A Few Final Thoughts
While it sometimes feels like this blog began a lifetime ago, it actually began two lifetimes ago - before both Max, now ten, and Miles, now six (and two-thirds), were born. This is noteworthy for two reasons. One: this blog is really, really old. I've been doing this for very nearly fourteen and a half years. That's a long time.
And second: my life now is very, very different than it was back when Daily Writing Practice began. Two kids take up a remarkable amount of time and energy. A full-time job is, well, pretty close to what it sounds like.
In short, I've had a lot less... just a lot less to give to this blog. I tried doing it differently, no longer writing to the prompts myself (other than the yearlongs) in an effort to keep up with responding to comments. It didn't really work, though I certainly tried to convince myself for long enough that it was sorta working.
It was both a shock and a relief to fully realize that it was time to stop. To let this struggling, shambling reanimated thing finally rest. To allow the time and energy I have devoted to it to rest, and have space to breathe, and look around to see what else it might like to do instead.
I had been writing stories for the boys that I would read to them on Sunday night (hence the inspired title of Sunday Night Stories) and I only missed a couple of weeks over the course of a touch over a year. I put a pause on them when we were on the island this summer... and never got back to it. I'm happy to report I'm working on one now and am very much looking forward to surprising them with it when it is done.
This is one of the things I will be spending more time on. What else will there be? I'm not 100% sure yet. I have a couple writing projects that need finishing. I have ideas for others yet begun. I'm excited to see what comes next.
But for now... thank you for reading and responding and putting up with my erratic posting and terminal backlog of comments. I'm not closing the door on the blog ever starting up again, but I am definitely shutting off the lights and boarding up the windows for the time being.
So long for now, and I hope you keep writing. I know I will.
1 comment:
I was certainly hoping that you'd have some words to say on the shuttering of the blog (at least for the time being) but I didn't want to force you to write any, so I held off mentioning it. I am delighted to have had this to read though, and I think you took me on a small rollercoaster of emotions as you went through things. I am impressed by you keeping this up through marriage, kids, the various jobs (none of which ever seemed like less than a full-time job) and renovations you've performed; plus running this alongside your Protagonise contributions while that existed. I am also pleased to hear about the Sunday Night Stories, though perhaps just a touch sad that we never got to see any of them here.
I will miss being prompted every morning, and being checked up on via the comments, but perhaps this is an opportunity for me to start writing longer pieces for some of my characters and encouraging them to live somewhere else. Maybe even seen print to live in. But let's not be too adventurous there.
I hope that your projects all see fruition and that they are gorgeous, succulent and vitalising for you! And yes, I shall be expecting an email or two... we've been talking through this blog for nearly a decade and a half and it would be a shame to lose touch because email seems too difficult :)
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