The Skinny on Downtime

Emily Strange Avatar

Trying to wrap up a few last-minute posts before a glorious weekend of holiday parties and revisions, but I thought I’d drop in to share a touch more on NaNoNetMo by way of this article. I get a lot of funny looks sometimes, about how I need to make it a “thing” to disconnect.

Enter this article from Slate.com. 2014: The Year of Outrage.

This is why. Because even if you log in every other day you’re bound to come across some outrage-inducing kerfuffle at some point or another, and when people are riled up? It’s next to impossible to get past the signal-to-noise ratio unless you are boosting the signal or commenting on it. That emotion isn’t contained; it’s like fire and it spreads quickly. Heck, in some cases this translates to the dissection of happy posts when someone’s trying to be positive to turn it into something else.

For me, the current state of the internet means downtime to renew my resilience to the anger over nothings and avoid getting caught up in faux outrage, so I don’t get desensitized when something truly bad happens and I’m able to think more clearly. That, plus the time sink… Well, a writer needs to be disciplined, and every once in a while I need my offline moments to get back to center.

I’m hoping that one year this same article will be 365 things that made us happy, one for each day. Imagine how powerful that would be!

    Mood: Deadlines will eat me.
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Working out equals less caffeine. WHO KNEW?
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: 30 with various
    In My Ears: White noise. Zzzzz…
    Game Last Played: Brain Age II
    Book Last Read: Erm… Can’t remember! And it was just yesterday!
    Movie Last Viewed: Not sure. I’ve been re-watching the Doctor Who Christmas specials, though.
    Latest Artistic Project: Beading! Cookies!
    Latest Fiction/Comic Release: Last Man Zombie Standing.
    Latest Game Release: Things Don’t Go Smooth
    What I’m Working On: Primarily tie-in games work, original comics, and novels.




Monica Valentinelli is an author, artist, and narrative designer who writes about magic, mystery, and mayhem. Her portfolio includes stories, games, comics, essays, and pop culture books.

In addition to her own worlds, she has worked on a number of different properties including Vampire: the Masquerade, Shadowrun, Hunter: the Vigil, Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, and Robert E. Howard’s Conan.

Looking for Monica’s books and games that are still in print? Visit Monica Valentinelli on Amazon’s Author Central or a bookstore near you.

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