Adjusting my grindset
Work/life unbalanced
Welcome to the free newsletter of David (D. V.) Bishop, author of the Cesare Aldo historical thrillers set in Renaissance Italy. This time: getting overwhelmed…
Dark academic lied to me
I heard encountered the term grindset, a mindset focused on constantly working hard and striving for goals, often at the cost of personal well-being and others parts of your life. Lately it’s felt like I’m caught in the grindset, trying to find my way through a relentless work crush, and as a result my writing is in danger of suffering.
Photo by Giuseppe Gallo on Unsplash
I listen to a lot of podcasts while traveling, and one of those - The PhD Life Coach - helped identify part of my problem. It focused on emotional overdraft, subsidizing the success of whatever you’re doing at the cost of your own mental and physical health. Most of us do it in short bursts, but long-term it is not sustainable; you burn out.
I have a part time job leading and teaching three different postgrad creative writing programmes. Most weeks that is manageable, even though the university’s workload systems estimate I’m doing the equivalent of five days a week every week while only being paid for four. Most teachers’ workloads are the same, if not far worse.
(An aside: There is a sub-genre called Dark Academia blending Gothic literature and the campus novel. Employing education settings and moody aesthetics, its narrative elements can include writing and reading, shadows and shadowy spaces, and brooding romance. Alas, the real darkness in academia is the workload, not the aesthetics!)
Recognising my current situation is unsustainable, I’m looking at ways to un**** my working hours. I’ve seen colleagues burn out and it does nobody any good. To avoid that, I’m postponing what I can and prioritizing everything else. What absolutely has to be done, how long will it take, and what needs sone by when - that sort of thing.
Not very exciting, but it is the reality of life for most authors. We don’t make enough from writing alone to support ourselves, so we have day jobs. Last newsletter I called my teaching gig a privilege as it means I no longer need to write whatever pays the bills. But having a day job also brings some burdens, and they can be beastly.
Progress bar(red)
To get me through the next week or two, I’m temporarily putting Aldo book six on hold. It pains me to pause just as the first draft is gathering momentum, but trying to write when I can’t think straight is not a path to good prose in my experience. I know the story will keep percolating away in my subconscious while I’m busy elsewhere.
A short cessation in drafting is not a full stop. I’m still on track to deliver Aldo book six in early July so (all being well) it gets published in summer 2025, following on from Carnival of Lies which Pan Macmillan unleashes on June 26th this year. But, for now, a short step back is necessary to traverse the current ****show – needs must sometimes.
There is good news on Aldo book six: I’ve just killed somebody. Blood is spraying on snow and Aldo witnessed the murder happening, but has no idea who did it. This is the second corpse he has encountered in twenty-four hours, meaning Aldo has plenty to be investigating and not enough time in which to do it (trust me, I know the feeling).
After Venetian shenanigans in Carnival of Lies, Aldo book six takes things in a darker direction. Aldo and Saul are snowed in at an bleak asylum in the Tuscan hills north of Florence, and it’s a few days before Christmas 1540. They’re trapped with a handful of monks, four nuns, three guards and a killer. Short version: it’s all gone very Gothic.
Photo by Mark Adrian Thomas on Unsplash
(Another aside: now I think about it, maybe this is my dark academia book, just without the academia. Unless you consider the asylum a credible substitute for an academic institution, a decision I will leave to your best skill and judgement…)
The draft has hit the end of act two, meaning I’ve written 40% of the novel. Another 10,000 words reaches the midpoint and it’s all downhill from there. I almost always find writing the second half easier; setting and characters have been established, the big themes introduced and main plot threads set up. After that, it’s all pay-off.
The name of the thorn
More good news: Aldo book six now has a title! The team at Pan Macmillan have suggests a cracking name for it, one which deftly encapsulates the novel’s brooding essence. I’m not at liberty to reveal the title yet, but am definitely looking forward to seeing the cover for it. After the rainbow hues thus far, this one may be a lot darker.
My book promo schedule is now clear until June and that’s a good thing. Much as I love talking to readers and authors, events and the travelling involved eats a lot of time that could be spent writing. Hitting my deadline for Aldo book six will need a concentrated and sustained effort, so more weekends at home definitely assist that.
Several events have been announced for the summer. On Friday 13th June I will be attending my very first Capital Crime writing festival in London, appearing on the ‘Making History Human’ panel with three amazing authors - S. J. Parris, Mel Tennant and participating moderator Clare Whitfield – book tickets here.
On Monday 16th June I will be in conversation with the mighty Kate Foster in East Linton discussing our new novels. That’s being organised by the wonderful Night Owl Books, more details to follow. Then on Wednesday 25th June – the day before Carnival of Lies is published – I’m at Serenity Booksellers in Stockport (more on that soon too).
On Saturday 5th July I am an author guest at The Book Party’s Enchanted Summer event in Bristol (book tickets here). And later that month I will be at Theakston’s Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, hosting a table at the Author Dinner on Friday 18th July (get tickets here). Plus there are other events yet to be confirmed.
As you can see, it’s a busy summer! But by July I should have delivered Aldo book six, and life gets a little less crowded. I might even be able to properly resume work on my much-neglected PhD. That’s got a final deadline of June 2026, so the clock is ticking on that too. Hmm, perhaps my emotional overdraft is about to take another caning…
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By looking after yourself, you ensure that Cesar and Saul are properly cared for too (to torture anew). Your devoted readers (like me) are in this for the long game. Go easy. Remember to hold on to the joy.
The financial metaphor works so well for this. Recently a friend and I were discussing the fact that everyone we know has been living 'hand to mouth' for far too long as far as energy and emotional reserves go. It's difficult!