Strategies for Productivity For Writers

Right now, at this very moment, I am not feeling very productive. I have a project (more like 12 projects) that I want to work on, but every time I pick one and get started, I either get distracted on Facebook, or I end up staring at my screen for twenty or thirty minutes and accomplishing nothing.

So, right now, at this very moment, I am utilizing one of my many strategies for jump-starting productivity, by picking a project that I kind of already half-started, and just going for it, even though it has nothing to do with the projects that are currently at the top of my list to work on.

I’ve had the idea for this blog post for about two months now, based off of a conversation my friend Ali and I had, where she asked me what strategies I use when I’m feeling less than productive. So I started listing them off… and listing and listing and I discovered that I have a rather large number of strategies and sub-strategies that I use.

I want to make it clear that not all of these strategies are created equal. Some of them work for me on a regular basis (like sprinting), while others (like yelling at myself until I start working) have worked for me exactly once. I would guess that the effectiveness of a strategy will depend on the person—their working habits, their environment, and their personality.

This picture has nothing to do with anything, but I found it while browsing a free stock photo site and decided it needed to be on my blog somewhere. Alternatively, consider it a metaphor for unpacking why you’re feeling unproductive or distracted. Take a closer work at the “inner workings” of yourself to figure out whats “making you tick (or not tick)” to help you “get back into gear.” Ok, I’m done now lol

In addition, I think it’s helpful to consider why you are lacking productivity. In my experience, being productive isn’t the problem. It’s not discipline—after all, I’m doing what I love. I want to do this work! Most of the time, my “lack of productivity” is actually something else—I’m hungry, have too many ideas, distracted, or anxious. It’s the same with writer’s block. Most of the time, being “blocked” is really not about the writing at all, but about me.

I’ve ranked these strategies according to what is most effective for me, but you might rank them in a completely different order, or never use some of these, or use strategies that I haven’t included.

My method for choosing which strategy to use in the moment is to start with the top strategy and use that; if that doesn’t work, I do the next one or the third one, and after that, I kind of pick randomly based on my mood and what I’m trying to get done.

1. Doing Sprints

If you are not familiar with the concept of sprinting, it basically means that you set a timer for a short period of time and try to write as many words as you can during that time. I tend to prefer somewhere between 15 – 30 minutes, and I usually land on 20 minutes. I find that an hour is less of a sprint and more of a 5k, and longer than that is like a marathon. Shorter than 15 minutes is just annoying, personally.

Sometimes, I also use sprints for doing other stuff. I call them focus sprints, and I aim to focus for 20 minutes or whatever amount of time. I might say, “I do not want to write these emails, but I need to, so I am going to set a timer and do just this for the next 20 minutes.”

I also use a sprinting bot to help in my Discord server. In the server, many of us sprint together at the same time, which provides a little bit of social pressure to do the work and stay focused. Participants simply input their beginning and ending wordcount, and the bot does the work. If I’m doing a focus sprint, I just input random things, or I might attribute a value—say, 50 for every email I send, or for every page I edit—and then I just start at 0 and do my own math.

Sprinting has helped me write hundreds of thousands of words, and I will swear by it as an effective strategy until my dying day.

2. Goal Setting

This is more of a long-term strategy, but it can also be used in the short term and mid-term. So, for example, I participate in National Novel Writing Month and their Camps every November, April, and July. I set a goal of anywhere between 30,000 and 50,000 words, and I do everything within my power to achieve it. I’ve only failed once so far—and I still landed at 42,000 words in a month. I have also set more minor goals; for example, the NanoWriMo site has a badge you can get if you update your wordcount every day. I’m bad about that, so last time, I made that my goal. Another time, I made finishing the book I was working on my goal, no matter what the wordcount was. I’ve also set editing goals.

In the short term, I find it really helpful to set next-day goals. So I might say, “Tomorrow, I need to send out three emails, write 2k words, and post to my Patreon.” That gives me a very clear path to follow, even when I’m feeling distracted. I even sometimes do this within the day—I might say, “In the next hour, I am going to write 500 words or create a graphic” or whatever.

When I set these goals, I usually give myself permission not to finish, though I know that some people need the opposite to be true.

Once, I sat down with someone that was helping me with some goal setting. And after I wrote out what I wanted to accomplish, he said, “So, you’re going to finish these by the end of the year, then?” And I said, “that’s the goal.” To which he replied, “Well, are you or aren’t you?”

I think he was just trying to be motivating, but it really annoyed me, because the whole point of goals is that they should be a stretch. They should be something the requires you to have to work at it, to try, to be consistent and dedicated—not something that you can achieve by staying up late the night before the deadline. So I tend to make my goals possible to achieve, but difficult, and then even if I don’t actually achieve them, I’ve still made significant progress as part of the process—basically, I’ve still been productive.

