Another Kinktober has come and gone, and I have thoughts about it. Just like last year, I had a lot of fun trying to push out a new story every day. I fell behind towards the end, having to write and post stories on the same day for the last half-week or so, but successfully managed to always post on time (in my time zone). However, I also faced more burn-out than last year. Some of it was definitely purely because of the amount of writing I ended up doing (especially on days I tried to get ahead on), but I think it more so had to do with the number of free "commissions" I ended up doing. Last year I only had six commissions (~19%), but this year I ended up with 24 (~77%). I have poor social skills and constantly talking to mostly strangers was pretty exhausting for me. I think the quality of my work definitely declined for the last week or so as a result.

Something that definitely caught me off guard was how many people did not realize the kind of content I like to write. This is at least partly my fault, as I see some terms used in more specific niches more often than in broader context. This wasn't a problem last year, which amplified my surprise this year as my original post apparently had more reach. I had multiple people requesting I write about kinks I very much do not have with no bondage at all. In the future, I will have to make it impossible to misunderstand that I write "gay (M/M) BDSM and bondage stories."

Speaking of the future, I do still intend to participate in next year's kinktober (so long as my life situation allows). However, I will do things differently. Firstly, I will be limiting the number of commission slots to 15 (if not fewer). This should help me be less exhausted from talking to people and help ensure that most of the stories I write are ones I'm really interested in. Not to say that I hated writing every commission story. Many were great fun to write, but others just weren't nearly as enjoyable as I'd have liked. I will also bite the bullet and try to contact everyone more immediately next year so we have more time to discuss details, and I will be less burned-out when talking to anyone with a story later in the month. When discussing those details, I definitely need to be better about putting my foot down and not writing stories I'm less interested in and make sure everyone understands the assignment. The stories are all free, after all.

So, what can everyone expect from me in the more immediate future? Nothing! I do have some motivation to work on some of my own stories again, but not the energy. For most of this month, I doubt I'll respond to any non-urgent messages and only write when the mood strikes. It's been great fun and I'm not going anywhere, but I need some time to actually let myself relax.

Thank you all for everything!
-Noidilop