2008 is the year of serious fiction writing for Wil, so it is also going to be the year of reading like crazy to stay inspired and in the proper headspace for writing. I'm quite excited for this, actually, because it means I'll be working through the stack of books (you'll find one in every house, you'll see) almost as fast as I can add to it.
However, having finished my manga script and Penny Arcade foreword, I find myself massively unmotivated to do much of anything beyond Propelling links every day, burning through the Netflix queue, and catching up on whatever my DVR's recorded for me in the last few months. And Xbox. And Nintendo DS.
This lack of motivation and focus is disturbing to me, and it's dangerous, too. I've resolved to find my way out of Lazy Bum Town and back onto the Highway of Productivity before the end of the week.
Could it be that my brain wants to take a bit of a vacation? That I subconsciously need to just veg out and do nothing so it can recharge? Am I just undisciplined? Whatever the answer is, I need my brains back soon, because Andrew and I put together a 2008 release schedule for Monolith Press and -- wait. That's not right. I told Andrew about all the things I wanted to do this year and when I wanted to have them done, and he put together a schedule that is tough, but reasonable . . . if I can just get my damn brain into gear and find my motivation. Thank jeebus for Andrew, because he's a hell of a lot more than just a good friend and a Red Pen of Doom.
I think the best way to get motivated is to give myself deadlines. And by "give myself" I mean "respect the deadlines Andrew set up for me." I think that I need inspiration too, though, and I'm going to get that by reading books I love, listening to audio books I love, and analyzing movies that I love. I got the idea to do what became Just a Geek and Dancing Barefoot because I was inspired by This American Life and David Sedaris. I'm working on some original science fiction because I've been inspired by Scalzi, Joe Haldeman, and Phillip K. Dick.
But that inspiration, and the desire to do something with it, is having a tough time achieving escape velocity from video games and movies, so maybe the whole thing comes down to discipline, which I understand is one of the toughest things for freelance writers who work out of their house to maintain.
