To Write For Love of Writing · 1:58pm Jun 1st, 2018
Blog Number 40: "Stop and Smell the Roses" Edition
Hello once again, my fellow writers! Impossible Numbers here with a minor update on my progress.
True, May could have gone better: 28,369 words written in total last month, and no stories published. 
At least I think I know what I'm doing wrong; in my haste to keep up the standard, I've been neglecting an important principle of mine...
"Things won are done; joy's soul lies in the doing."
More on this after the break.
This is a principle I've always tried to adhere to: I focus on making the methodology work, and I don't obsess over the results as though they'll make or break me.
What I mean is that focusing too much on results instead of on the writing process was encouraging bad habits (getting obsessed about views, comments, rankings: status stuff). That latter mindset is tempting because hey, who doesn't want to produce good stuff that attracts a lot of people? Results are important, in a way.
Hence the temptation.
Problem: when it's about results rather than the process, the process can suffer as a result. I noticed my approach to writing was different when I thought of it less as a worthy thing in itself and more as a means to an end. Worse, it slowly turned into a tedious chore I put up with for the sake of a few moments of glory. Since I spend more time in the process than in the reward stage, obviously that was likely to tarnish the experience, especially when success was never guaranteed. And then I lay awake at night, wondering why I'm doing this (I'm speaking metaphorically; I never literally did this).
Which is why, this month, I'm going to be more laid-back and patient.
After all, I do remember enjoying the writing a lot in the moment - in the "zone", as it were - and that, I think, is the proper attitude to have, rather than fretting over how shiny the resultant fics are. It's a matter of total mental absorption in the task for its own enjoyment, rather than thinking of it as a "do-or-die" coupon for future rewards. Like solving a puzzle for the thrill of the challenge rather than for a cookie or a compliment. Hence my need to take a less stress-inducing and more intrinsic interest in the process.
Sadly, that means as far as pony writing is concerned, there will be a delay this month. Possibly a repeat of last month's quietude.
Also, among other things, I've got to catch up on some non-writing stuff I was neglecting in my obsessive mindset (like my reading: I haven't done much of that recently, which is a real shame).
That said: Hopefully, I will have a finished novel before the midway point of 2018, and thus fulfil one of my lifelong ambitions. I hope so! 
These last few weeks and months, I've been struggling to get one over the finish line, and forgot while doing so what I liked about the actual concept to begin with. Containers aren't that important; content is.
Slightly more optimistic now, especially about the future. 
Hope to see you on the other side of the month with better news yet.
That's all for now, folks! Impossible Numbers, out.
Statistics
List of Reviews
When Space Met Time got a glowing review from Loganberry, who awarded it an encouraging four star rating. Of course, the fun part was reading the main body of the review itself; I always love finding out what specifically people like (and don't like) about a particular fic.
- Ponyfic Roundup 201: Tralfamadorians (When Space Met Time)
Fics Accepted By Equestria Daily
Valuable Time, or Dolce Far Niente surprised me; it got in without any major problems. So many surprises on this front... I've pushed the boat out this time and submitted an old and neglected project from all the way back to 2015, An Old Tale in a New World, just to see what happens. These discrepancies between my expectations and the reality have inclined me towards the experimental.
New Stories?: Alas, no. This might remain empty for a while longer too. Don't worry; I'm not out of the game yet. Ponyfics will come; I've got too many ideas for me to give up.
New Updates: No.
Story Count: 77.
13 in 2018.
26 in 2017.
16 in 2016.
2 in 2015.
0 in 2014.
8 in 2013.
9 in 2012.
3 in 2011.
My Total Story View Count: Rendered obsolete due to new site changes.
Age: 2,362 days, or 337 weeks and 3 days.
Working: 19 days in December 2011, 2x366 days for 2012 and 2016 leap years, 4x365 days for 2013 and 2014 and 2015 and 2017, and 151 days for 2018 so far combined.
My Follower Count: 189.
My Followed Count: 160.
there's a famous self-help technique where you "visualize success" daily and that helps you make it come true. coincidentally, lately I've been reading about some research experiments on it that all conclude... that it backfires terribly! it reduces your energy and tricks your brain into thinking you've already succeeded. random daydreaming would be less harmful. Meanwhile, visualizing the process to reaching that success actually does improve results, because of better planning and reduced anxiety.
so it's not just a nice principle, but proven to be practical too
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Thanks for leaving a comment.
That finding does sound familiar to me, though I can't remember exactly where I learned about the different visualization techniques and their effects. A Richard Wiseman book, I think. It's been a while, I know that much.
You bring up a good point: I also wonder if such a results-focused mindset encourages complacency and entitlement. Since it makes the person think of themselves in terms of an image of success rather than as someone who actually does things, it probably orients their focus towards looking after the image instead of the activity.
Although what I had in mind at the time of writing was a different angle: instead of focusing on the visualization, here I was focusing on the different positive experiences.
For instance, achievement feels great in the moment, but wears off faster than one might expect and so is too transient and occasional to reliably make yourself feel better. If you define your happiness with achievement, the long gaps in-between become more worrying and problematic.
By contrast, getting absorbed in the task itself allows the person to pass several happy hours doing something creative and constructive. If you define your happiness with action, the perspective flips: the long gaps suddenly become extended good times, and the achievements are the distraction now.
Obviously, I'm simplifying here, but I do believe getting in the zone - hard as it can be sometimes - is one of the pinnacles of human experience.
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Oh, for sure. I think that might tie in to the "less anxiety" result that appeared in the studies.
and as everyone on Fimfic probably knows by now: even when you do a good job, the "reward" can be fickle and uncertain