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.
