Figuring It All Out Again
A Twittorial History of ARISEN : Raiders, Volumes 3 & 4
So, as noted, erm, tomorrow, a year after somehow pulling off this story cycle, I was interested to go back and look at my real-time notes from the process, with a view to understanding how that happened. (Maybe this will be of the tiniest interest to readers or, better yet, help some exhausted, isolated, struggling artist somewhere down the line.)
“Can you be fully content with your life, bravely face what life has in store from one day to the next, bounce back from adversity, be a source of strength and inspiration to others around you? That's Stoic joy – which comes from purpose, excellence, and duty.” – Ryan Holiday
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 10, 2021
Man, you think you've got a book story-designed in advance… but nope. However, actually enjoying the creative aspect of this phase of the process; weirdly. #ARISENRaidersVol3
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 12, 2021
And of course we know there’s no writing without running… whether or not it happens to be 0°-feels-like-negative-5° out (and/or you’ve been battling through chronic illness in lockdown)… ✊🏼 pic.twitter.com/CkYXMhXZtd
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 14, 2021
Every single time out, I have to figure it all out again. How to write a novel. How to design a story. Indeed, how to compose a sentence. I may finally be making peace with this.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 16, 2021
“The choice is simple: we can insist on resting on our laurels, or we can begin anew. The stringent requirement of a sustained creative life is the humility to start again… It is this willingness to once more be a beginner that distinguishes a creative career.” – @J_CameronLive
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 16, 2021
”Walk through the fire, it takes me higher
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 26, 2021
Ain't seen the last of me
'Cause I will be the last one standing”https://t.co/Vsx0nkLb3s@iconforhire are back – artists who've battled through adversity and earned it
Problem #1 (of 2,037) in story design is it’s so mentally agonizing sitting there immersed & grinding against pure story metal, the urge to call it “good enough“ is overwhelming – just about the last thing you want to do. You need the best of 100 ideas, not 1st one that works…😬
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 11, 2021
Just when you think there's no more new life in the best running/writing/workout song of all time… Holy F'ing S*&^, dudes.https://t.co/hdfy6g5GOZ
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 17, 2021
And this track definitely, totally helped me reclaim a day when I didn't think I could look at the damned book for one more second nor get out for one more identikit run. (But, as always, writing and running are the only way through…)
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 17, 2021
“You need it, you want it,
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 18, 2021
You did it, you got it
So act like you own it this time”https://t.co/zoWXMa2heY
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 23, 2021
– Sir Winston Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, DL, FRS, RA
“It's no fun to write. I mean, if you're a serious writer, you've got to put a gun to your head to get in the chair.” – Robert McKee
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 26, 2021
Categorically, brutally, a gun-to-head day. 😐🔫
“You gotta fight through the pain, to get to the top
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 28, 2021
You gotta push through it all, if it’s what you want
Screaming this is a call to the dreamers
Dig a little deeper, make ’em believers”https://t.co/I7ArYWM8VE
“Having done this 20+ years, I know less now about how to do it than I did when I started… What I have is a better idea of what doesn’t work. I don’t know any better now how to make things work. I just am much better at identifying flaws.”
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 28, 2021
– @realalecberg, on ScriptNotes
Yeah.😶
“I’m not any less confused than you are; I'm not any less uncertain about my work or my worth than you are. I just got in the habit of doing it.”
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 30, 2021
– David F’ing Mamet (@MametDavid)
If it’s this guy, too, that’s some comfort…
Elbow-deep in story design of last 3 Raiders books. And right now just HATE it all: contrived, clichéd, predictable. Know on some level I’m probably applying stupidly high standards. But can’t feel it. Also… terrified heart’s not in it. Crisis of artistic faith. (Another one!)👹
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 6, 2021
“Here I am again
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 6, 2021
Honest and afraid
Doubting who I am
The reason I was made
Can I get myself back?
Back up from the bottom
Can I get my life back the way it was?
Before I got torn up”https://t.co/1vdtyywbUw
#hexbar #deadlifts – trying to build back strength from, basically, zero. As usual, Bobaflex makes it all possible: https://t.co/xqvV1ocQ82
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 22, 2021
“I’ve been through hell, and I'm born again
And I'm gonna keep on tryin’
I'm gonna get it right this time”
“Am I brave enough?
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 22, 2021
Am I strong enough?
