Forgiving Myself: A New Book…Four Years Later

November 27, 2019 Alex Matsuo2 Comments

Did you know it’s been four years since my last book? That’s a long time. I’ll try to go into details as to why without the intention of giving excuses. The reason why I wanted to write this blog is that authors will so often beat themselves up over not producing content. Then months turn into years, and before you know it…years have gone by. Or, in my case, four years.

Before we get started, I have to do a shameless plug, because I just put out a new book. You can grab a paperback copy of “The Brave Mortal’s Guide to Ghost Hunting” here, and you can get it on Kindle here. After you’ve read the book, please review it on Amazon and Goodreads! Reviews are so beneficial to authors and it’s the best thing you can do for them!

Back to the journey.

I can’t really pinpoint the catalyst for my lack of writing. It could have been very well due to the fact I was writing for a living for a very well-known YouTube channel. We’re talking 5,000-6,000 words per day on various topics. By this time, my book, “The Haunting of the Tenth Avenue Theater” was already written, and I was playing the waiting game for it to get published nearly a year later.

Then my mom passed. Writing did become part of my grieving process, but the content will never be seen by the public. Before my mom left this world, I already struggled with depression and anxiety to an extreme amount. I had also just had surgery to remove cancerous cells in a vulnerable part of my body. I was a wreck. And side note…the grieving process for a parent never ends. Even as I approach the fifth anniversary of my mom’s death, I still miss her…maybe even more so.

For the sake of avoiding gory details, my mental health took a dive. There were stories I wanted to tell, and knowledge I wanted to share, but I couldn’t get the words out. Then, responsibilities for my paranormal team grew exponentially, and I didn’t have the help to make it function the way the team wanted to. In short, I was burning out really quickly. Due to other things going on in my life, it wasn’t long before the words dried up completely.

It also didn’t help that I was surrounding myself with toxicity, and I didn’t see it. But it took a massive event to make me realize that my current situation was unhealthy, if not borderline unsafe. That was what made me realize I had lost myself and who I was. I also wasn’t taking care of myself both physically and mentally.

I also had to forgive myself and take responsibility for my own actions. I also had to cut myself some slack. Okay, a lot of slack. For the sake of my health and my existence, I had to start taking it easy on myself. Before I could even put words down on paper, I had to do this. I had to look at those in the eye who made me feel like less than human and say, “No more.” I had to put down boundaries and make decisions for my own benefit instead of that of others, because the latter was not only getting me nowhere, it was killing me.

It wasn’t long before the words came back. I started off simple; if I got 100 words per day, that was an accomplishment. Then, I built back up to about 2,000 words per day. It didn’t happen overnight. I also allowed myself to have breaks. I wasn’t competing with anyone, and I could finally write under my own [lack of] rules.

Before I knew it, my book was done.

So, here I am…another book out. My next writing adventure is diving into a world that I’ve spent years creating…and finally making that leap into fantasy. I can’t wait for you to meet these characters!

In the meantime, if you’ve ever wanted to check out ghost hunting, check out The Brave Mortal’s Guide to Ghost Hunting on Amazon!

10 Things to Think About Before Working from Home

April 10, 2017 Alex Matsuo

When I get emails from people who want to make a living from the comfort of their home, they always want to know how long it took me to reach that point. When I first started writing as a paid job, I didn’t expect it to become a full-time gig. I would write after I got home from work for a few hours per day. I will be honest and say I got lucky because I was already a decent writer, and it earned me the attention of the higher-ups with my company. I also had an article go viral with 13 million views thanks to a report from Yahoo News. When deciding to make that leap to working from home, there were many things that I had to think about. Here, I’ll share with you the 10 things you need to think about before working from home.

10. Does the Work Have Longevity?

Working from home is a nice idea in this moment, and you’ve found that you’ve gotten a well-paying gig that will pay for a few months of your bills. Before you submit your two weeks; notice to your boss, think further ahead. Where do you see yourself in 6 months? 1 year? 2 years? Do you still see yourself still maintaining enough gigs to work from home and be able to still eat and pay your bills?

9. There Will Be Dry Spells

When working as a freelancer, there will be times where the work isn’t as plentiful, or there may be mishaps in getting paid. When this happens, we know that the bills won’t wait. While you are still working a full-time job, start saving your money for about 6 months worth of your bills and expenses. This may seem daunting and may push your quit date a bit further, it will be well worth it when there are dry spells with freelancing.

8. Test the Waters

If you’re getting a decent amount of work while freelancing, and you want to see if you can get enough work to cover your regular income, then consider going part-time at your day job temporarily. If that’s not possible, then maybe take a few half-days per month. Of course, you don’t want to jeopardize your day job or lie to your boss. If you have vacation time that you need to use, then that would be a good opportunity to use that time to see what you can really pull off if you didn’t work at an office or day job.

7. Your Workspace

Working from home is much more than just sitting at your desk or dining room table. You have to have a workspace that will be productive. Think of your distractions you have at home, and come up with a game plan to combat them. Do you have pets? Do you have kids? Does your roommate come home early to turn on the TV and catch up on shows? Ideally, you should have a room dedicated to work so you can be productive with minimal to no distractions. Close the social media tabs and concentrate on work. Does working at a coffeehouse 5 days a week appeal to you? Figure out how you can get your work done at home before making the jump.

6. Work Never Leaves

I won’t lie, working from home is fantastic. But there is a major downside: work never leaves. Even if I go into the living room, I know I can get work done if I have free time. I struggle with taking breaks. If my show is on, I’ll watch it, but in the back of my mind I’m thinking, “You could be working right now and being super productive.” You have to be able to turn work mode off at the end of each day, otherwise, you’ll never be able to give yourself a break physically or mentally.