3. Keeping Track

I think keeping track is really important, especially with ginormous goals like writing a novel. I have several different ways of doing this:

• Spreadsheets

• Reports

• Journal

• Check-ins

Spreadsheets are great for things that involve numbers. For example, in the past I’ve tracked how many hours I wrote, what project I worked on, and how many words I wrote or how many pages I edited. It gave me a good sense of my speed as well as kept a running tally of how much work I’d gotten done.

I also now write up quarterly reports where I look at the last three months sales, words, publications, etc. No one actually reads the reports except my spouse, but just the act of doing it gets me excited about my projects and how far I’ve come since the last time I wrote one. Even if I’m doing worse, it still motivates me to do better, and usually after working on one, I’m raring to go.

Another related sub-strategy is my “Encouragement Binder.” I have a physical, three-ring binder, in which I print and paste demonstrations of my progress. I might book cover images in it, newspaper articles, screenshots of my most popular social media posts, printouts of fan emails—and then if my lack of productivity is the result of feeling like the work I’m doing is pointless, I can just flip through my Encouragement Binder for a small emotional boost.

I also have a couple different types of journals. I don’t write every day, but I like to check in periodically and see what was going on last time I wrote in it, and then add a few more details of things that I think are important that happened in between. If I’m struggling to write, sometimes I will just pull out one of my journals, write a few sentences, and that was all I needed to get the engine to restart.

Regular check-ins are basically just moments where I sit down and make a list. This is a super helpful strategy for me in the moment when I’m struggling with temporary distractions. I will make a list of all the projects I’m doing including writing, editing, marketing, publishing, and anything else, and I will highlight the ones I’m most excited about. Often, I will even post my list in my Discord server to add a little social pressure to get the work done.

Alternatively, I will go back to a list I already made and check off anything that I’ve finished. Frequently, what happens is that I see something on the list that I forgot about, get super excited about it, and then am ready to jump on board that project immediately.

That’s literally what I’m doing right now. I couldn’t focus on the projects that actually have deadlines, and so I scanned a list of other things I could work on and was like—this one! Blog post about productivity.

I’ve been working on this for 30 minutes now, and have 1300 words written—so I’d say that this strategy was a success. [note, wordcount might be different after editing]

4. Tangible Stuff

I’m a big stuff of real-life tangible stuff. I know a lot of people use tools like Trello or Google Docs to organize and keep track of themselves, but I really like binders (like my Encouragement Binder). I have a Project Binder where I make a new sheet for every project I’m working on. It has a checklist for everything that needs to get done on the project. I also have a Marketing Binder, an Ariele University Binder, and a Patreon Binder, as well as several world-building binders.

Now, I know this sounds more like an organization strategy than a productivity strategy, but it’s both, I swear. On one hand, it means that I never do the same work twice. On the other hand, if I’m feeling slow and sluggish, I just pull out my checklist and voila! I check off a few things and suddenly it makes me feel re-invigorated about the project.

I also really enjoy stickers. Sometimes I make sticker-charts, and every time I accomplish a thing, I get a sticker. Right now, I have a piece of paper on my wall that is split in half, with one half labeled “2k Days” and the other half labeled “15k Weeks.” Every time I write 2k in a day, I get a sticker; every time I get 15k in a week, I get a sticker. It makes me feel good and want to keep going.

In fact, I can already put a sticker on for today, because I wrote 2.5k on a project before this, and now I am… checking… 1600 words into this blog post, which puts me at 4.1k words for the day (that’s 2 stickers!), and less than 2k away from my daily goal.

Tangible strategies go a lot deeper than just sticker charts, though. For example, one of my favorite options is drawing. If I get stuck, I just draw a picture of the scene I’m working on. It takes my eyes off of the computer for a moment (and Facebook, as it turns out), and helps me refocus on the actual story. I keep all of these drawings and put them in world-building binders. I also have a chalkboard wall where I can write, scratch, scribble—sometimes a simple realization about my project can reinvigorate my inclination to work all over again.

Writing by hand is also helpful at times. I usually hate writing by hand because it’s too slow, but sometimes slowing down really helps me shift my focus back into the story and start to feel excited about it again.

You can also make binders, write your plot out on a chalkboard, make something out of clay, roll dice, clean your office—these sorts of things can often give your brain just the right amount of space to get rolling.

5. Freewriting

I hate freewriting. Hate it. Alas, it works. One of the reasons I get distracted is because I don’t know what to do next in a story. I don’t know where it should go, or what the next words should be—some people call this writer’s block. So, what I’ll do is sit down at my computer (or by hand, if you want to double-down on strategies) and just write whatever comes out of my head. Usually it’s really, really, really stupid. For example, “I hate freewriting because it’s boring and uninteresting, but I really need to get started actually writing because all I’m doing is wasting time and Askari needs to get to the next scene…” and that’s all it takes for me to suddenly know what to write.

Similar to free-writing (but different), sometimes I will try to take an alternate angle on a project. So, I might imagine I’m being interviewed on a TV show or by a reporter, and they will ask me questions about what I’m doing and working on. Sometimes I imagine it’s the future, and the reporter asks me how long it took me to complete the project, and I answer, “Several months. In fact, there was one week in mid-June when I couldn’t get anything done...” and I make up a whole story about how I got started again. This works surprisingly often.