To push away my fear
To stand where I'm afraid…
I am the one I've been waiting for.”https://t.co/seF2rVtAmv
Sunny Sunday and listening to the greatest tracks of favourite musical artists… but also crushed by the inexorable sadness of the outrageous difficulty of doing work that equals our best… Man, it's HARD. Then again, I'm also pretty drunk; maybe Thoros of Myr had it right… 🌞🍾
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 25, 2021
I guess I know this won't make a ton of sense to most people. Suffice it to say there's a great tragedy at the heart of every triumph: that it's temporary.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 25, 2021
“There's two kinds of despair that a writer can feel, one of which is: I will never make something good. But the second is: nobody could ever make something good. And that's a real despair. And every writer and artist I know has experienced both kinds.”
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 28, 2021
- Jonathan Safran Foer
Holy s#*&, dudes – NEW @starsetonline. And it is GLORIOUS. How any artists can *exceed* the quality of work these guys already have behind them is just beyond me. (But I am INSPIRED.) Is this the best band of all time?https://t.co/5zjYzyNmf8
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 28, 2021
Still obsessively listening to this song a day later. It's totally fresh and original, yet instantly recognisable and completely rooted in STARSET’s musical DNA. (Another incredibly tough thing for artists to pull off…)
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 28, 2021
As I reinvent the story-design process for 28th time running, I’m starting to think all story-design/structure paradigms work for the same reason all diets work: they make you think about what the hell you’re doing. (Also: no paradigm, or diet, makes it remotely easy…)🤯🤠
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 7, 2021
“It's no fun to write… I don't know where people get this notion. You've got to face the awfulness of Resistance. And you're paralyzed constantly by the fear that I'm lying, I don't know what I'm talking about, this is bullshit, this is off. I mean, it's no fun.” — Robert McKee
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 12, 2021
“The haunting Demon never leaves you, that Demon being the knowledge of your own terrible limitations, your hopeless inadequacy, the impossibility of ever getting it right.” — (the great) William Goldman
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 12, 2021
That’s the detailed story design for Raiders v3-5 in the can: 129 (big, hopefully perfect) beats. I’m actually pretty happy with it – definitely some hardcore thrilling stuff. On other hand, successfully executing all this material is going to take another 129 miracles in a row…
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 20, 2021
Boom. 💥 [Massive spoilers. Probably. I don't know.] pic.twitter.com/RA679agFD1
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 21, 2021
“Have been working very hard on this book. She pretty near over. All that remains now is to perform the unperformable miracle you have to always do at the end." – Hemingway
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 20, 2021
At the end – and at every stage before it! 😬🤠
Lying here watching Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead on Netflix. (Of course.) Early in Act Two, it's revealed there's a new zombie type. (Of course.) What are they like? “Straight out of your fucking nightmares.” God, I get ripped off a lot. 🙄
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 24, 2021
I now think maybe I've needed to fall back in love with *reading* fiction, in order to remember the reasons for writing it. (David Foster Wallace said the job of good writing is to help us feel less alone inside.) ✒️🌠
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 28, 2021
Wow! There's some stratospheric praise out of the blue to make an author's day. Thanks a ton, J. Really appreciate it. 😎 https://t.co/pjB1QZfGUw
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 6, 2021
I've never actually tried to story-design in detail three books (most of a series) in one go. (Which I've now been doing for five months.) Feel like I'm trying to hold this sprawling behemoth of story together with duct tape, twine, and bailing wire. Also pure will. And faith!
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 15, 2021
On the other hand, I also had the compelling feeling today – for the first time in a while – that *I'm not done yet.* (With work, or with life.) Maybe I've got a few great books, and strong runs, left in me. Probably the coffee talking. ☕⚡️
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 15, 2021
Off now to treat myself to a matinee of Nobody – https://t.co/htfETRsswb – written by Derek Kolstad of John Wick fame! Movies, and particularly trailers, get me seriously fired up about being a storyteller again…
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 15, 2021
I need regular reminding that truly great art is indeed possible. And for that, absurdly luckily for me, I've got @hollywoodundead.https://t.co/8HqZ5rHK7u#existentialism #hexbar #deadlifts
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 17, 2021
Rather unexpectedly, it begins.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 17, 2021
(And, to no one’s greater surprise than mine, it looks like I can still do this…) pic.twitter.com/tZl6jQ3M1L
2,800 words before breakfast (read: before run). This is going unnervingly well. The book lulling me into a totally false sense of security, no doubt… pic.twitter.com/pI63n3h4Y8
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 18, 2021
Thanks to all who participated in the Memorial Day Weekend sale! With your help, we were able make a donation to the Hampton, VA Veterans Medical Center. Hoping to make it an annual tradition and run more such events in the future.