5. Keep a Schedule

If you’re working a job that is project based with a deadline, then this bullet point is already important. Keep a schedule of your work day, and have a start time and an end time. While sometimes there is flexibility in your work day, if you don’t maintain a schedule, then you will find yourself working day and night. Or worse, you could find yourself behind on your projects because you wanted to binge watch your favorite show, or you missed an opportunity because you took a walk.

4. More Bills

If you’re working a job with benefits, quitting your job to become self-employed and working from home will mean that you will lose your benefits like your 401K and your health insurance. This is especially important to keep in mind if you have a family. Health insurance isn’t getting cheaper at the moment, so before you quit your job to work from home, make a list of all of your monthly bills. Also, be sure to make a new list each month so you’re not hit with surprise charges.

3. Assumptions

When you make the jump to work from home, your friends and family will have opinions. Some will be good. Others, not so much. I found myself correcting people when they said I was unemployed. No, I AM EMPLOYED. Today, more companies have remote employees more than ever. I decided to work from home because it was a decision that best fit my needs and lifestyle. Some people may think that you couldn’t cut it in the traditional workforce, while others may even think you’re lazy. But, none of those negative connotations are true. As you start to talk to others about your decision, take comments with a grain of salt. As we move towards a more remote-based company structure, hopefully, there will be more open-mindedness towards working from home in the future.

2. Solitary Life

When you work a day job, it is likely that you encounter your coworkers every working day. You can walk to their desk or station, have a chit-chat in the break room, even go to lunch with a coworker. When you work from home, you don’t have that. You don’t have much physical contact with other people at all. When you want to meet up with your friends, they still work at an office so they might not be able to fit you into their daytime/weekday work schedule. Make sure you go outside at least once a day for a breath of fresh air, and if you’re feeling especially lonely, call a friend or loved one just so you can be social.

1. Do What’s Best for YOU

At the end of the day, you know you. You know what will work best for you. If you’re miserable at your current job and you need a change, do what is best for your mental health. Others will have opinions, you may run into unexpected surprises financially, working from home is not the perfect solution to your problems. Before taking this leap, take careful consideration into how life will change for you presently and in the future. If taking the leap is worth it, then by all means, spread your arms and soar!

Writing 10,000 Words In a Day – How Did I Do It?

October 16, 2014 Alex Matsuo

So, a few months ago, I wrote about 20,000 words over a weekend, and I kept on track writing about 10,000 words a day. Well, actually, I wrote 12,000 words on Saturday and 8,000 words on Sunday. How did I do it?

Well…

I stayed incredibly focused.

If you’re looking for an easy way to write 10,000 words in a day or 20,000 words in a weekend, you might want to look somewhere else. But I will tell you, once you accomplish this impressive feat, you will not only feeling accomplished, but you will also feel exceptionally proud of yourself.

I will say that it takes discipline, breaks, happy snacks, a few naps, and typing away vigorously. If this was something that people were more interested in learning about the details of what I did to accomplish this goal, let me know in the comments!

Plan Ahead: You’re not going to be able to accomplish 10,000 words in a day if you don’t spend a few days planning it out. I spent a week researching on what I was going to write about. I made a detailed outline.
Make a Schedule: I actually timed out my schedule by my typing speed. On a good writing spree, I can write 2,000 words in an hour. That should be good, right? I can be done in 5 hours! It’s not quite that simple. You have to take into consideration your writing stamina in terms of how your hands feel, how well your eyes can focus, and how much brain fog you can tolerate.
Have Food & Drink On Hand: I had a mix of fresh veggies and fruit on hand that have a crunch. I like crunchy food, and having something healthy and fresh will help keep your mind clear. If you eat processed snacks like chips and crackers, and drinking caffeinated beverages for the sake of “staying awake”, you will find that your focus will not be consistent and you’ll get tired easily and quickly. Iced tea was my drink of choice. Staying hydrated is a must! Hydration helps your brain. Worried about frequent bathroom breaks? Start drinking lots of water about a week ahead of time so you’re body adjusts. Or, bring a notepad with you in the bathroom so you can make full use of your time by planning your next move.
Take Breaks & Sleep: When I found I was having a major writer’s block, or to a point where I couldn’t keep going, I took a break. My breaks were spontaneous and came about every 2 hours for about 15 minutes. After 4 hours of writing, I was at about 3500 words (my 2000 word spree didn’t last long on day one), I took an hour long nap. I needed to give my brain a break and let it recharge. I also found that it was a great way to get new ideas to keep the writing going.
Type Now, Edit Later: Your job on this day is to just get the words out, hence to why outlining and researching is important so you can just word vomit onto the paper. After you meet your goal, you can go back and clean it up. If you worry too much about going back and editing, you will put too much energy into something you can always handle later.
No Distractions: I can’t write in silence, so I will play classical music. Some people can write with the television on. If neither of these distract you, that’s great. Let loved ones and friends know ahead of time what you’re doing so there’s no freak out if you silence your phone. Light a candle, create an environment that is distraction-free so you can get your writing done.

Obviously, this is just the short version. There are many more tips and tricks where that came from. Perhaps I’ll lump it all together into a short little e-book? What have you done to stay focused and productive on long writing days?

UPDATE: Due to popular demand, I have written a short eBook on how to write faster, write more, and develop a love for writing, and it includes how to write 10,000 words in a day! Check out 10,000 Words on Amazon!