Imagining the future can also help, by picturing where I’ll be when I have ten or twenty or fifty books out, or when I have my first TV show premiere launching.

6. Rewards

When I was little, my mom kept a jar of M&Ms on the back of the toilet for potty training. Anytime we used the toilet properly, we got candy.

Giving yourself rewards for answering 10 emails or writing 1k words might seem ridiculous, but it really can help. Sometimes, acknowledging your distraction and promising to give it to yourself later is all you need. For example, all I want to do right now is play Elder Scrolls. I’ve promised myself that if I can hit 6k for today, then I can play for a couple of hours this evening. Honestly, half the time I don’t even take myself up on the rewards—but just having them in the back of my mind can help.

I use food, stickers, movies, TV time, social media, and all kinds of things to motivate myself to keep going. Sometimes, I’ll even bribe myself with another project—“If you write 2k on this project, Ariele, then you can work on that other one, too.”

One thing to remember about writing books is that it’s a marathon every time. There aren’t very many mini goals on the road to focus in on, which means there aren’t very many things to reward yourself for accomplishing. So just setting up the smaller goals and celebrating those can go a long way towards helping you stay motivated for the long haul.

7. Positive Affirmation and Self-Care

I’m sure you’re familiar with this as a common psychological tactic designed to restructure negative brain processes—like thinking, “I am strong, I can achieve my goals” when actually you’re kind of feeling like a failure. Here’s a link to a helpful article about positive affirmation.

Well, guess what—the same tactics work when you’re feeling distracted!

The first step: identify the feeling.

Is it really distraction? Or are you just labeling it as distraction because you can’t focus? You might actually be feeling sad, hungry, bored, anxious, depressed, nervous, or any other emotion—even positive ones like happy or excited. Any emotional state can be distracting.

Once you’ve identified the feeling, then you can decide how to respond to it.

For example, if you’re hungry—eat! Problem solved. If you’re sad, maybe take a few minutes to acknowledge why you’re sad, write a little bit about it, and then try working again. If you’re anxious, try to think about why you’re anxious, and if you can’t let it go, then engaging in some self-care might actually be more productive than sitting and staring angrily at your computer monitor.

One big distraction for me is anxiety caused by a messy desk, but often I don’t even realize it’s bothering me. My desk gets messy really slowly—like I cleaned it this morning, but there are a couple of books and some headphones still out of place, and while they’re fine for the moment, I might set down a piece of paper and an empty bottle and a couple of dirty dishes, and I’ll start to feel… just off. Like something isn’t right. But if I recognize that feeling, then I know all I have to do is clean my desk or office, and I’m on track all over again.

Taking stock of how you feel, identifying those emotions, and then dealing with them, can often enable you to be far more productive than just ignoring them or trying to work despite them.

Another example: I was feeling bad about one of my Land of Szornyek works in progress. I didn’t realize it at first, but every time I sat down to work on it, I got anxious. And it was the project itself causing the problem. So, once I realized it, I got up and wrote on my chalkboard wall: “I love my universe. It is great. It is exciting. It has value. I want to FINISH it.” Now, every time I walk by it, I read it and think, “Yes!” and slowly get more and more excited to finish the project—and in fact, I did finish the next book and publish it.

As part of this, I will also indulge new ideas. Sometimes, a new idea is bugging and bugging and bugging me, distracting me to the point that I can’t finish anything else. I then take a deep breath, open a new word doc, and write about it. I usually give it between 2k – 5k words, enough to really get a handle on whether the idea has merit or is just being annoying. Then, I can go back to what I’m supposed to be working on, knowing that the idea will be there when I have time for it.

8. Location, location, location.

Sometimes things start to feel the same—boring, dreary, same old, same old. So one thing I like to do is switch it up. This might be as simple as going into the bedroom and sitting on the bed with my laptop on my lap. Or writing on the couch with a notebook and pen. Sometimes I might go to the park or a café somewhere. I even sometimes will move around all the furniture in my office or house. Once I even moved around all my furniture, decided I didn’t like it, and then moved it back. It was a lot of work, but then it turned out all I really needed was to clean my office.

Another, even simpler thing is to change up something that’s always been the same—like a poster on the wall. A candle on your left—move it to the right. Or actually light it, if it’s one you don’t like. Rip a picture out of a magazine that you like and hang it on the wall beside your desk.

Even intentionally making the smallest change can sometimes shift your brain into gear.

9. Abstinence

Sometimes I simply get tired. I know that the popular advice write now is that we should all be writing every day, or at very least, every week. But sometimes, not allowing myself to write is actually more effective—so long as I start back up again. Not writing for a period of time, a few days or a few weeks, causes the creative pressure to build and build and build, and when I start back in again it all comes rushing out.