— ARISEN (@theZuluAlpha) June 21, 2021
Thanks again, everyone. 🎆👏❤
Hope Never Dies. pic.twitter.com/Cl8JEiv4bJ
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 23, 2021
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 2, 2021
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 9, 2021
I swear sometimes I think I write just for the coffee. 📚☕🌪️
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 13, 2021
Climax of the midpoint explosive action set-piece of Raiders v3 in the can. (And I think it's all working.) So, that's something. pic.twitter.com/pKkFaxsnnI
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 17, 2021
1: THIS. (My life, now – and, seemingly, forever.)https://t.co/64utboPvBf
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
First song the MP3 player picked out today, and the last one I let it play all day.
2: “What in hell am I doing?” I thought, gearing up to go run in what forecast called “Heavy T-Storms!” But as soon as I stepped out into it, I was so happy I laughed out loud. Definitely kicking it old school. Song also instantly going to top of Raiders v3-5 writing playlist.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
3: I probably need to face it: life, never mind, art is a battle – not an idyll. Either you're in the fight or you're out of it. (Run of epiphanies.)
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
4: Made a point of saluting every other runner I saw out in the storm – which was exactly eight other runners.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
5: Why's music so utterly personally motivating to me? Maybe because I have such odd taste so listen to obscure/marginal artists, which means ones fighting a constant battle for artistic success/survival… which informs their work. Which not only inspires me – it keeps me alive.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
6: I’ve still got something to prove. I'm not done yet.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
7: There's a wonderful freedom in being so wet you can't get any wetter. Though I'm slightly worried about the MP3 player condom failing. Asics and socks last to fall. Now I'm free to stomp through middle of the biggest, deepest, gnarliest puddles – f*&^ing FUN!
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
8: <last track> button, <last track>, and again <last track>. @AGTrockofficial's “The Comeback”, now and forever. This is what I've long thought of as the superior wisdom of the MP3 player. God, did it nail it this time.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
9: Detouring to stretch the run out, catch every scrap of elevation gain in the park, stay out from under trees so I don't miss a drop of rain.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
10: Inexplicable pain in my upper thigh; near miss with rolled ankle in a divot. None of it matters, man.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
11: Best day of my life.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
12: Back up on the bridge over the river, definitely feeling the pain, tiredness, and strain… but first chorus rolls back around again, f*&^ it, up onto the balls of my feet, running as hard as I've got left in me, up the slope of first half of bridge…
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
13: Rain has nothing like abated. Thunder and visible lightning now. What if I get taken out by a lightning strike before I get back? Will these voice recordings survive? Or will the device be fried along with its owner? Doesn't matter in the least.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
14: @naval talks about only wanting to do things intrinsically, “for their own sake” – well, NOTHING could be more worth doing than this. Even if nothing comes of it. Although, I have a funny feeling, everything, going forward, will.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
15: Singing out loud, running through the mannered streets of Chelsea and South Ken. Now I'm the crazy person, I guess. But happy to be.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
16: One last play-through of the song – and one last sprint.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
17: F*&% the past.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
18: [I don't go on about it, but I've been battling despair a bit – both as a human and as an artist. (N.B. Depression is a pathology. Despair is just the human condition – never mind the artistic one.) Today was the antidote. (For today.)]
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
19: [This was also @briankoppelman's The Moment. (Yet another one.) The one where I made the decision to go again – to hit it one more time.]
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
20: Aftermath – euphoric drowned-rat of an author. pic.twitter.com/s7oki71f7I
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2021
Why’s it so hard to hit word-count these days? (A 3k day used to be an acceptable minimum. Now it’s like this wild aspiration. Clearly I’m getting old; plus tired.) Nonetheless, fully into Act 3 of Raiders v3 now. And EVERYTHING IS EXPLODING.💥 pic.twitter.com/6pgHau7WaE
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 29, 2021
There. pic.twitter.com/v85JqfqUZ9
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 30, 2021
“It might be odd to thank an inanimate entity, but I could not have surmounted the organizational challenges of this novel without the writing application Scrivener.” – @MaggieShipstead, 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘦
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 29, 2021
Odd? No. I can't get out of bed without @ScrivenerApp.
