Dispatches from the Anxiety Den: When Finishing a Project Feels Like Failing

I’ve had one of those weeks — the kind with emotional turbulence, ugly crying, and the kind of self-doubt that hits harder than a plot twist I didn’t plan.

And because I promised myself I’d be honest here, in the Anxiety Den, I’m going to tell the truth:

Finishing a project makes me feel like a failure. It has my entire life... every time something ends I'm desperately looking for what comes next, so I don't have to deal with the tsunami of negative crap attempting to drag me under.

The problem isn't my writing or the story. And it's definitely not Quinn, who I love with all the ferocity of someone who built her from broken pieces and stubborn spark.

It’s the endings.
The moment something is “done.”
Everyone else calls it accomplishment.
My brain calls it loss.

Combine that with my period (which turns my emotional dial up to 900%), slower-than-expected early sales, and a self-imposed slow release schedule that’s now strangling my momentum… and yeah. This week wasn’t great.

Here’s the thing no one tells you about being an artist:
Creativity is a rollercoaster, but deadlines are a straitjacket.

I thought giving myself space between releases would be smart. Responsible. Professional.
Instead, it just made me feel… stuck.
Like I’m frozen on a project I’ve already emotionally finished, but not allowed to move on.

So I’m readjusting.
Not because I don’t love Quinn—I do. I stand by her story with my whole, shaky, slightly wine-soaked heart.
But because holding myself hostage to a timeline that’s hurting me helps no one.

I need momentum.
I need movement.
I need to feel the creative pulse again instead of sitting in limbo.
And I think a lot of artists know exactly what that’s like — the drop that hits right after “The End,” the ache that whispers, You should be doing more, even when you’ve given everything.

So I’m shifting my release plan for my mental health.
Not giving up.
Not rushing.
Just… letting myself breathe and create at the pace that keeps me alive inside.

If you’ve ever felt this crash — the “I finished a huge project and now I feel like garbage” spiral — hey, welcome to the Anxiety Den. There’s tea, there’s wine, and there’s zero judgment here.