I think short breaks can really help, too. Going for a walk or a run, taking a shower, reading a book, or meditating—simply giving yourself permission to relax and your brain room to breathe can really help. I think there comes a point when I try to force productivity out of myself, that it actually causes the opposite to happen, and my productivity worsens over time. So plan in breaks, plan in vacations, and remember that it’s okay to not be working all the time.

Your creativity isn’t going anywhere, and neither are your ideas. They’ll be there when you’re ready to start back up again.

10. Permission to be distracted

I think one of the most helpful things I’ve done is given myself permission to be distracted by things. Sometimes, I allow myself to be distracted by another project or organizing or world-building. But I also have a list of things that I am always and forever allowed to abandon my work for:

• Other story ideas (for up to 5k worth of words)

• Cats

• Birds

• Food

• Exercise

• Daydreaming

• Plants

This list changes over time, but I think it’s important to remember that my brain is a brain, and it will get distracted… and that’s okay.

Ultimately, the most helpful thing I’ve ever done is to experiment. If I can’t focus, I’ll say to myself, what should I try? And then I might try one of the things I’ve mentioned here, or I might go online and Google “Tricks to be more productive” or “how to stop getting distracted all the time” and I’ll let myself get distracted trying to figure out how to stop being distracted.

And what works for me has changed over time. Sometimes sprinting (though it is my #1) just doesn’t work. Sometimes what I need is a nap and a meal. Or a chance to work on a different project. Or time to answer a bunch of emails so I can stop feeling stressed about the fact that I haven’t been emailing everyone back. Or just a few minutes to check Facebook or Instagram or whatever.

There’s no one right answer. But once you’ve decided you want to be more productive, you’re already on the right track.

Separating the Art from the Artist

TW: discussions of fictional depictions of rape, physical violence, transphobia, suicide

Not to beat a dead horse with a stick (what a terrible saying), but J.K. Rowling… am I right?

For those of you who are unaware, J.K. Rowling has revealed herself (again) as pro-binary gender, meaning anti-trans and non-binary people. And while this is nothing new, it has sparked a fresh wave of outrage and lost her another slew of supporters and fans. You can read more about it here.

Every time a well-known author, artist, or musician does something terrible or controversial, the same old comments tend to resurface. On one side you have die-hards who will bend over backwards and flip themselves inside out to defend the creator, and on the other side are those who are prepared to completely abandon the creator and everything they’ve ever done.

You might hear things like:

• “She/he/they are dead to me.” or “She/he/they has done nothing wrong.”

• “I’m never supporting this artist again/reading their books/listening to their music.” or “I’m going to go buy everything they’ve ever created.”

• “What a [fill in your favorite insult].” or “What a [fill in your favorite compliment].”

I can understand both of these responses. We should never feel obligated to support a creator if we disagree with their morals and values. And if we agree with a creator’s morals and values, it is to our credit to defend and support them.

But what I really don’t like is the in-between effort to cling to the artist’s work while disassociating it from the artist. The most frequent phrase thrown around by ex-fans is:

“I just like to separate the art from the artist.” [1]

There are a few variations on this one. In the instance of J.K. Rowling, I’ve seen comments like:

• “I guess Harry Potter doesn’t have an author anymore.”

• “Her work was always greater than she is.”

• “Sometimes the art transcends the artist.”

This, to me, is a very problematic, and if I may add—irritating. I do not think you can separate the art from the artist.

Why?

I’m glad you asked.

Reason #1: All artists are problematic.

There is no such thing as a perfect artist and there is no such thing as perfect art.

Part of being human is growth, meaning that have to learn and change and grow throughout the course of our lives. And one of the most wonderful parts of art is the ability to reflect on our growth, to examine our imperfections, to explore new thoughts and ideas, and to change as a result of the work that we do.

One of my favorite things about being a writer is the fact that I get to use my art to explore things that make me uncomfortable. I get to use my art to learn, formulate ideas, and express my feelings. I get to be imperfect—and I get to express my imperfections in my work.

As an artist, I am also very aware of how my art is created. I think about my process a lot. I know that what I think, read, and consume makes its way into my work via my subconsciousness, even if that is not my active intention.

That means that the things I think and believe will be expressed in my work. It means that my flaws will be in my work.

The ideas, themes, images, characters, settings, motifs, and plots in my books came from my brain. I have stamped myself onto them. They are a part of me, and I am a part of them. You cannot simply remove me from the equation or else the work never would have existed.

Likewise, you cannot remove J.K. Rowling from Harry Potter. Her thoughts, feelings, and attitudes at the time of writing are reflected in that work. Whether we like it or not.

Also, speaking as a creator—I do not want anyone removing me from my work. If you find me personally problematic, I hope that you also find my work problematic. I put a lot of thought, effort, and consideration into what I write. I want my values and beliefs to be clear in what I write.

On being problematic.

I think some artists fear being problematic—or at least, the backlash that sometimes comes with being problematic. But there are three types of people in the world: those that agree with us, those that don’t, and those whose views on a topic are currently in flux.

