Four links today! Let’s get linkage-ing. In Part II of “things that can make you feel like crap” there are toxic feelings. They fester beneath the surface, make you question not only what you’re writing, but why. I originally wrote 1,000 words on the subject to talk about ways to neutralize them and the like, but instead? Well, I believe The Only Thing You Need To Know About Writing from DorkTower.com sums up my feelings on the subject to a “T.” Knowing these feelings are common is nine-tenths the issue for me. When you realize that you’re not alone, then suddenly it makes you feel like you CAN conquer impostor’s syndrome.

My second link is from writer extraordinaire Theodora Goss who talks about what happens after depression. Emotional trauma of any stripe isn’t something you apply a patch to and you’re suddenly the exact person you were before. When you go through any emotional rough spot, there are triggers that can send you spiraling right back to where you were before. Her post talks about ways to help and be kind to yourself. Great read and fantastic reminder.

Third link is from the esteemed writer Kameron Hurley about publishing. Surprise, I have no idea your book is coming out is a fantastic read. Repeat after me: publishing is not a meritocracy. Good books sell, bad books sell. Good books don’t, bad books don’t. It’s just how it is and, like Kameron says, the only way forward is to get back to work. For those of you who are new to the field, pay attention to what this writer says about marketing. It’s important and all very true. Kameron’s experience describes what happens when a superuser (e.g. you’re online all the time promoting your book) encounters a casual user (e.g. someone that just now encounters what you’re doing). This happens a lot in marketing.

Lastly, an article about net neutrality in practice from a tech blogger. Back when I was involved with GamePolitics, which later morphed to the ECA, there was a lot of fear about how net neutrality impacts consumers for streaming services like MMOs and other platforms (e.g. Netflix, Pandora, etc.) that require an interrupted, higher bandwidth. Regulating bandwidth at peak/off-peak times and impacting specific services on a user level may seem like it makes sense and, in some cases, it probably does on a technical level. However, these practices dramatically affect the consumer when you can’t physically “get” the services you pay for or want to use because the ISP is interfering with that. What’s more, you don’t get the ability to resolve that, either. You can’t call up your ISP like the aforementioned blogger did and say: “Hey, I’m using Netflix, can you please ensure that my stream isn’t throttled so I can access the content I’ve paid for?”

With more and more services going into the cloud, this really worries me. My fear is that net neutrality will be parsed further into pay-per-usage, which will effectively put that back into the cellphone camp… Which will force a dramatic change in the business landscape and also encourage some companies, like Google and Amazon, to set up their own ISPs out of the country. There is nothing more frustrating than worrying about net access, especially when it’s so different outside the U.S. Add on TOP of that the possibility that ISPs are impacting what you can access? In my opinion, that has the potential to change what we buy and what sites we visit in an unfair way. I hope I’m wrong.

Mood: POWER UP
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Addiction not managed and nah, nah, nah I don’t care.
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Phew! That controller was really heavy.
In My Ears: Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye
Game Last Played: Sonic All Star Racing
Book Last Read: Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett
Movie Last Viewed: Can’t remember. It was some horrifically awful “but my husband t’aint really dead” movie.
Latest Artistic Project: *Still* *still* *still* need to take pictures… It’s on the list!
Latest Fiction/Comic Release: Last Man Zombie Standing
Latest Game Release: Freedom Flyer
What I’m Working On: Primarily tie-in games work and novels.