First off, look at these awesome shoes I got in Venice!
I was gone for 2 weeks, in various cities in Italy. Honestly don't recall taking a vacation for so long. I felt like my old self again and not just a wage slave (which is kind of the point of a vacation). What is different about this time is that when I came back--I don't know if it's the crappy weather or SAD or what--I realized that I've kind of neglected my true passion: writing. Not sure how to follow the logic on that one lol.
I never stopped writing and I'm pretty much done with a novel and I've got short stories and a million other half-finished things, but nothing finished. Nothing good enough to shop around. And that's sad and kind of pathetic. I work in book publishing, and I realized that while I've been helping authors with their books, I've neglected mine. Obviously, I need to eat and I can't just quit my job to write, but I decided in the last two weeks that I'm going to make it work somehow. I joined a critique group and committed to finish a short story whether or not it killed me. If I can't finish a short story--get it to the point it's submission-worthy, then that's really sad. This short story would be in my admissions portfolio for a writer's retreat I'm interested in.
And then I got a freelance job--an "offer I couldn't refuse." I wonder if it's easier in other cities, but in NYC basically everyone's got side jobs. It's an expensive city. So I had to put my writing aside for 3 weeks while I worked (in addition to my day job, which often goes overtime). How sad. Right when I was determined to go 100%, I had this come up and had to put my writing on hold yet again. I couldn't write, but I could trim away the extra stuff I was wasting my time on--video games, social media, real-life friends (sadly). That's why I vanished for a month.
I considered starting an author blog--if you are serious about being an author, you should have some sort of online presence. Networking is important for you too. Right now, I'm a strange outlier--I'm established in the publishing industry but a nobody in writing circles. In writing circles, my writing is overlooked by my publishing background...there's only so many times I can dodge the question, "So what do you doooo?" Not to make it all about me, but I'd like to talk about my writing, not my day job.
So I was about to shut this blog down and start my writing blog anyway--I'd probably have enough time to run both, but I'm just trying to focus my life here. No more Facebook, Instagram either. That would have been good-bye. But I decided against it, because the only thing more pathetic than not writing is writing a post about why you aren't writing. Also I should be writing right now, lol, instead of this post. When I have a reason to have an online presence--when I'm actually published or if I get accepted to that writer's retreat, then I'll start the writer's blog and maybe say good-bye to this one. Before my New Year, New Me decision, I'd been toying with the idea of taking this blog to YouTube, but video is a time-suck that'll probably kill any chances of having a writing career at all.
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| Ah, beautiful Venice |
Dark fashion's a part of me as much as writing, so I don't think I can ever say good-bye (I've got a post scheduled for the regular day, Thursday). I think even if I'm a successful author, there will still be opinions on trends and how I hate coffin bags. I'm doubtful I'll update weekly as I've had done consistently for the last few years, and I'll probably not be as active as I used to be.
