Guilt Free Gaming – The Climb #581

Friday 25^th September 2020

I feel I’m not really doing much in the way of writing at the moment, instead just playing loads of games. I feel that if I was a regular reader, I’d question if this blog was about writing or video games.

Truth is, as I’ve reminded myself today, the work that needed to be done has been done and I’m totally allowed to play games.

Except I feel so unproductive. As much as I argue that things like gaming helps recharge my creativity mana bar, I do feel like I’ve done nothing but play videogames for the last month… which is true.

Still, given how long this cold has lasted, and how run down I feel currently, I feel I’m probably justified in postponing projects until I feel well again. I don’t like it, but as I’ve constantly had to remind myself, no-one is waiting for anything. It’s been a long time since I could honestly say that.

And as much as I want to get ahead, even if it’s just a case of dabbling with projects to practise elements of craft, I’ve probably earnt this break.

And you know what… if I was to ever write for games, I’d need to have played loads of games first, so perhaps I could even consider this work? At a stretch.

However, the guilt is very much there, and that, as much as this cold, is stopping me from really relaxing and enjoying this break.

My coping method currently is to remind myself that I never got the Longboi mount because I’ve never been prepared at the start of a Warcraft expansion, and justify the hours I’m currently putting into the games just to prepare for the next expansion release in just over a month. You’d think it was tomorrow given how much I play.

And I’ve told myself that if – for whatever reason – Blizzard ever asks me to write for them, a longboi mount is going to be part of the deal. Heck, at this point, I’d probably coach someone / edit their novel for a longboi. I really want that mount, almost to the point of spending hundreds of pounds on tokens so I can afford it before it goes away with prepatch. Luckily I don’t have the money… but if I did…

So I am busy, just not busy with writing things for totally justifiable reasons.

I just need to remind myself when the writing projects start getting deadlines for people again that I’ve had my break and can’t now complain about not getting a break.