[LIKE] - [COMMENT] - [SHARE] NOTE: these links point to Substack!

Greetings from the Xen’in Universe!

So I’ll start with the good news. I got more words done in August than in July. 33,560 words vs 19,320. Still lower than what I pulled in June (85,281) but it’s on the way back up.

One thing I figured out though is why my numbers tend to dip like that. I mean, obviously, if I procrastinate, I won’t be as prolific. But that’s not what’s going on here. Or, rather, it’s not the root cause.

The main issue is, how can I put this, a mix of frustration and lack of motivation for a particular project. It’s nothing new. I often hit walls that will slow me down to a crawl. My typical answer to this is to switch to a different project that I feel more excited about, and that usually gets me going again. And, to be honest, that’s part of the reason why my output was better this month (I took some time to write some short stories that were a lot of fun).

I can’t do that here, though. At least, not to the same extent. Because I’m working with a couple of deadlines that need to be met. That’s putting a lot of pressure on me. And while pressure isn’t necessarily a bad thing (it tends to help me, sometimes) it can also be very stressful when you can’t figure out how to get over an obstacle.

That being said, I think I’ve finally overcome this particular hurdle, so those numbers should continue to go up. Hopefully.

As for the bad news… Well, there isn’t any! Haha. How cool is that?

Oh! I mentioned last month that I was starting an alternate newsletter (with exactly the same content) for those among you who are sick and tired of Substack’s “Nazi problem.” Well, I got it all set up and am rather happy with—and even a little impressed by—the new platform I chose (Kit). Here’s the link:

[you're already subscribed to the Kit version if you're reading this!]

Some of the cool features over there include the ability to build a whole website (independently from the newsletter content) and (get this!) to sell ebooks without having to go through any of the usual online retailers (and Kit takes a much smaller cut, too). I’ve already made a page for my novel “Everlife” and will likely add more in the near future (note however that this only works for digital, they don’t do physical books).

Anyway, if you prefer to switch to this ‘cleaner’ alternative, you’ll have to do so manually by subscribing there and unsubscribing here. I might transfer everyone there eventually, but for now I’ll run the two in parallel and we’ll see how it goes.

And that’s all for now.

Coming up this month

So what’s coming this month? No idea! Uh-oh… Sounds like something I’ve said before, doesn’t it? Haha. No worries. I’ll figure something out. Have a few ideas running around in my head. Will write something.

And whatever that something ends up being, you can expect it to drop two weeks from now.

Meaning September 17.

I have to say though that I’ve decided to make a small change in what I post. I mean, up until now, I’ve been trying to alternate between Sci-Fi and Fantasy stories, but I’m finding this increasingly more difficult (and frustrating). The truth is, I tend to be more comfortable with fantasy (especially of the epic/high variety) and that’s the genre that tends to inspire me most. So I decided to stop forcing things and just write what comes to me and post that, even if it means two or three or whatever number of fantasy stories in a row. I realize some of you might be more into Sci-Fi, but I gotta follow my instincts on this one if I want to stay sane (hint: I want to stay sane lol).

And that’s all I’ve got for now.

See you next month!

***

If you like my writing, please consider buying a copy of my novel, upgrading to a paid subscription, or making a Paypal or Ko-fi donation. As an independent author, any of these would help a lot!

Craving something else than fiction? Check out The Sample for a large selection of newsletters on a wide range of topics.

—

Copyright (c) 2025 by Alex S. Garcia.

[LIKE] - [COMMENT] - [SHARE] NOTE: these links point to Substack!