl into bed.

I have a novel 3/4ths of the way drafted, with people who have already stated an interest in beta reading… and I haven’t written a word on it in weeks. Every other writing project is fairing about the same.

The only thing I’ve managed to write is a few one-off horror stories. Which I can only assume is because there was no pressure to write them. I sat down, dumped out my thoughts, vented my hidden bloodlusts and was done. I have this fear that if I edit my horror pieces more than a good once over I’ll just stop writing them.

But the biggie is… I have my novel out with agents and editors, waiting on a response. There is nothing I can do about that. Nothing. But somehow it puts extra weight on the other things like somehow if I just wrote more on my fantasy novel, or finished that rough draft, or finished editing my paranormal-scifi… somehow that would help my chances.

It’s like a noose just hanging over my head. Not doing anything but waiting to swoop down and destroy me at any moment. I feel like shouting “I can’t do this! I’m not strong enough, I give! I’m out.”

I won’t because I can’t. There is nowhere to go but forward. So I pile these projects around myself to keep busy and then I drown in them.

I’ve found myself wondering this week if it will always be like this. Will the possibility of rejection always hang this heavy? Why can’t I just find a way to find contentment?

Speaking of… on a completely different note— my novel Deprivation is a fraction away from 20k views. All week, that’s the thread I’ve been holding onto (and trying desperately to keep my brain from reminding me that 20k isn’t nearly 200k or 2 million… I really need a zapper to silence that voice.)

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