I try not to spend too much time worrying about those whose views are in flux (unless my own views are in flux, in which case I try to spend some time learning and thinking about the topic in order to come to a conclusion).

However, people who disagree with me on an issue that they find important will likely also find my work problematic. The question I ask myself is this: if a white supremacist finds my work problematic, do I really care?

The answer is: no. I don’t give a flying f*%#.

The real fear is that the people I agree with, people I care about, people that I am trying to support and uplift will find my work problematic. For example, what if a Black person thinks that my work is racist, even though I am actively working to be anti-racist?

There are of course preventative measures I can take. For example, I can avoid topics I don’t feel confident about, or at least explore them in my private art, not my public art. I can do research. Listen. Hire sensitivity readers. Run my work by people whose opinions I trust before I release it.

If I do make a mistake, this is where humility comes in. If someone whose opinion I care about says, “I have a problem with your work,” the trick here is to listen, apologize, correct (to the best of my ability), and make amends.

Let me go back to J.K. Rowling. Trans people and allies have long had issues with her work. Of course, she probably can’t go back and republish Harry Potter with corrections (a flaw in the traditional publishing system, imo). But she could have said, “When I wrote that, I didn’t realize the impact it would have. I am sorry for any harm XYZ statement caused; I stand with trans people.” And then taken some steps to demonstrate her support, such as donating to a trans community non-profit, deleting harmful tweets, attending a protest, or something like that.

Not everyone would have forgiven her, and the mistake still would have been made, but an action like that would have gone a long way towards repairing the harm she had done.

What she did this past week was absolutely the wrong choice, if she wanted to show support for trans people. Not only did she NOT apologize for her tweets (and the problematic issues within her novels), but she doubled down and published a blog post which revealed so many more problematic (and traumatizing to some trans people) views on the topic, that it’s now almost impossible to even look at her name without cringing.

Most illuminating to me have been the resulting discussions about the anti-trans concepts in her work. You can read more about those here and here and here.

The only other point I want to bring into this topic is that of money. Many creators try to cater to everyone. They say, “Everyone is a potential fan. I don’t want to say or do anything problematic or political in nature because I don’t want to turn anyone off or lose a sale.”

My feeling about this is if you really want to make an impact in the world, which most creators do, this is never going to work. In the elegant words of Lin-Manuel Miranda: “If you stand for nothing, Burr, what’ll you fall for?”

Reason #2: The flaws of the artist are apparent in the art as well.

I believe the act of “separating the art from the artist” is a form of false cleansing. It’s like repainting a house when the real problem is the crumbling foundation. Or sweeping the floor when actually you’ve got termites.

If a person says “J.K. Rowling is terrible but Harry Potter is fine,” it implies that the person doesn’t want to admit that the thing they are a fan of might also be problematic. It is sort of like sticking your head in the sand to avoid uncomfortable conversations (and I have certainly been guilty of this in the past).

In reality, flawed artists and flawed art (especially popular art that has been read/consumed by a large number of people) actually provides a launching point to begin conversations about difficult topics—which ultimately can bring about real-world change.

Think about how many people have read or watched the Harry Potter series. It has opened up plenty of opportunities for discussions about rising up against injustice, standing up for what is right, and good versus evil. Well, it now can also be used as a reference point to talk about issues such as transphobia, gender roles, and sexism.

One of the things about Harry Potter is that it has had a significant impact on many people, particularly millennials. I personally loved the stories as a teenager. I’ve read all the books probably 20 times. I found the world engaging, the characters interesting, and the immense depth of details easy to get lost in. When life was hard, I found comfort in the series. When I was stressed, I was able to immerse myself in another world.

But even back then, as a youth, my own community found Harry Potter problematic. I was raised in an evangelical, Christian world. Their number one issue with the series? Witchcraft. They said it promoted evil. Necromancy. I had close friends tell me that by reading the series, I was opening myself up to the devil.

Of course, I disagreed. But I still listened to the people that said they had an issue with the series. I considered the Bible verses they shared that supported their perspective. And I developed my own conclusions about it. By acknowledging that the work itself might be problematic, it forced me to really consider my own thoughts and beliefs on the topic, and it created a reference point for me to have discussions with the people in my community about a difficult subject.

And because of Harry Potter’s widespread popularity, I’ve been forced to reconsider my feelings over and over and over, each time I was exposed to a new perspective on the series.

Ultimately, I believe that both the series and the creator are problematic (though not because of witchcraft). That doesn’t change the fact that I found comfort in it as a teenager or that I enjoyed it previously. But I cannot ignore the problems within the work that I now know are there. And, I now have an opportunity to use the series as a reference point that many people understand when discussing complex and difficult topics.

On being a fan of problematic things.

This is a frequently discussed topic in the scifi and fantasy world, and a couple of years ago I had the opportunity to attend a panel about it at a local comic con. It was informative, to say the least, and I have adopted the ultimate conclusion of the panelists (though, I am always willing to discuss this topic and reserve the right to alter my view if other perspectives sway me).

The main question was this: Is it okay for me to enjoy a problematic thing?

