Jewel Verses 01 / 2022 - July 2022

Hello and welcome to Jewel Verses - my way of putting updates of the month on life lessons, my works-in-progress, and recommended resources for sustainable creative careers into a single location. If you’re new to my newsletter, Welcome! If you’re here from my previous journey as the newsletter ‘The Storygaming Plans’, thank you for your support and welcome back again.

During my break in the first half of 2022, I was able to focus on my core alignments and get to some important projects. And now that my focus has reached a confident level of clarity, I’m happy to share the lessons I’ve learnt in my attempt to start my creative business as an author in investigative fiction and immersive experiences.

Therefore, whether you are someone trying to start and sustain a creative business, doing so in Singapore (where I am), or are just someone in love with investigative fiction and the discoveries that come with being curious about said fiction, I hope the return of this newsletter will provide some gems =)

Reflection this Month

I worked on a seven-year manuscript before deciding to shelve it indefinitely.

I jumped into 2022 thinking that I would be able to have a viable business structure and earnings by the middle of the year.

And yet, here I am, realising that I finally am able to focus on what is truly aligned to what I want to do and what I want to share. While I look for a job or the next opportunity that can help me pay my bills after this month.

Would you say I wasted my time because I “should have thought about this before”?

Hence this month’s deep-dive reflection - No Time is Wasted Unless You Decide that it’s Wasted.

Life is often full of ‘would-haves’, ‘could-haves’, and ‘should-haves’, and yet, these statements rarely help push us to meet our goals because what’s done is often, what’s already done. And we don’t live in a multiverse where we can pick and choose or have do-overs.

So does this mean that nothing matters and we should just forget it?

To that, I often ask - Do you want to? Do you want to just give it up?

If yes, then work to make peace with it and move on to other goals that can give you joy. Sunk cost fallacy is a thing that often robs people of their time - and a topic we can cover another time.

If you do not want to give up on your goals, however, know this - there will be times where you feel like your time has been ‘wasted’ by your own fears or whatever you (or others) have told you. But know this - You made the best decision with the skills, knowledge, and experience you had at that time.

And circumstances change all the time - nothing you can do about that, especially if the circumstances end up being things like companies folding, natural disasters, or someone deciding that you don’t vibe well with them.

So what can we do?

On the Mindset Front - Know that if you knew what you knew now then, the outcome may also not be what you desired. Circumstances, access to resources, and our mindset there and then are all things that affect our choices.

On the Action Front - Well, take action! Complaining, reminiscing, and being bitter are not action steps. If you are lamenting being 45 after graduating from university again, you’re still going to be 45 regardless. Why not bank on what you’ve learnt or experienced to fuel where you want to go next?

After all, if you did not spend this time experimenting and reflecting, do you think you would have made it to where you are now?

Progress

Agent Topaz: I’m still in the middle of drafting here - and I am excited to have it ready for publication this year. With three chapters now in place, I am looking to see if having a printed omnibus (instead of just eChapBooks) would be viable.

Agent Opal: This manuscript is going through another once-through before I submit it for the Epigram Books Fiction Prize (EBFP) this year. Regardless, Agent Opal will be going through a few more rounds of edits or revisions, just for a polish.

JewelVerse in General: I’ve decided to just take the leap and launch my Ko-Fi! This platform will post more process-driven content about my writing, game-making, and process-driven stories in between.

Check Them Out!

A new podcast I have been really excited about would be (Con) Artists - featuring Sarah Thursday and one of my friends, Shermaine Tan (a.k.a. Sherms).

So what happens when two artists meet at a convention and cannot stop conversing with each other? You make a podcast.

If you’re familiar with the convention and art / craft market scene, you would know, or soon discover, that being behind the booth is not an easy feat. Yet, we see these artists putting themselves out there - whether it’s online or at events that are returning. So what do you do if you find yourself lost?

Why not have a listen to the (Con)Artists? I promise they will deliver.

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If you would like more updates from the Library of Exchanges, writer life, or even if you’re here just to look for the puzzles (if you can find them), drop a comment or share this with someone you think would like it as well. That’s it from me this month - take care and see you next month!

Agent Topaz was last seen at the exhibition at Art Space, ‘The Edge of the Universe’, where the rumoured companion of our target was hosting. The last correspondence from Agent Topaz came in the form of the exhibition pamphlet and a series of numbers at the bottom, written in Topaz’s penmanship. Our informants have deduced their next location by matching the numbers to the sequence of the pamphlet’s sentences and corresponding words within. However, internal communication logs show no indication of any further reports affiliated with the scheme mentioned in our latest leads. Further attempts at contacting Agent Topaz have gone silent thus far. Given the nature of the case, the Grand Council has advised against any drastic action just yet. Our Point Managers have also been urged to shift their focus to recruitment in the coming weeks.

111 . 120 . 28 . 17 . 68 . 415 . 121 . 21 . 116

Hint: Your answer is a word with four letters.

Note: Keep the answer to this puzzle in mind for later, it might come in handy!