State of the Serial: October 2025

Alright, let's get the big ones out of the way first. Break week coming up for patrons, updates returning on the 26th.

THE GOOD: Progress is proceeding on the next arc of TMGM. After dealing with sickness for weeks, it's down to the last dregs of a lingering cough and I've been able to finally catch up on writing and start to get ahead again. No more chapter delays, and I can finally put more energy into my second project.

THE BAD: My girlfriend broke up with me, which means I'm now living in an apartment with my ex, a second person who has as good as called me a parasite, and a third person that I never interact with. These are not ideal living conditions. I need to move out.

THE UGLY: Housing is hard. At my current Patreon income, I could just barely afford a studio by skipping 100% of meals each month. This is also not the kind of problem that can be overcome by setting up a gofundme or linking to ko-fi or whatever and begging for generosity, because most apartment places want to see proof of steady income. To get even the worst of the options I've been looking at, I need my Patreon to be higher. So, how do I make that happen?

Like I've mentioned in a few places, I've been working on a second project. A second web serial can expand my audience and allows me to justify creating additional tiers of support on Patreon. With enough new and upgrading patrons, I could in theory reach at least $1.5k/month, which is still not a lot to live on but might be enough to lock in an apartment. This project has been developing slowly because I wanted to get it right, but I'm running out of time. I've gotta commit to one idea and just start writing it.

Some considerations:

"What does your timetable look like?" Ideally, the serial will be updating on Patreon come November and have sufficient backlog by January that I can justify a speedy RR release and move into a new place in February.

"Have you considered looking for roommates?" I have, and it's difficult. A lot of the issues in my current situation arose from irreconcilable differences in living habits between me and the people around me, and this has been a recurring problem in my life. I don't know that I really have the time and energy to spare toward finding a roommate where we can both bear to be around each other.

"Where are you looking for apartments?" Back to the west coast, probably around Portland, since that's central to most of my friends. I moved to Colorado for this relationship and I have felt extremely isolated, which has contributed to the stress I've been under. I need to be back where I have a real support network.

"What about finding a job that isn't writing?" This question was actually the crux of the argument I had with the aforementioned roommate who said I was taking advantage of my partner by the arrangement that let me focus on writing. It has stuck under my skin, especially since it was coming from another (far more successful) writer. Most writers have a second job. Actually, most writers have writing as their second job, and something more conventional as their first. And I tried that for years. It nearly destroyed me.

I'm a weak person. I don't say that lightly. I am physically inadequate and emotionally volatile. Manual labor can literally make me sick. My ability to put on a customer service face degrades rapidly. I have no qualifications to enter a field that will not be torturous for me, and I am just plain weaker than most people working in entry-level jobs.

If I have to go back to retail, I don't know that I can keep up with TMGM. Certainly not at the same quality. I certainly won't have the time and energy to devote to a second serial, and that means no chance of my writing lifting me out of retail. I would be stuck there forever, and I can't handle that. The very idea of it breaks me.

I understand that makes me selfish. So many other people suffer for their desires and here I am trying to get away with pursuing my dream suffering-free. I hate it. I hate myself. Maybe I am a parasite. It doesn't matter. I'm going to do it anyway. I'm going to strive to succeed and do everything in my power to write that second serial and live the life I want. I'll be selfish.

Damn anyone who judges me for it.