Rediscovered this one – going back to my Book Eight playlist! – and now it’s kind of dominating my writing day, and brain. Hed PE is like if NWA and Insane Clown Posse had a drunken hookup that turned into a brawl with grisly casualties.https://t.co/S5beZ5GL8c
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 2, 2021
Just took pole position in the new writing playlist.https://t.co/5w2VcEm6VX
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 3, 2021
Thanks, @Mick_Gordon – your work powers mine. 👊🏼💥
Don't-Have-To-Feel-Like-It-Just-Have-To-Do-It Day. (Again.) But deep into the blistering climax of Raiders v3 now. 🔥👊🏼 pic.twitter.com/Zg669i87LM
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 5, 2021
Well, just between me, you guys, and the other 330 million Twitter users… that's ARISEN : Raiders, Volume 3 – Dead Men Walking in the can. 🧟♂️🥫😌 pic.twitter.com/hR2FwThvP4
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 9, 2021
Forgot who started the siege on the JFK? Looking for a list of the books in chronological order? Pining for a character bible? These questions & more answered on the new Fandom wiki! Join us and help us create a detailed road map of the series you love.🖤https://t.co/B3zup8Ea2s
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 10, 2021
Necessity is necessary. pic.twitter.com/cZBX3WsxJC
— Sebastian Junger (@sebastianjunger) August 18, 2021
@kashif1307 if you want a fast, furious, full throttle fighting thriller that keeps you on the edge, from beginning to end, then BLACK SQUADRON by @michaelstephenf is the book for you. Well crafted. Incredibly intense. Pure unadulterated adrenaline. Set in Aleppo. Just brilliant.
— Jenny Jones 🌻 (@JennyJonescx) August 23, 2021
The trouble is you *never* feel like writing.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 26, 2021
(Although, in fairness, sometimes you really, *really* don’t feel like writing…)
“And every time, do you feel like, shit, I don’t know how to do this?”
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 26, 2021
“Yes. Like, and now that I’ve done it successfully, I feel like I can’t write as good as Mary Gauthier. I’m suddenly intimidated by myself!”
– @briankoppelman & Mary Gauthier
Yep. THAT.
Just to be clear: YES, every time, I feel (exactly) like, shit, I don't know how to do this. And, yeah, having pulled it off a few times, I *definitely* feel like there's no way I can possibly produce new work that equals my best work.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 29, 2021
“I think that’s part of the process. If you’re not freaked out, then you probably don’t have the respect for the art form.”
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 29, 2021
– @marygauthier_ https://t.co/SZlzwhUYQt
“The thing that ties people who do this work together is you have to DO THE WORK. Clear out the inner debris, find the silent place, and face the fact it’s terrifying. But it’s more terrifying if you don’t fill the page today, it’s going to be blank tomorrow.”
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 29, 2021
– @briankoppelman
💥RAIDERS AUDIO LAUNCH DAY!💥
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 31, 2021
The books have 1,500 reviews on Amazon, w/a 4.7/4.8-★ average, a lot of reasons to think they blow the doors off! Now you can hear what R.C. Bray has done with them. Thank you for waiting, can't wait to hear what you think!🖤https://t.co/z7wMbLXLAc pic.twitter.com/gcab4HUuBn
Raiders has hit #1 in Military SciFi (for audiobooks on Audible & ALL books on Amazon), #2 in Post-Apocalyptic ScFi (behind Stephen King's The Stand!), & #64 in Audible Top 100. Pretty amazing – & all down to you faithful ARISEN & @hisbrayness maniacs. THANK YOU. You guys rule!🖤 pic.twitter.com/9hPz8v6K8B
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 1, 2021
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 2, 2021
Raiders v1&2 available NOW – & not only can you get both books for 1 credit, but you can get it TOTALLY FREE with a free Audible trial. Great chance to jump in & see what the hype is about, with the best narrator in the business, bringing your favorite series to dazzling life. pic.twitter.com/A5MzXiWDK7
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 4, 2021
“What was the lesson here? Simple. Don’t quit. Never quit no matter what. Keep going until someone tells you to sit down. Keep going as long as you’re able to move, no matter how poorly you think you may be doing. Just don’t quit.” – CSM Eric L. Haney
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 6, 2021
I've lost track but know I've written & published over 2 million words of fiction. Here's another 100k on the pile. But this series is special: after 2 books & maybe 7 months of design & planning, I'm enjoying executing – shepherding it through its many 💥 turns to its 🔥 climax. pic.twitter.com/Z9ClluncGl
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 7, 2021
① I'm now back up to lifting my pre-lockdown, pre-chronic-debilitating-illness weights – at every station. Wasn't actually quite there yet. F’ing did it anyway. You want to be able to pick up more weight? Pick up more weight.https://t.co/Dte20NwD6j
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 8, 2021
② Only took four shuffle-fast-forwards to land on this bad boy, when stepping up for #hexbar #deadlifts.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 8, 2021
NEVER. GETS. OLD.https://t.co/pDMJbG6Iz2
③ And, crucially, I felt justified – for the first time in a year – wearing THIS. pic.twitter.com/SEDHnQLm2k
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 8, 2021
Just on the chance I die of heart failure/caffeine poisoning here at my keyboard, and just for the record, I’d like to quote the Bodhisattva: “It’s not tragic to die doing what you love.”
