I love this meme. I love it so much because it really does capture the awkwardness this profession often entails. Particularly during the season where family encounters are not only more frequent, but also longer lasting.
A point of clarification: no, there are no time-bending, winged hounds in my family asking, “Did you base Guardian on me?” There are, however, family members who informed aspects of Princess Anise and Queen Annelle. No, I’m not going to tell you (or them) who. Especially considering the plot surrounding them.
Many characters are often amalgamations of people writers know in real life. Libel is a thing, but if faced with the choice of a lawsuit or explaining to your family member yes, that annoying character flaw might be based on you, most writers would happily go bankrupt in court. Writers often pour their own life experiences into the story, creating that sense of authenticity readers grab hold of, but this runs the risk of real-life poking said writer and saying, “Hey! Am I really like that?!”
The holidays are always a rough time of a year for me, even before I became a full-time writer, but they are especially hard now. It’s difficult to maintain a rhythm of writing for Apex, every week features an event full of people who are going to ask questions I myself am still finding answers for, and what do writers want for Christmas?
Answer: Someone else to finish the damn book.
All of that said, the holidays are a great time to write!
Even if it is sporadic.
At least in America, it really is a magical time of year: the lights, the sounds, the food…the holidays are ripe with inspirational scenery, people, and a vibe that keeps the classic It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year at the top of the radio station year after year.
What’s more, making time to write during the hustle and bustle of meeting family members and hosting parties can do wonders for overall confidence. Like many creatives, I suffer with imposter syndrome during periods of high socialization – like now – and they can leave me drained going into a comparatively quiet period (the never-ending month of January).
This in turn can result in a slow start that sees me gaining momentum just in time for ANOTHER round of high socialization. What a disaster! Those stretches of quiet are when writers often get their best work done!
Which makes it that much more important to successfully navigate those social periods.
Adjusting my daily word count to something reasonable, shifting my focus from heavy drafting to idea generation, and taking time to just plan rather than do are all ways I reduce my work and people anxiety. I have a timeline in mind for finishing Apex and the drafting of it seems like this mountain of a task that every day I don’t climb only makes it taller. This is faulty thinking, though, and the holidays are a great time to practice taking a step back and rationalizing the project.
Yes, a huge draft is needed, but the draft itself is just a massive pile of individual scenes, characters, lore, and silly or serious conversations only a few paragraphs long. Put differently, it’s not a mountain of solid stone but many thousands of pebbles. A lot of those pebbles can be quickly collected and easily sorted during this busy time of year, ready to be assembled when the time comes for the climb after the holidays.
Writing during the holidays is as stressful as I choose to make it, much like how my visit with family will go. Slow down, take your eyes off the peak of the mountain, and look closer at where you are rather than where you think you should be. The same applies to visiting family.
And when said family asks, “What is your book about?”
Tell them as much as you want. They’re family.
And you are a storyteller.
Just leave out the spicy bits for little Timmy.
Or not.
‘Expanding his horizons’ and all that.
The below meme adequately summed up how I felt writing Guardian. Especially when I realized how…descriptive…Eric and Merelith’s relationship would be.
Happy Holidays, Y’all.
Miela er fen.
– Tyler
TylerTillerson.com 
2 responses to “Writing During the Holidays”
Okay Tyler, I give up.
what language is “Miela er fen”?
I’ve tried translating but the translators say part is Norwegian, Russian, and then nothing.
Miela is meow in Russian.
I think
Tol kar nim olsa
means Until me meet again, but that’s a guess. The translator didn’t help me there, either.
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It is sphinxian! If I *ever* finish that book series, you’ll see a lot more of it.
Miela er fen has a number of meanings (words in the sphinxian language often carry multiple definitions), but the most common application of the expression is, “Peace and Safety.”
‘Miela’ is modified from ‘Miel’, which generally means healing/correcting/restoring, and ‘a’ which is used as a descriptive at the end of many words. ‘Miela’ is the description of healing, which to sphinxes meant ‘Peace’. ‘Fen’ is a foundational word in the language that means unchanging/resting/immutable/constant…it can be used in a LOT of contexts, but the most common is to refer to someone or something that is ‘safe’. Safety to sphinxes is a…complex topic I can’t fit in a comment. When combined with Miela, Fen takes on the meaning of ‘general’ safety from harm or significant challenge. ‘Er’ is the sphinxian word for and/additional/beside/with.
Miela er fen is similar to how we might say, “Go in peace” or “God be with you” or “Have a good day”. It is used as a greeting, farewell, and sometimes as an oath or expression of loyalty. It is one of the oldest and most common expressions of the people.
I sprinkle sphinxian throughout the website (and the front and back matter of the book).
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