Pscychological Survival for SF Writers

Someone on facebook asked what the panel was like, and I wrote the following.

(The panelists were me, Kelly McCullough, Joan Marie Verba, Adam Stemple and Wesley Chu. Chu's career seemed to be taking off well, but the rest of us have all had setbacks, not career stoppers, but enough so we have thought about psychological survival.)

(The panel) turned into a combination of self care tips, such as get exercise, don't rely on alcohol, see a doc if you are depressed, and writing tips. What do you do when you seem blocked on a story? Wesley Chu impressed me. He is apparently a very disciplined writer, who outlines his novels in detail. When he isn't able to write, he revises the novel synopsis or works on background.

Someone -- Adam or Wesley -- talked about focusing on the things you have control of, and don't make yourself crazy by worrying about the parts of getting published that you can't control.

Writing groups are good. Day jobs can be great, since they take off the pressure to make money. Adam is working in a warehouse and loves it. He gets paid to do physical exercise 40 hours a week.

I will add more later.