Essentially, the panel participants came to this conclusion: It is fine to be a fan of a problematic thing, so long as you do not blindly defend an artist or their work, are willing to acknowledge the problems inherent within the work, and do not dismiss people off hand when they bring up a problem they have.

The main works discussed at the panel were HP Lovecraft (a raging racist), Supernatural (so many problems with this show I can’t even list them all), and Orson Scott Card (homophobic).

Most works have a combination of good and bad elements. It’s unfair to a creator to focus entirely on the bad and not on the good; but it is also unfair to focus entirely on the good and be unwilling to acknowledge the bad. For example, Supernatural has some horribly sexist undertones and scenes, but some great monsters and fun story lines. HP Lovecraft writes beautiful prose while simultaneously exploring the darkness of the universe—and he’s a blatant racist. Harry Potter had a significant impact on culture—and also JK Rowling is transphobic.

If we agree with the idea that all humans are flawed and thus the things we create are flawed, then it’s unreasonable to say that we can’t be fans of flawed things. But I do think that it is important to be able to have the difficult conversations, acknowledge the flaws in our favorite shows and series, and to be willing to learn from them.

3. Dismissing problematic parts of artists or their art is gaslighting.

Let’s talk about George R. R. Martin for a moment. Lots of people are huge fans of Game of Thrones. When the TV series came out, I decided I would participate by reading the first book in the series, and if I liked it, then I would finish the books and then start watching the show.

Well, I got halfway through the first book, came across the scene which includes the rape of a minor (a 14-year-old “marries” a 25-year-old and they have sex which she is portrayed as enjoying), and I quit. The fact that a grown man thought it was okay to include a scene like that while presenting it as “okay” because the child “wanted” it, makes me more angry than I can even express. Since then, I haven’t read a single book, haven’t watched any of the series, haven’t bought any merch, and generally try to avoid talking about it.

And yet, the series has gained a lot of acclaim, is insanely popular, won awards, etc. And because I write scifi, go to comic cons, and am vocal about my enjoyment of the science fiction and fantasy genres, I have been asked a number of times whether or not I enjoy GoT. When I reply honestly that I couldn’t get past the rape scene, I get one of two responses: either the person says, “I totally understand that,” or they say, “Well, he wrote it in the 90s” (as if it was okay to abuse children in that decade???), or “Well, I don’t think that’s what he intended,” or “People make way too big a deal out of that,” or “Yeah, that’s a problem but the rest of the series is great, you really should give it another chance.”

Essentially, they dismiss my feelings about the work, tell me I’m overreacting, or ignore my concerns entirely. Basically, they gaslight me.

I personally have not been raped, so while these types of responses irritate me, they don’t cause me any additional trauma. But this response is also dismissive of something that is very personal, very traumatic, and very horrific. And no one—let me repeat, NO ONE—should be required to reveal their personal trauma just to help someone else understand why they find a book problematic. This goes for any issue—sexism, racism, abuse, assault, homophobia, transphobia, violence, or anything else.

You are allowed to find a book problematic. You are allowed to find a piece of art problematic. You are allowed to find an author or creator problematic.

Period.

On responding to problematic things.

Let’s say I am at a comic con and say, “I’m a huge fan of XYZ,” and the person I’m talking to replies, “Didn’t you know that XYZ is problematic?” (Problematic here could be anything—racist, sexist, anti-LGBTQ, etc.)

I am immediately horrified, because no, I didn’t know.

I have a few choices:

1. I could say, “I’ve never noticed anything problematic about it, you must be wrong,” or “I don’t care.”

2. I can vow to never watch that TV show again, boycott it, never recommend it, and make sure I communicate to all of my friends that it is problematic so that they also stop watching it.

3. I could say, “Wow, I didn’t realize that,” and then go home, do some research, learn more about the problematic elements, and then make a decision about how to proceed.

The choice I make is going to depend on a few things: who I’m talking to and my relationship with them, the nature of the problematic content, my own personal priorities, my own values, etc.

For example, if someone tells me that a show or book has swearing in it, I might legitimately say, “I don’t care,” even if that other person finds swearing problematic. Because swearing doesn’t typically bother me.

However, last year I started watching 13 Reasons Why, and my friend told me that the entire thing was a dramafication of rape and suicide, so I stopped watching it immediately, without doing any research or reading about it anymore. I trusted my friend, and those are things I find problematic and didn’t want to consume.

Alternatively, I’ve had many discussions about the problematic themes in Supernatural with friends, the way the writers have changed the show and tried to address the critiques, and analyzed the effectiveness of their efforts, and the process been very informative and educational for me. So I’ve chosen to continue watching the show.

Whether or not and how much art or an artist is problematic is a personal decision, and so is determining the way in which we respond.

At the end of the day…

I honestly don’t think we can separate the art from the artist. And I don’t think we should.

Art is not created in a vacuum, and when we consume it, it is always important to remember the context in which it was created—the era, the culture, and the creator.

