We were lucky to catch up with Patrick Edwards recently and have shared our conversation below.
Patrick, thanks for taking the time to share your lessons with our community today. So, let’s jump right in – one of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. Where does your self-discipline come from?
There’s a chance it might surprise some to learn I put a lot of effort into my own self-discipline. Outwardly, I present as a relatively relaxed and non-serious person. I love the whimsy and the silliness of life. It feels as if we often assume self-discipline has to mean rigidity and stoicism. I’m here to tell you: you can be self-disciplined AND be a cheeky goof at the same time. There’s two facets of my life where I see the self-discipline really come into play. The first is my health. I was a very overweight child and teenager and it wreaked havoc on my mental and emotional wellbeing. My self-esteem was practically non-existent for a time. Something finally clicked one day and I started exercising consistently and making better dietary choices. I ended up losing over 100lbs in the course of about 2 years. To this day, staying fit remains a top priority, not just for my physical health but for my mental health as well. Just ask my wife, I am a noticeably happier person when I’m consistently exercising and eating right.
As you may have guessed, my writing is the other area where I try to maintain a high level of self-discipline. I think there are many many people out there who wish writing could be their sole job, yet they don’t approach it like a job. I don’t just write when I feel like it or when I’m brimming with motivation and inspiration. There are apparently people out there who like the things I write and are willing to pay some of their hard earned money for the things I write. I am exceedingly grateful for that and I believe I have a responsibility to them. In my own mind, I still have a long LONG way to go in my writing career. So, whenever I find myself *needing* to write but not necessarily *wanting* to write, I think to myself: “How bad do I want it? How bad do I want to create a body of work I can be proud of at the end of my time? More than anything in whole dang world? Ok, then… best get to work.”
And honestly, I believe some of my best writing has come in those moments when I wasn’t overly motivated, but I forced myself to sit down, focus, and write.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My story in short is… I’m a married father of three who, 8 years ago, realized he was miserable in his corporate day job and knew he always wanted to create art and story in various mediums but never had the courage to pursue it in earnest. There are so many unfinished novels and screenplays sitting on computers out there. I was no different. So, I resolved to try and just finish one thing. That ended up being my first novel, Space Tripping. Once finished, I entered it in a contest and won a small publishing contract. And I’ve been trying to churn out quality content as consistently as possible ever since then. Since then, I’ve had a second novel come out, Space Tripping 2: The Chaser, written an award winning short film called Joining Call, and become practically a full-time professional in the TTRPG space. That part wasn’t planned, I fell into it with my friend and fellow writer, Rick Heinz. Together we co-authored a 5th Edition campaign epic called The Red Opera, which became much more successful than either of us ever guessed it would. We both have been getting consistent work in that industry for a few years now. Recently, we formed our own studio, Storytellers Forge, and our first book under that label, The Black Ballad, will be released in March of 2024. I also love podcasting and running Actual Play TTRPG shows. I’m a co-host of the Let’s Rewatch podcast and the GameMaster for a currently running pirate-themed show called Wayward Shores on the Geekly, Inc. Twitch channel. I’ve got a lot of plates spinning, a lot of balls in the air, a lot of irons in the fire, <insert fourth cliche here>…
I think if I were to distill down one single thing that is signature about my work is… I try to never lose sight of the fact that this thing is supposed to be fun and enjoyable for the person consuming it. That seems really obvious, but I’ve seen creators in lost in their own heads, forgetting their audience, plenty of times. If you are gracious enough to spare some of your time and/or your money on something I created, I want more than anything for it to be worth your while.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three things that I’ve always put an emphasis on that have helped me tremendously, especially in the world of collaborative projects and paid freelancing for other organizations, are:
1. Never phone it in – If I’m putting my name on something, it’s getting everything I got.
2. Be Reliable – If you hire me for a project, best believe you are getting the work you ask for by the time you asked for it
3. Be Enjoyable to Work With – In the course of a project, you will undoubtedly run into stresses and potential conflicts with your fellow collaborators. Those hurdles can be overcome. Having a disagreement with someone won’t, in of itself, disqualify you from consideration for future work… but the way you handle that disagreement absolutely could. Approach every interaction with collaborators with empathy, compassion, respect, and professionalism, and you will find yourself getting asked back for future work consistently.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I am always open to meeting new people and potential new collaborations. My current work slate is pretty full, which I’m grateful for, but I never want to close myself off to at least connecting with someone and hearing what they’ve got going on. If I can’t work on the project myself, perhaps I know someone I could connect them with who can help!
So whether you’re a writer, artist, filmmaker, production studio, streamer, podcaster, whatever… if you want to connect, head over to my site: ThePatEdwards.com and drop me a note. Or find me on most every platform @ThePatEdwards
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thepatedwards.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepatedwards/?hl=en
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThePatEdwards
- Other: Bluesky: @ThePatEdwards.bsky.social
