I will say this before most of you read this.  If you are willing to wait for updates when I have something, anything to give you, then this message is not for you.  If you want to read something just to feel like you are entitled to harass the writer into writing more on it, then this is for you.

This weekend I was doing my normal thing of reblogging other sites for the Kittyinaz’s Reblog Page. It is meant no more than to let others who follow me know what I like to read and who I follow.  A way to let others know of stories they may like.

But I got a review that upset me at first, then made me sit back and rethink.

The person wasn’t rude, but instead commented on a post from another person a kind reminder to finish my stories.

Now, I do know most of you are very patient with me, and I greatly appreciate it.  However, the few ruin the moment for the most.

I spent Monday-Thursdays working on my original fiction.   And since 1) my writing is not a normal 9-5 job, I end up working most of the hours I am awake.  My breaks are when I spend an hour or two with hubby, and make dinner.  I have been up until 4am only to go to bed, then maybe have 2-6 hours of sleep before I am up repeating.

Then I spend Fridays (if I am able) as well as Saturday and Sunday working on Fanfiction.  All to make sure those that read the Fanfiction are not ignored.  The free time I have those days, I end up sleeping or trying to spend time with others in my family.

I get no days off.  And this review made it where I felt even more guilty for spending any time away from the computer.

Something has got to give.

Now I truly love writing, and when a story idea comes across, I can write upwards of 3 chapters a day with over 2K words in each.  Which is happening with the fic that I am currently writing because the muse doesn’t want to let it go.

But it has been a learning process.  If I had known whatI do now, I wouldn’t put aside a project to work on others because people are wanting me to.  I also spent a year not writing pretty much, because for one thing I truly thought I had no talent for it, and two, I was sick.  Like I ended up losing my job cause I was so sick.  Needless to say, I was depressed.

It was due to Faeregina that I even came back to writing fanfiction.  Without her encouraging me, I would never have started In The End.  I still have 3 stories I wasn’t writing on, because again, I was depressed.  I would have never started in this fandom since I was still writing in Alice, Alice in Wonderland and Tin Man.  And to be fair, those people are the most patient people in the world.  Not once do I ever get a message if I am going to finish, instead I get notes on how much they enjoy the works.

However I feel haunted and guilty if I am not working on something, and it is only now I realized that I have no time for myself.  I am always working on something, and when I do spend time to myself, it makes me depressed and guilty.

I am a workaholic.

That is nothing new to anyone that knows me.  There was a project at work that I ended up working 7am – 10pm Mon-Sat.  And Sundays if there were no others that would come in to cover the supervisor positions.  As well as my own work, which was more than enough to fulfill a normal work person’s time.  But that was normal for me.

Now, I get so many demands (yes demands…) that I update something.  I am working on all I can.  I have stories that I want to get back to, but feel guilty when I have demands for others.  I try to force myself to work on some stories just to have people leave me alone. Instead, I get great amounts of crap that I will not let anyone read cause they really suck.  But the stories that are percolating in my brain?  Those get ignored though I could type them out in less time that it takes me to get one of the others out.

For instance, All I Want?  A week and a half to write that.  Seriously.  Crossing the Fine Line?  2 weeks.  Because of more research than I normally do on a project as well as there was personal drama during that time.

3 chapters of In The End?  3 weeks.

Not kidding.

I am getting really close to making everything private.  But then, I refuse to ruin things for the masses for those few who feel that they have the right to harass me to update on a story they are getting to read for free.  One that I poured alot of my time, effort, sleeplessness, health and so on into.  Never asking more than maybe a review?  Because I am not being bad, I sometimes don’t remember to review.  I try, but I know it isn’t possible.  But if it somewhere where I can ‘like,’ follow, favorite or anything to let the writer know I read their stuff, I do.

If you don’t want to read anything unless it is finished, I don’t blame you.  I will never abandon a story, but there are times that the muse for that story has taken a vacation, and left no forwarding address or a way for me to get hold of her.  Instead of being totally silent then, I work on something else.  I try to let you guys know what is going on.

I’m sorry this is nothing but a rant, but hell, I spent all day stewing about this, realizing that taking some time to myself is not wrong.  Though I will feel guilty about it and be back to writing soon enough.

So please, next time you hound a writer for an update, think of what you are demanding.  Cause I will tell you as one of them harassed, I am more likely to pull everything down than start writing on it because of you demanding that I do.  To me, it is the same as you working for free, then me demanding you work more for free because I feel like it.

Now I am going to relax.  And again, this is nowhere directed to the majority, it is to those that never seem to realize that they are being slavemasters to a group of people that are working for free on top of their normal lives that we people live.  Or if they are like me, realize they deserve a chance to play games, go out, learn something new and so on.

Cause life is way too short to feel guilty for demanding people who give nothing back but negative feelings.  I can write these stories and never share them.

Kittyinaz