Art has served so many functions in society, from expressing emotions such as joy or sorrow or pain, to shining a light on the injustices of society, to exploring a variety of ideas and concepts, to simply providing a form of entertainment or escape.

If we find art or an artist problematic, it is up to us to decide whether we will abstain from engaging with that person’s work ever again, will do so only privately, or will do so openly with a willingness to have a discussion about the flaws—or whether we will dismiss the concerns other people have about it entirely.

We are also allowed to change our minds—to stop consuming something if we decide we can no longer stomach the problems, to restart if the artist works to make amends, or if we change our feelings on a particular topic for any reason.

Flaws, feelings, growth, and art are all very human. And one of the most beautiful things about art is the ability to represent ourselves authentically and to experience other people’s perspectives on the world—flaws and all.

[1] This is an explanation of the historical precedent for this concept.

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The Launch of Book 3: Lamplighters Society

The last couple of weeks have been interesting at best, and horrifying and stressful at worst. Between the virus, the murder of George Floyd, and the protests, it feels like the world is upside-down and backwards. 

And here I am, launching a book.

Frankly, launching a book amid all this feels quite trite. It feels pointless. It feels a little ridiculous.

But I’m doing it anyway, because I know that my work has brought pleasure to quite a few people and is a form of escape. A few moments stolen here and there to read, relieve stress, and hopefully get a small emotional boost.

I also want you to know that I don’t write these books in isolation from what’s going on in the world. Quite the opposite, in fact. Many of the decisions I’ve made regarding the books have been with an eye on the future.

I’ve written a couple of posts about my process and efforts to become more anti-racist. You can read them here and here. But this work I’ve done on myself has not ended at the doors to my business. Quite the opposite—I would argue it started there.

When I began my anti-racist efforts, I wanted to make a difference but I had no idea how. And my first idea was simply to write books with diverse characters. I knew I couldn’t truly represent the experiences of Black people in our contemporary world, but why not envision a future or another world where things were different? Plus, if I ever managed to accomplish one of my far future goals of making TV show, then I knew I would be able to hire Black actors, directors, etc. and help put more money into the Black community. I started small, with Kaia and Quin in my first series, and have been working to expand ever since, not just with Black characters, but also with Asian, LGBTQ, Hispanic, and more.

I have a lot more to say on this topic, but this is supposed to be about my book launch, so I’ll just end with this: when I developed my core purpose and values, I went though a lot of steps (which you can read about here), and one thing never wavered. My focus was on respecting and honoring other people.

It came down to this:
My core purpose is to tell stories that reflect the wide range of human experience.

That means working to create not just white characters, but black, Hispanic, Asian, transgender, gay, lesbian, disabled, parents, kids, homeless, and any other number of characteristics you might think of. The human experience is wide. Very wide. Very, very wide.

I might not always get it right. But I will always do my best. And I’ll take it one story at a time.

If you have any thoughts or questions, you can send me a message. I am happy to have a dialogue with you.

In the meantime, if you’re here for the new book, click here.

If you would like a free copy of the ebook, please make a donation and send me the receipt to either the Black Visions Collective, to George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery’s GoFundMe, or to your local bail organization.

Thank you. And stay safe, stay healthy, and #blacklivesmatter.

On Being Anti-Racist

[Reposted from Facebook.]

My last long post was for myself and/or everyone, but this post is mostly for my white friends and family.

I’ll start with an offer: if you’re trying to learn how to be a better anti-racist, feel free to message me. I don’t know even close to everything, but I’m happy to talk to you and share resources. If you want to ask me if something is racist or not, go for it. I promise there will be no judgement on my end.

I’m also planning to start reading through the book White Fragility by Robin J DiAngelo in the next few weeks, so let me know if you’d like to read along and discuss.

When I first decided I wanted to make a difference in the world, specifically in regards to racial inequity in our country, my first step was to Google something along the lines of “how can I be a Black ally” and I was immediately overwhelmed. Keep in mind this was easily over a decade ago, and the information online is even more expansive now.

I was also overwhelmed by the “rules,” some of which at that time even seemed contradictory. It sort of felt like it didn’t matter what I did, I couldn’t do it right. You might have seen some of these pop up recently, but it was always, “Speak up, but not performatively.” “Stand up for black rights, but don’t make it about you.” “Demonstrate your support but don’t inject your own thoughts into the conversation; instead give Black voices a chance to be heard.”

Not only was I overwhelmed by the sheer number of options and rules, I also felt like I had to do and follow them all or I would be hurting the cause. Every single one. And I was so overwhelmed, my next step was complete inaction for a period of time. I then called my older brother, who gave me a list of books to read, which I read none of. Eventually, I decided to follow some Black-run Facebook pages and just start listening. I didn’t comment, I didn’t engage—I just read every post and the comments underneath.

Time passed, and I eventually realized that I had spent over two years consuming content written specifically by Black people and people of color, and I realized that a little bit at a time goes a long way.