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 10, 2021
#100%PureAdrenaline pic.twitter.com/WiaFaBPrgT
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 10, 2021
Then again, the drugs clearly work. Good day. 👊🏼💥 pic.twitter.com/bFNvG5It9r
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 10, 2021
Sometimes – pretty damned often, actually, come to remember it – Monday is just Make–It-To-Tuesday-Alive Day.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 13, 2021
[Me]: “God, I’m not in the mood.”
[Also Me]: “Good. You don’t have to be in the mood.”
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 13, 2021
I just executed the scene first alluded to in ARISEN Book Four, the Darwin debacle, back in *2013* – and the one which haunts MGySgt Fick every minute for each of his remaining days in the ZA. I do not think it disappoints; not even me. (Also, two words: 4k day.) 👊🏼🤘🏼💥 pic.twitter.com/59i7dfdt38
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 14, 2021
“There is no good or bad without us, there is only perception. There is the event itself and the story we tell ourselves about it. That's a thought that changes everything, doesn't it?” – @RyanHoliday
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 26, 2021
“It's a long way down
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 27, 2021
But we got this far
So we're not gonna give up now
One slip, we die
But we'll take that chance
’CAUSE IT MAKES US FEEL ALIVE”https://t.co/6EcCZoo4Md
(If you're battling your way through the Artist's Journey, get this whole album now. @agtofficial)
The final battle – of TWO books, a year-long writing cycle – begins TODAY. Boom. pic.twitter.com/Ca2p6hKVkR
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 27, 2021
“You're always fighting uphill. Get used to it and train accordingly." – @RyanHoliday.https://t.co/CCdyluAEHC
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 27, 2021
BURY your demons.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 30, 2021
Not “face” or “battle” or even “conquer.”
It’s long overdue – time to put them under the earth.https://t.co/NRLpCnhFLq
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 30, 2021
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) October 5, 2021
“There is nothing worth doing that is not scary. There is no one who has achieved greatness without wrestling with their own doubts, anxieties, limitations, and demons.” – @RyanHoliday, 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘐𝘴 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) October 11, 2021
Yep. Sitting down today to write the last short chapter in a two-book, 155k-word, year-long writing cycle… once again, I have absolutely no idea if I can do it. On any given writing day I honestly have no idea if I’m going to be able to do it. https://t.co/75LzUeDDtq
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) October 12, 2021
Did it. That's Raiders v4 in the can. 🙂 pic.twitter.com/J32ghfAVgD
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) October 12, 2021
Yep! I can breathe again. And I swear today it's like the sun is shining just for me. 🌞 https://t.co/G4TIG4AEAZ
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) October 13, 2021
“We go through life in two ways. We choose between effective truths: that we have the ability to change our situation, or that we are at the mercy of the situations in which we find ourselves.” – @RyanHoliday, 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘐𝘴 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) October 13, 2021
Yep. It's a melancholy and terrifying fact that having written 95% of an amazing book means you've got absolutely nothing to put out. You have to finish! Anyway, now into six weeks of editing – glorious due to the absence of the terror of facing the blank page every morning…😃 https://t.co/gZr1FkXQE6
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) October 14, 2021
“To have courage? To brave fear? That's our call. We don't have to do it. But what we want in life, what the world needs – all of it is on the other side of fear.” – @RyanHoliday, 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘐𝘴 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) October 15, 2021
“In matters like this, one must move or die. I have chosen to move; that does not exclude the possibility of also dying.” – Charles de Gaulle, as quoted by @RyanHoliday in 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘐𝘴 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) October 16, 2021
“I don't like writing. I like having written.” – Gloria Steinem
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) October 18, 2021
Yep. Even all these years and books later, I’m pleased to report, it’s still a pretty awesome feeling. 😃
No one will ever displace Bobaflex from their place of “Hell in My Heart”… but an awesome little change of pace for #hexbar #deadlifts from the amazing @fever333.https://t.co/uMomYhq8GM
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) October 21, 2021
And, also, update! – now the new #1 in my writing playlist! 𝘚𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥.
