Pushing Though (Show notes: huntingthemuse.com/podcast/6) Welcome to HuntingTheMuse.com's Creative Writing Podcast.  If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element. Today's podcast episode is about pushing through. We all deal with emotional difficulties at different times with our writing. This episode will talk through that process and help you to overcome your self-doubt.This week was tough, but despite all the roadblocks, the hiccups, and the distractions... I was Doing It! Not subscribed to the podcast? Get it now! My Week As a military veteran, I deal with a lot of anxiety and depression, and I'm going to try to do my best to remove that filter from my personal weekly updates. But, if you asked me right out, I'd tell you I had a tough week. And that would be true. But there were also some really good moments, and I can't discount those. I made some huge progress with lining up story components and defining the motivations of a particular character in Chlorophyllium 9 and subsequently Final Hope. That process often requires that your ego go through the crucible and it's a process that can be hard, but it can also be very worth it if you want to create the best story possible. Work wasn't too bad, though I did get some stern words from an upper management member who, I feel, misunderstood a situation where I was trying to do the right thing. I won't go into any detail here, but my supervisor was pretty awesome and smoothed it out as best she could. It was great that she supported me and was on my side. (Of course, insert emotional trigger here, though. Feeling like I was stuck and unable to defend myself took me back to a pretty bad situation I was in for a long time during my service. This probably helped fuel my bad feelings about my writing.) Podcast News I didn't get time to produce the shortened outros I talked about in the last episode. I think doing this would be an improvement, but it probably isn’t the highest priority at this time. Installed the Patreon App on my phone and have been uploading some quick writing prompts: both audio and pictures. It's been a lot of fun and it doesn't take much time. Now, I've been trying to figure out how Patreon works and it seems like there are two types of posts you can do. One is the standard free-for-all, while the other is attached to a donation. So, for patrons who support you, you provide special content on a pre-arranged agreement (such as, no more than twice a month). This raises the question, if in the future I do start getting patrons, what content should I create for my supporters? I originally planned on providing up to two additional podcasts per month, but these things take a lot of time to produce and that might not be very feasible. So, what about posting stories based on some of the creative writing prompts posted that month? You see, my goal with this podcast isn't necessarily to get better at podcasting, though that's naturally one of my concerns. I want to do well at whatever I'm doing. Producing extra episodes is taxing and coming up with seven writing prompts that are more than a single sentence can be tough. Furthermore, producing podcasts doesn't necessarily make me a better writer. Writing stories based on the prompts and providing them to my patrons could be mutually beneficial, but are my podcast listeners here for their own creative writing endeavors, or are they interested in my writing. Is there a segment of listeners who are interested in both? Who enjoy what I do enough to offer their support in exchange for my writing? My biggest concern is, what is the best thing for me to do to provide value for my patrons, while also increasing the skills that best align with my writing goals? What do you think? I would love to hear from you! Writing Updates I started out the week feeling pretty good about the progress I had made. Then I started questioning the overarching motivations of