Writers: Are You Doing What Really Matters?
This solo episode of Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick is also a Scribtotum article, because it’s all about big things, big changes for the podcast, and big questions writers, authors, and all creators must ask themselves now and then. Mainly: Are you doing what really matters in your creative life? This episode was recorded on September 13, 2024. What follows is adapted and condensed from the transcript. Time and Money I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, assessing, researching and reading and thinking and researching some to get a good handle on the state of me… and that’s led me to some decisions. For episode 106 of my podcast, Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick, I was toying the addressing the challenges of time and money for most authors, indie or traditional. Usually, services are available where expertise and time are lacking… but those services, while (usually) fairly priced by service providers (like myself), are often outside of the budget of many authors. I quickly remembered that’s a universal not restricted to the creative space: when it comes to things that make your life easier or bring you closer to your goals, you can either pay with time, or with money. Thinking about it dovetailed with, and was soon overtaken by, how much thought I’d been giving to another aspect of time: how much we have left. Consideration given to time is relative to where you are in your life. When we’re young, there’s more time and less money, generally. As we get older, ideally, there’s more money… but without question, rich or poor, there is less time. A Mostly Arbitrary Calculation of Time Every time I turn around, someone I know, or a creator that I respect — and sometimes that’s the same person — has died. I’m 57 years old this year. I have, based on actuarial data, maybe thirty years left on this planet if I’m lucky. There’s no telling how much of that time will be spent in good mental and physical health. I have some clues. My maternal line, for which I have the most information, tends toward longevity (into their late seventies and early eighties) despite chronic illnesses. Me? I have some arthritis in my hands. I have hypertension, which I’ve tried and failed to reverse with lifestyle changes; I’ll have to resort to medicine soon. I have never smoked. I’m a healthy weight. All told, I’m in pretty good health, so if my direct ancestors lived as long as they did under a mountain of medical issues, it’s not unreasonable to assume I’ll make it at least into my eighties. Stil, that time goes quickly. Especially the end time, because the older you get, even in the best of circumstances, the less you can do. The clock is ticking. A Very Systematic Calculation of Money Financially, I’m in about as bad a state as I’ve been since my twenties, although the reasons aren’t the same as they were in the late eighties and into the nineties. Back then, it was to do with minimum wage jobs, poor choices, and living a “rock and roll” lifestyle (don’t get too excited; that pretty much just means sacrificing stability and wealth for attempts at art). Thanks to some medical issues (everyone is on the mend) and client contraction, 2024 has been rough, and most of my attention, most of my energy, most of my effort, has been dedicated to treading water as I circle the drain, leaving very little time and energy for creative work. Energy Crisis Still, the drive to do creative work persists, but there’s a dearth of energy, both at the beginning of the day (no sleep!) and the end (worked too hard!), from which to draw. You see, there’s one other thing that’s been going on this year. We’ve got an elderly cat who is relatively healthy except for some thyroid issues for which we have a pill… but Biggie is getting senile. He often wakes up scared, confuse