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 TODAY IS 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗧 (𝟰) 𝗗𝗔𝗬. As happy & excited as I am at the release of https://t.co/0EuMXoAdjP… I'm even more 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭, weepingly so, that these artists continue to produce such sublime work. @starsetonline FOREVER.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) October 22, 2021
In Unix, the problem's always permissions. (Always.) In fiction, it's POV.
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) November 1, 2021
ARISEN : Raiders, Volume 3 – Dead Men Walking
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) November 3, 2021
🏴☠️…launches…🏴☠️
Friday 03 DEC 2021
And the big cover reveal – and believe me this one is a complete and total asskicker – drops 10 Nov, in one week…😮
Well, Raiders v3 is now off to the Mighty Editrice – and, even after four long, slow, intense editing passes (not to mention a year designing and writing the thing), it still reads like an exploding bat out of Hell. Pretty good sign.💥🦇🔥
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) November 8, 2021
💥 BOOM 💥
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) November 10, 2021
ARISEN : Raiders, Volume 3 – Dead Men Walking
launches 03 DEC 21
(And happy 246th birthday to the USMC. ⚔️🐉) pic.twitter.com/XL9ctALGwa
Veterans Day / Remembrance Day 2021https://t.co/h7HXefAD9h pic.twitter.com/ZxRIfqlXvx
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) November 11, 2021
💥ARISEN : Raiders, v3 – Dead Men Walking Launches NOW💥 pic.twitter.com/p0Uy1qBflD
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) November 29, 2021
ARISEN : Raiders
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) December 8, 2021
Volume 4 – Duty
🏴☠️…launches…🏴☠️
⚡️ Fri 24 DEC 2021 ⚡️
(Yep – two new Raiders books in three weeks. Merry Christmas.)
And the big cover reveal – and this one is actually my single favorite cover out of all 23 ARISEN books – drops Tue 14 Dec, in one week…
Thank you so much to everyone who took the time and love to leave reviews for the new book on Amazon. As usual, getting your feedback is the greatest feeling and best reward for the months of work that went into this story. Here are a few of my most treasured comments so far. 🖤 pic.twitter.com/WkD3clOpPE
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) December 8, 2021
DEAD MEN WALKING PAPERBACK – AND HARDCOVER!
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) December 9, 2021
Here both at once, and much quicker than on previous go-rounds. Thanks so much for waiting, and still love you, paper readers. 😊🖤https://t.co/gfyAt7V32vhttps://t.co/Gd1zKtQbyB pic.twitter.com/KIXKN1VgyX
💥 BOOM 💥
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) December 14, 2021
Ten days.
[And monster cool points to anyone who can identify a) the hat; and especially b) the chest patch.] pic.twitter.com/1sV7UuHK7R
What do you do when everyone who keeps you alive wants you dead?
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) December 17, 2021
When the only man who can stay and hold the line is the one nobody can do without?
And when the one thing that can keep all the survivors alive is going to get everyone killed?
Betrayal. Redemption. Consecration. pic.twitter.com/dhmq0CHnsL
💥ARISEN : Raiders, Volume 4 – Duty Launches NOW💥
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) December 21, 2021
Betrayal. Redemption. Consecration.
DUTY
[if I include a link, Twitter will make sure you don't see it, but I have every faith you can find it on Amazon 😎] pic.twitter.com/sqX3IOr41V
Hey, thanks everyone for the Christmas miracle. 😊🎄🖤 pic.twitter.com/AwwQq7Jmne
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) December 25, 2021
— Michael Stephen Fuchs (@michaelstephenf) December 25, 2021
![ARISEN : Fickisms ][ – This Time, It's Personal](graphics/arisen-fickisms-2.png "ARISEN : Fickisms ][ – This Time, It's Personal")
