I’ll see you next time, friend.
Well, there it is, friends. 52 weeks of blog posts. Of stories and feelings and putting the tangles of my mind out there.
And with this installment, I reached my goal. In all that time, I only missed one week — last week — and truly, it’s because I went to Disneyland with my friends. I can’t really bring myself to feel sorry about that.
When I started this little quest, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was hoping to get out of it. I think I simply wanted to start taking my writing more seriously. I wanted to keep myself accountable for staying true to my dream. To quote my first installment, I want to live a creative life:
“This website is proof of that. Proof of where my priorities are. Proof of the unapologetic life I want for myself.”
Since then, I’ve submitted 11 short stories for competition. I finished writing my first (and second) fantasy novel, written a self-help novella, and sent my book to 31 literary agents. I secured and delivered my first writing contract, too: a 19k word interactive short story.
And best of all, I don’t call myself an aspiring writer anymore.
In truth, for the past several weeks, this blog post began to feel like a distraction. I’d sit down with my coffee and wish I was writing stories. I still have my full time job, after all, and I want to spend what little time I have working towards my dream.
Perhaps, in another world, this blog would be part of that; maybe it will be in the future. But not right now.
Several weeks ago, drew a line in the sand: if I didn’t increase my regular readership by 200%, I’d take a step back.
And, well…I didn’t. I don’t consider it a failure, really. More like a contingency that wasn’t met.
So, true to my word — this is goodbye for now. Don’t worry; I’ll still post when unbearably exciting things happen. I’ll make announcements for new shop drops, and you’re sure to hear when I finally secure an agent or a book deal. But it’s time to set down before my coffee gets cold.
Before I do, I want to say thank you to all of you who stayed with me in this process — who texted me your answers to my writing prompts, who commented on the website, and who followed up with me to share your thoughts on what I have to say.
Thank you. Thank you for taking my dream seriously. And I hope I’ve added some sunshine to your weekend mornings.
I’ll see you next time, friend.
