by Writing is an opaque and misunderstood art form. If one hears “content creator,” they may not consider a writer to be one (most writers may not identify as one, either). But writing is in fact, content creation. As I have considered my goals and interests recently I’ve begun understanding that I should and already do view them as content goals rather than “writing” goals.
My life has changed a lot over the past several months. A lot of instability calmed and stabilized. Once the dust started to settle, I realized I had more specific content goals that are heavily dependent on writing (but also, a few traditional, words-on-a-page writing goals too).
My primary goal this year is growth—figuring out what works and building around that. Here are some spaces I will be filling-in and trying out more this year.
Gaming
Little-known fact is that I’m a gamer. I’ve been on Twitch for a couple of years. I got hooked on indie horror Let’s Plays on YouTube during the initial onset of the pandemic. I’m a bit of a Tetris fanatic. I’m an avid Simmer; someone who plays The Sims with devotion since the first generation released in 2000. I’m slowly working on old Grand Theft Auto and Myst playthroughs, learning Hunt: Showdown, and I cackle with glee when Steam has sales, loading up my cart with escape room simulations and indie horrors.
Between my daytime workload and an implosion in a beloved niche of the horror community, I dropped entirely from streaming. I recently returned and I’m itching to write about the games that I love, the communities built around them, and the ways they add to my life. I’m not sure exactly how I will integrate these two things but I’m at a point where I want to do both and I can’t keep them separate much longer.
ADHD, trauma recovery, and mental health
I was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD in September 2022. The diagnosis and subsequent treatment has led to some incredible, life-changing progress for me. But that clarity has shed light on other issues: ableism, medical misogyny, and how my particular “flavor” of neurodivergence has shaped everything in my life. My diagnosis is recent, but its impact on everything I know about myself and the world around me is not.
Trauma recovery is a significant overlapping factor in this. In the age of endless short-form media consumption, some believe we share too much of ourselves. That the meaning of our connections are lost as our eyes glaze over and we thumb our screen. This can be true in many cases. But for trauma survivors like myself, sharing our stories and hearing others is how some of us find peace and healing. We don’t have natural peers in the world; we must find our own.
My mother was my primary abuser. Being an estranged adult child is hard enough as it is often misunderstood by those who either never experienced or did not examine and process their own upbringing and family systems, and it’s extra complicated with the sexist and misogynist expectations of mother-daughter relationships.
As my processing and healing progresses, I find myself searching for others like me. And the best way I know how to do that is to talk about it. I’ve learned that if I speak it, they will come. I originally considered creating a pseudonym specifically for this purpose. But after careful consideration, it made more sense for myself as a writer and human to do it this way and share it from the real me, not a slice of me behind a pen name.
Travel and tourism
I studied recreation management in college and spent ten years working in the amusement and tourism industry. Amusement parks, waterparks, resorts, tour operations. The majority of my work ethic, event management, leadership, and problem-solving skills all originated from my time in those trenches. While I don’t work in it anymore, it’s something I deeply cherish and value and I am still grateful for every unique experience it brought me.
Travel has also always been important to me but something I had to put on the back burner for several years while I took care of some things in my life. I am fortunately in a position to prioritize this again. As winter winds down in the Northern Hemisphere, you’ll see more content from me on these topics.
Books!
Beyond all of this, I am slowly but surely pecking away at what a writer is “supposed” to do—write books. It’s not something I’m in any rush to complete, and I understand why many authors may take years finishing a book. It’s not a process that should be constrained or limited in any way.
I may not even have any updates this year. Book writing is a long process, especially when I’m juggling a number of projects and interests. Something was never quite right with the story I had in mind, but the frame of it is good. I had to revisit the outline several times. One of the positive changes I have undergone the past several months is I unlocked a part of my writing process that has helped me really get my stories out of my head and onto paper (or in the Scrivener file).
Whenever I finish it will be the best time for it, not a moment before or after. But who knows, I may just get productive enough to have vague news to share about it before the year is out!
Before the pandemic, I had an enriching creative flow, community growth, and finding a specific voice and tone for my work. The pandemic and life’s many challenges threw a wrench in it, but ultimately for the better in the long run. There will be a lot of experimentation and exploration this year and I am excited to see what will come of it.
Reidun Saxerud 
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