Over that time, I had a few realizations that really helped me push forward:

--First, I realized I didn’t have to do all the things at once. One thing at a time was better than none at all. And, truthfully, I didn’t have to do all the things either. If I didn’t feel comfortable going to a protest, I didn’t have to. There are innumerable ways to provide support.

--I realized that changing my own mind came first. A lot of the “rules” like the ones I listed above are designed to prevent people from trying to “prove” that they are anti-racist or an ally, when they haven’t done the work inside their own heart and mind.

--Whatever stress I was feeling about doing or saying the right or wrong thing was tiny and insignificant compared to the pain, fear, and suffering black people experience every day.

--I learned to beware of and be aware of rhetoric, hyperbole, gaslighting, and false dichotomies.

--I learned to stop saying “but.” For example, “Yes, Black lives matter, but… police matter too.” “Black lives matter, but don’t all lives matter?” “Justice for George Floyd, but I just don’t think people should be rioting.” In fact, once I started paying attention to “buts” in my own head, I was amazed at how many there were. A lot of the “buts” had nothing to do with each other, anyway—they were just talking points I had heard somewhere and was repeating.

--I learned to listen to understand, not to listen to respond. The trick I found that helped me with this was starting from an attitude of trust. I’m not talking about the news or random listicles on random websites. I’m talking about real people. Reading what my Black friends were saying on social media, reading the articles they post. Reading conversations from real people and believing them. And back before I had any Black friends (I did grow up in Steuben County after all lol), I followed black influencers online.

--I learned that humility was required. I will never, ever be able to fully empathize, to fully understand and share the feelings of black people in our country. But I can sympathize and I can grieve with them and I can feel compassion. But because I can’t empathize, I have to be willing to be corrected. If I say or do a racist thing, I have to be willing to change, not get defensive, not get angry.

--I learned that having a racist thought does not make me a bad person—so long as I do everything in my power to counter those thoughts. If someone points out a micro aggression on my part, it does not make me a bad person—so long as I do everything in my power to understand what happened and not do it again. If I make a mistake, it is on me to pick myself back up and try again.

--I learned that picking apart the racism in my own head and trying to come to terms with my white privilege had a ripple effect throughout other areas of my life. The same strategies I used to pick apart my feelings about race could be used in areas like body image, identity, being female, relationships with my family/spouse, and more.

Mostly, I learned that I couldn’t just wake up one morning and decide I wasn’t going to be racist any more. I couldn’t just wake up and decide to be an anti-racist ally. I had to work at it every single day.

This work will never be completed. I can never change the fact that I was born and raised in a culture, a system, a country that prefers white bodies over black bodies. I can never unsee or unhear or unread racist comments, twisted news headlines, or inaccurate history. I cannot change what I learned and internalized as a child, a teenager, or even as an adult prior to now.

But I can counter racist thoughts in the moment. I can seek out a diverse community. I can believe Black people when they say they are suffering. I can unlearn cultural lies. And I can work towards making a world in which the next generation of children experiences true equality.

Being an anti-racist will require a lifetime of work. I can never do it perfectly, but I can also never stop trying.

If you got this far, lol, this is just a reminder that I’m happy to chat about any of this. Message me here, Instagram, email, discord. <3 

In the meantime, there's some more super helpful information here:

Ask when you don’t know — but do the work first.

Lamplighters Society Cover

The day will soon be upon us! And by that, I mean the day of the launch of the next book in the Land of Szornyek series, Lamplighters Society.

I had debated delaying the launch of this book given everything that’s happening in the world, but I’ve decided to go ahead with it for a couple of reasons. First, this book has already been delayed by about two months, and I don’t want to disappoint any readers that are waiting for it.

Second, I know that my books give some small amount of comfort, pleasure, and/or escape to my readers, and I want that to still be there for you.

So in light of that, please enjoy the cover, designed by the fantastic Natasha Snow.

For those of you who are curious, I had mentioned earlier this year that my launch would be delayed because of the cover. If you’re curious about what happened, it’s not that complicated: my previous designer went bankrupt.

This is certainly a thing that happens when you run a business, but I was very surprised and disappointed. I was particularly peeved that they didn’t tell anyone, and left all of their clients to figure it out on their own. Most skilled cover designers book custom cover design at least a couple of months in advance. Some book a full year in advance. Last July I had scheduled them for late November, and then I gave them about a month grace period to get the cover designed, since it was over the holidays (yes, I’m talking last Thanksgiving/Christmas here), but after my initial query, I didn’t hear from them once. They vanished into the ether.

Once I submitted my dispute through Paypal and had my money returned, I then had to schedule another designer. Luckily, I’d been using Natasha for my fairy tale series, and she was able to fit me in during May.

I went back to look up their website to ask about them design copyright, and their website was a single page stating that they went bankrupt, no contact information, and a notice that clients should file a dispute via Paypal.

That is really all there is to the story. Disappointing, yes, but I was fortunate to get my money back, and fortunate that Natasha could fit me in. Not to mention, the cover she designed is stunning.

Stay tuned for the link to the book!

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