No, my millennial boomer brain can’t keep up with it.
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From your post:
" or to use one in a particular way for the first time"
Me:
Using a much lighter definition for the first time because it is popular was clearly what I was pointing out by the second time.
You disagree, so be it.
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elderly.
i suppose, but i still don’t think gaslight has shifted enough to count for that definition.
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I am gonna slap you with my cane!
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mean and elderly u^u
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get off my lawn 
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I think if you approach it with the expectation that it will take you a long time, then it will be easier to handle the challenge mentally.
I have moments of doubt about my series all the time. So much to write and the progress is slow because it’s complicated and it gets more complicated the more time passes because I accidentally keep expanding the universe.
It was bumming me out for a while when I started to count: if getting one book to a state I’m satisfied with takes me x number of years and I have x number of books to write, then it will take me at least a decade to write it all. And that’s really depressing.
To battle that scary thought, I gave myself permission to take my time.
I think handling the challenge without losing your mind lies in understanding yourself.
For me, I understood that I can be very hard on myself and I’m susceptible to imposter’s syndrome. If I’m expecting to get something done and for whatever reason I can’t, I feel like an utter failure and can spiral into a mental hole that’s hard to crawl out of.
And so for this massive project, I told myself that the quality matters more than time. I’d rather take a decade but be proud of the outcome than rush to reach some made up timeline that no one but me cares about.
Giving myself permission sounds so simple but I can’t express enough how much of a difference it makes to me. If I’m feeling overwhelmed, I allow myself a break. If I’d rather work on an automated spreadsheet that tracks my story than adding actual words to it, I allow myself. If I’d rather dive into research, I allow myself. If I want to play around with graphics for a scene setting or character portrait, I allow myself. Is this an efficient way to write a story? Absolutely not, but it allows my brain a break it craves and then from time to time I do sit down to write and it comes out great (most of the time).
So for you, try to understand what your internal enemy is that would prevent you from completing your difficult project and address that.
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I posted a new story. I have no idea what I’m doing. At least I’m having fun making ridiculous graphics for it.
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Speaking of character portraits, I finally got around to fixing the portrait of Ruby.
I’ve created it a while ago with AI face generator but wanted to fix his eye color and tweak a few minor details.
Yesterday I sat down with Krita and added realistic green eyes to his image since this is how I’ve always imagined him. But then when trying out different blend modes, I found that in Luminosity setting, the eyes turned into sort of this root beer color and I think I like that on him even more than green.
So now comes a question if I want to keep it. This would mean some edits. His eye color isn’t important to the story so it’s not a big deal. The only problem it could create is that describing green eyes takes less effort than describing root beer eyes so I’d have to spend more time on that and I don’t want to overdo it.
I’m still learning how to best describe characters. It’s tricky because you don’t want to overdescribe, that gets boring.
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I can churn then out when I want to, and have done so repeatedly, but even a “fast writer” is going to take forever (for them) on a series. I’ve got things I’ve got to get back to, verging on 2-3 years now.
Thanks I’ll keep that in mind.
Ha I can already see how it could engulf my life for the next few years. Your comment has me thinking that I could turn the research process into an oral history study which I could maybe get paid for. I’ll talk to my research supervisor about it…
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Thanks for sharing your insight into your process.
This is a good approach to have.
Yeah definitely. This project for me is deeply personal. I’m fictionalising my life and family up to this point. I think the biggest hurdles would be confronting the past, what’s happened to me, what happened to my family. The first task, and the most daunting, is sitting down and having interviews and difficult conversations with my family. I already have their blessing to do this… well, some of them anyway. I just need to get into their psyche.
Just had a conversation with my sister where I described the character inspired by her as an Austenian old maid. She was thrilled. She wants me to send her character’s passages as soon I write them.
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Oh, my. That is tricky indeed.
I actually have an idea for a story inspired by what happened to my grandpa - how his family got off the ship in the wrong port, wrong country, actually wrong continent too, and stayed there. I always found it fascinating that something that ridiculous could happen, but also scary if you think about it from their point of view. My granda isn’t around anymore for me to interview so if I did it, I think I’d just completely make everything up, using his story only as an inspiration for a fun story set up.
I think that’s for the best because trying to be true to what actually happened would be very tricky. Lots of details to capture, historical and cultural in addition to the delicate balance of stirring family drama baggage and having to portray real people accurately even though I’ve never met them.
So yes, I see why you’re dreading your task. Good luck.
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At 55.6K and switching to editing/reading now. Because I will have to travel for work a lot in the next couple of days and so it’s going to be a busy week… plus we are into the next family crisis, but it seems resolving atm. 
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Thank you very much for your kind words. I think they were trying to be helpful but it just didn’t end up being, lol. Really appreciate your comment.
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Yeah. All good in the end. I don’t think they intended to be malicious, rather they just thought that way. Understand some stories won’t move some people, that’s fine. It was just kind of hard hitting to read. Thank you for your kind words and thoughts.
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Thanks 
That sounds like a good premise!
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I’m watching Sandman and my cat has been dosing off on my lap but then there was a long set with just cats (animated) and he was paying attention, fascinated by the “actors” and their story. I really do hope he didn’t understand because it turned pretty dark, suggesting that cats dream of ruling over humanity.
Oh, and when that ended, he started grooming. Animated or not, he definitely knew they were cats.
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Who’s ready for chaos?
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So I’ve done all this writing, but it feels like it’s for nothing, since I don’t really have an avenue to draw readers in. I don’t think I’ve had a regular reader for years. At least, I’ve never seen a sale on my book for the last five years. The only social media I can use, as I’m technically challenged, is Twitter. Kind of feels sad when labor goes into story and nothing of value can come out of the final output.
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