May Update: Taking A Break + Free Patreon Month

Hey, all. I hate to go back on what I said in the most recent roundup post, but I've been doing a lot of thinking over the past few days and I've come to a difficult decision. The long and short of it is, I'm going to be taking a break from writing for this month, and pausing Patreon payments for all of you.

So, why? To be completely honest, the reason is that I'm starting to burn out. I've been treating writing as my job for over a year and a half now, and in that time I've been putting out 15k-20k words (and often more) every single month without fail, in the form of three or four short stories. I'm very blessed to be able to do this with all of your support, and I'm more grateful for that than I can put into words, but I guess the realities of creativity are that you can only create like that for so long before it starts to get pretty tough. That's what's been happening to me. The pandemic has also aggravated things. Not being able to go outside, not being able to see friends and loved ones, and being stuck at home with some people I'd rather not be around all day has definitely taken its toll.

I want to be able to do this job forever, because I truly love it and I believe I'm good at it. So, I think it's important that I take care of my mental health and take a break for a few weeks as a pre-emptive step. I'm confident that after that, I'll have recharged and I'll be able to get writing again - and hopefully write more and better things than ever before. A few weeks ago I watched the movie Kiki's Delivery Service, which touches on burnout, and a certain line really stuck with me: 'Stop trying. Take long walks. Look at scenery. Doze off at noon. Don't even think about flying. And then, pretty soon, you'll be flying again.' That's what I need, and after some gentle pushing from my girlfriend, I'm going for it.

However, after all the support you've all given me, I couldn't dream of taking money from you and giving nothing in return, especially when I know that so many people are suffering financially right now. For that reason, I'm going to be pausing payments for this month. This means you'll keep your pledges and all your access to the content on my Patreon, but you won't have to pay anything. I'm also committing to writing at least one thing for you in May anyway, as a kind of free gift to show my appreciation. I've got a WIP that I'd like to finish off soon-ish (the next installment of Fall of the Star Sentinels) and so you can expect that before the end of the month.

I don't ever expect anything from any of you, but my sincere hope is that you'll all be willing to stick with me for this month. You won't have to pay anything, and you'll be getting some content anyway, but still, if some of you choose to unplegdge, I completely understand and I hope that I can win back your support in the future. Whatever you choose to do, you have my heartfelt gratitude for being my patrons, and you always will.

TL;DR: I am pausing all of your payments for this month in order to take a few weeks' break from writing and recover from burnout and pandemic-related mental health issues.