Tis the season for status updates. Not as much the other kind of updates as I would like, though · 7:58am Dec 24th, 2020
It wouldn't be Christmas if I hadn't been completely incommunicado for at least a month or two beforehand, right?
Unfortunately, I don't have chapters of Sharing the Nation to post for Christmas this year. I do have some Equal Opportunity Ascension chapters that only Patreon has seen, and I'll post those, I guess, but it's clear this… isn't working.
"This" mostly being Patreon, or at least my approach to it.
It's been… two years, I think, since I decided to make my Patreon income a part of my normal budget and set a goal to get at least a chapter a month out, and for the most part, I've at least managed that, on average.
I'm really, really bad at it, though.
I can't say how much I appreciate all the people who have contributed to my Patreon, since they've made a huge difference to me personally for the last two years, but I'm just not a social, self-promoting kind of person. I stopped sending updates to Equestria Daily because I'd just forget half the time, and I haven't been much better at fulfilling my duties to my Patreon reward tiers.
On the other hand, it has been the kick I needed to actually get back into the habit of writing. I've written a lot of words that might not have otherwise been written thanks to the pressure of getting out at least a chapter a month. Some of those words weren't great. A lot of them have been stressful. Writing is always going to be better than not writing, but I also don't feel like I'm getting better at the feat of producing words on demand. It's kind of a wash.
All of this, and of course, all of the other things that have been going on in the world this past year, has brought us to a place where I can no longer really call my Patreon an income for my purposes. It could still be, if I could dedicate myself to two chapters a month from now on, and 700 words a day really isn't too much to expect. I did 1200 per day in September, after all, and it was entirely doable… at the time. I just don't always have that in me.
Again, I blame no one but myself, and certainly not the people who had to withdraw their support due to the pandemic.
tl;dr
That said, I am going to have to look elsewhere to make up the loss. This may mean fewer chapters, or at least more irregular chapters. It may also be a good thing. Maybe a little less pressure is what I need in order to get it right. I still want to finish my stories. We'll just have to see what happens.
Sorry 
Despite my self-deprecation, I'm not actually closing my Patreon or anything, and anyone who does decide to contribute will have my gratitude. I might have to just get rid of the tiers, though… Even the $3 nothing tier is probably doing more harm than good at this point.
Whatever you decide on or need to do, your writing has always been top-tier and engaging. I wasn't even going to do it this time, since this year has been what it is, but your Christmas presents to your readers are a consistent source of delight. I hope things get better for you. Merry Christmas.
Ah, I'm sorry you've been having difficulties there. Good luck to you, however you decide to proceed!