Personal Update (Patreon)

Just popping in with an update <3

First off, the next Secret Garden for "A Little Thief" will be posted tomorrow instead of today, in case anyone's been waiting (I've gotten a nice MPL work rhythm going on right now, and I'm gonna run with for a bit more). Next, I thought I'd talk a bit about what's been going on during my hiatus.

I'm a little over 1.5 months into my break now, and though I've been working on MPL, a lot of it has been the more relaxing stuff like working on the foundation and doing the groundwork for Season 2. I've never been one for 'leading the team' in my past jobs, and I was really a typical 'Type B personality' kind of worker, and I preferred to let others do the thinking and planning, lol. Ironically, in the process of seeking more freedom by becoming an indie comic creator, I'm now in the project management role I've been dodging for years 😂 Surprisingly though, I'm enjoying it quite a bit, and more surprisingly, I've realised that I'm actually pretty good at this project management stuff. Definitely not as shitty at it as I thought I was, lmao. Anyway, I've mostly been thinking of more ways to optimise the communication system and project workflow within our team, making sure everyone's happy and comfortable with the pace and workload, figuring out what areas can be improved on without killing any of us over it, and all that glamorous stuff.

Now that most of the groundwork is out of the way, I'm gearing up to get back to the real work again. I'm definitely experiencing a huge resistance to it, which is a thing I hate about long breaks - it's really hard to get that momentum going again. And while a nice long break is undeniably good and necessary for mental and health wellbeing, there are a number of underlying fears - for me at least - that come with the territory. Things like - what if I can't perform anymore? What if work gets too tough and I burn out too quickly? What if my 'muse' leaves and never comes back again? What if I forget how to write MPL, and lose my connection with the story and characters? Or the worst one of all - what if I get bored and stop enjoying what I do? Since I've started making comics, these are fears I encounter every single time I take a break, and it is honestly not very fun.

On the bright side though, I definitely feel refreshed and rejuvenated again. The 'resistance' usually disappears soon after I get back to work, so I'm not too worried about that, although I'm VERY mindful in pacing myself to make sure I don't burn out or get mentally overwhelmed, which is a very real thing, and a pretty rough experience for me. In any case, these 'fears' are mostly my brain making shit up, and I absolutely believe in taking control of my life without letting my thoughts run (or ruin, lol) everything, so it's business as usual for me again.

That pretty much sums up the last few weeks for me. Thanks for reading my ramblings, because sometimes just typing it out, and letting others know what you feel about stuff, can be pretty cathartic 💜💜 I'll be posting updates on MPL very soon since I'm officially starting production work again, and I'll see you guys again 💕