Nibbling Problems Away

Sometimes, issues at hand are too big to handle all at once. You can't write an entire novel in one day, for example. Or eat an entire roast chicken in one bite. In my recent history, there was a repair bill that I could not afford in one lump sum. So I negotiated a means by which I could handle paying it off in pieces.

Cutting a problem into chunks is a great means of handling this stuff. Whatever small bits can be managed are the things to look for.

I have been procrastinating on cover art for my most recent short story. Soon to come out if I can get the art done by October. Which is -more or less- why I'm talking about that.

I. Art. Real. Slow.

I need examples of what I'm making, which I do trace [not a sin], so I gather them and photobash them together so I have a structure of what I'm going to do. Then, layer by layer, I work on each element. Sometimes, I try a little cheat, like using a pattern brush instead of doing all the details. Sometimes that fails and I go angst about it for a couple of days.

This has happened recently. I have to rework some concrete chunks since my lazy attempt looks like a glitch in the matrix. And that means doing the chunks individually. Which is what I'm procrastinating on.

I might do other land lumps covered in kudzu further in the background. Just to soothe what passes for my soul.

I know I've got this. There's only a few elements to go before I'm done.

I'm tackling the rewrite of A Devil's Tale in the same way. One chapter at a time. Improving things as I go. Copying the good stuff and keeping very specific darlings while I murder the others. I'm rebuilding book one while my reading group goes through book two. I think it might streamline the process. I certainly hope that it takes less time than four years.

I've got this. It can be done.

Just like I've been cataloguing items from a collection I possess for later resale. One handful at a time. Log, describe, add to the spreadsheet. Lather, rinse, repeat.

It only seems impossible from the top of the mountain of work.

Shovel by shovel, I will get to the bottom of it all. Just watch me.