Fall 2020 Update

What a year it’s been! Am I right?

2020 has been one strange year. A deadly pandemic spread across the globe, millions of Americans lost their jobs, people are rioting all across the country, and we’ve still got nearly a third of a year to go before 2020 is in our rearview. It’s hard not to wonder: what crazy thing is going to happen next?

I hope you’ve had a decent 2020. Unfortunately, I know a lot of people have really struggled this year. But hopefully you’ve made the best of things and are doing well. I’ve certainly made the best out of this shit show of a year. That’s what I’m going to talk about in this brief blog post.

It’s been about nine months since my last post, so this update is long overdue. But just because I haven’t published a blog post in nine months doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy. I’ve done a lot this year and have some exciting things on the horizon. I’ll tell you what the next few months will bring in a moment. First, let me tell you about what I’ve been up to over the past nine months.

My 2020

I’ve actually had a great year. Sure, it sucks not having concerts to go to and being forced to practice social distancing everywhere I go. But I’ve made the best of it. And in 2020, I made a lifelong dream come true: to earn a living as a writer.

I started writing professionally in 2014 at the age of 33 with the goal of quitting my regular job when I turned 40. Well, I hit the big 4-0 at the beginning of August. But, because of COVID-19, I had an opportunity to leave my job 6 months earlier than I’d planned. So, after working in the mental health field for 15 years at the same company, I quit my job in the early spring.

I can’t even begin to describe how liberating it is not having to work for someone else. I’ve felt so free over the past six months that it totally makes the previous six years of grinding, hustling, and sacrifice worth it. Even though I’ve been making money from my writing for years, now it’s official: writing is my one-and-only job. I, Ellis Michaels, am a writer.

And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing just about every day this year. I wake up, caffeinate, and write before doing anything else. So, what have I been working on?

I spent the first six months of 2020 writing the first draft of a young adult novel. It was supposed to be around 60,000 words but ended up being over 100,000. That’s about 400 pages, which is 100 pages longer than anything else I’ve ever written. The manuscript is going to need a lot of editing, which I haven’t even started yet. I’m not sure when I’m going to, but it likely won’t be for several months at least. So, the young adult novel probably won’t be published until sometime in 2021.

Since I finished writing the young adult manuscript a few months ago, I’ve been focusing exclusively on nonfiction. I will write more fiction in the future, but right now there are several nonfiction projects I’m working on.

The first nonfiction project is something I mentioned in my last blog post nine months ago. I’m in the process of editing a memoir I wrote last year about living with a rare autoimmune condition called Behcet’s Disease. I haven’t set an official release date yet, but I’d like to publish it before the end of 2020.

The second nonfiction project I’ve been working on is a website for people living with chronic medical conditions called Live The Best Life Possible (LTBLP). It was originally a generic self-help website that I started in 2015 but put on the back burner to work on other projects. A couple of months ago, I decided to start working on LTBLP again but changed it from a general self-help website to one specifically for people living with chronic illnesses.

For the record, I came up with the name Live The Best Life Possible before the phrase “live your best life” was a thing. Just sayin’.

And the third nonfiction project I’ve been working on is another website, one I mentioned in my last blog post. The Nootropics Zone is an informational website about smart drugs that I started in 2014 and have been writing for ever since.

As you can see, nonfiction is my priority right now. Between the two websites and the memoir, I’ve had my hands full. So, what’s next?

What’s Next?

The rest of 2020 is going to be spent working on my nonfiction projects. I don’t plan on starting any new fiction stories anytime soon. However, once the Behcet’s memoir is done, I will start editing the young adult novel I have written.

In addition to the memoir, I may also publish a short nonfiction book about how to navigate the medical system. I was diagnosed with Behcet’s Disease over 20 years ago and have been to countless doctors. From experience, I can tell you that the medical system is awful. But I’ve learned how to get the care I need and work my way through the broken system, so I may write a book to help others do the same.

Aside from that, I’ll just being doing what I have been doing: writing every day and enjoying life to the fullest. Even though lots of places have been closed and I haven’t been able to do much traveling, I’ve had a lot of fun in 2020. Before I wrap up this blog post, I’ll tell you a little about what I’ve been doing for fun.

2020 Fun

I spent the last week of 2019 in Miami and the Florida Keys chillin’ on the beach and swimming with dolphins. Then, as soon as I got back to Boston, I got the flu and spent the first week of 2020 in bed. It sucked. I felt tired all the time and had a cough that lingered for an entire month. But I bounced back and by mid-February was back to normal.

In the early spring, I bought a kayak. I’d wanted one for years and, after quitting my job, it seemed like the right time to get one. I’ve got to say: it was! I love my kayak. All spring and summer, I’ve been paddling all over Massachusetts. I’ve kayaked on lakes, ponds, rivers, and even the ocean. I love being out on the water and paddling is a great upper-body workout.

I also started fishing again this year after more than a decade. With the world going crazy, it seemed like a good idea to brush up on my survival skills. It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve fished from my kayak and from shore, alone and with friends. I even caught and grilled up a big, juicy 5+ pound largemouth bass while camping. After I caught it, I immediately killed it humanely using the Ikejime method, filleted it on the spot, put it on ice, brought it to my campsite, got a fire going, and grilled it up. Doesn’t get any fresher than that!

And then, of course, there’s the beach. I got a DCR parking pass that allows me to park at any state beach in Mass. That thing paid for itself within a week. I’ve been going to the beach at least 2-3 times a week all summer. But I don’t just lay there like a beached whale. I usually do at least a couple hours of reading or editing. And I get my cardio for the day by swimming or going for a long walk along the shore.

These are just a few of the things I’ve been doing for fun, but there’s plenty more. I play guitar a few times a week and have even started writing music again. I spend a lot of time with my son who’s now a teenager, which still feels weird to say. I have a lot of wonderful friends I like to spend time with, even if it’s from six-feet away. I could go on and on… but I won’t. You get the idea!

Conclusion

I can honestly say that I’ve made the best of 2020. I’ve had a lot of fun in spite of the pandemic and I reached a major milestone in my writing career. It’s been an interesting year, for sure. But it hasn’t been all bad. I’ve made the most of it and I hope you have, too.

So, there you go. That’s what I’ve been up to this year and what the rest of the year has in store for me. There are still nearly 4 months left in 2020. I’m curious to see how much stranger things are going to get. I guess time will tell!