The last year has been rough for me creatively, to say the least. Dry spells. Job loss and multi-month unemployment – not once, but twice. And the kicker – a forced update that trashed my ability to post and update the blog on my old host.
That’s been my year, folks. I’m going to level with you: for quite a while I’ve thought about giving up. I was ready to call it quits and just be done this artistic experiment. I had my fun, I thought, maybe it’s time to be a grown up now. For a while I really thought it was time to put the pen down and forget about my dream.
And I did. I actually walked away for a while.
If you read the old version of this blog, you remember I’ve talked about the time I walked away from writing and tried being a good corporate citizen. Eventually the muse called me back. Just like she did this time.
I believe this thing about writing – when it’s in your heart, and you have the soul of a writer you just can’t walk completely away from it. It’s so ingrained in who you are that you can’t be happy unless you’re writing. At least I am.
I’ve been sitting here all day, picking pieces I can recover out of my old web site like I’m trying to salvage prized photos after my house burned down. It’s at times heartbreaking to think of the following I lost, but at other times it’s motivating because I’m reviewing my work. I remember the excitement from when the work was new, the thrill of finishing and the fist-pumps of the first positive reviews.
If this ever happens to you – I hope it doesn’t but if it does – remember disheartening as it can be, you can recover from it. The following will be rebuilt. The words will flow once more. In time you will heal and you’ll be better and stronger for it.
If something like this has happened to you, please post a comment.
Good luck and keep writing.