It's no shock that I haven't been posting here very regularly, and while I'm sure most people either haven't noticed or don't particularly care either way - that sounds very self-pitying and I don't mean it to, I just know how many other blogs there are that are updated far more than mine! - I think it's only fair that I announce I'm going to be gone for a little while.
I moved to a new city for a new job in February, to a place where I know absolutely no one, and the move and the new job have taken up a lot of my time. Not only that, but I've been reading both more than I feel like I was last year and not as much as I'd like to be and, most importantly, I've been writing my own fiction far more regularly now that I have my own space and a desk where I can work.
I've fallen in love with writing fiction again, and at that same I've also fallen out of love with blogging. The worst thing I can possibly do is force myself to blog when my heart's not in it, so I'm going to go ahead and give myself a break from it. I love blogging and I love talking to other people about books, but my focus right now is on my own work and that means I'm in less of a mood to read lots and write lots of reviews.
That doesn't mean I'm not going to, this definitely isn't a permanent goodbye, but I'd rather let people know that I'm fine and that I'm going to return when I've fallen back in love with blogging than leave my blog to stagnate. I'll still be reading blogs and commenting on them when I get the time, but for now I'm going to focus on my own work and enjoy it! I'm taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo this month as I work on the first draft of a novella that's been bouncing around my head for a while now, and very recently some plot threads finally came together and I feel excited to work on it.
Until next time, ciao!
Showing posts with label hiatus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hiatus. Show all posts
Wednesday, 4 April 2018
Tuesday, 1 August 2017
Hiatus
I disappeared for a couple of weeks there. Oops.
Hello! So if you saw my last post you'll know I went to Disneyland Paris last month and I had an amazing time.
At least I had an amazing time the first two days I was there, the last two days I was there I was ill. I continued to get worse once I was back in the UK until I ended up spending the night in hospital because, lucky me, I got quinsy again.
It's just typical that I fell ill while on holiday, I'd been looking forward to going all year, but never mind! Worse things have happened and I'm much better now.
Sadly, though, being ill and trying to catch up at work at the busiest time of year has meant I didn't complete the Camp NaNoWriMo project I was hoping to finish - which is particularly frustrating because I was making such good progress at the start of July! - and I also haven't read anything in way too long and I'm just feeling a bit wrung out and not in the mood to blog. So instead of worrying about not populating my blog, I'm going to go ahead and take a step back and come back in September refreshed and (hopefully) ready to write a ton of new content. I miss the book blogging world, I just haven't been reading enough to join in properly.
I may pop up later this month if Top Ten Tuesday takes my fancy, but if not I'll see you all in September!
Hello! So if you saw my last post you'll know I went to Disneyland Paris last month and I had an amazing time.
At least I had an amazing time the first two days I was there, the last two days I was there I was ill. I continued to get worse once I was back in the UK until I ended up spending the night in hospital because, lucky me, I got quinsy again.
It's just typical that I fell ill while on holiday, I'd been looking forward to going all year, but never mind! Worse things have happened and I'm much better now.
Sadly, though, being ill and trying to catch up at work at the busiest time of year has meant I didn't complete the Camp NaNoWriMo project I was hoping to finish - which is particularly frustrating because I was making such good progress at the start of July! - and I also haven't read anything in way too long and I'm just feeling a bit wrung out and not in the mood to blog. So instead of worrying about not populating my blog, I'm going to go ahead and take a step back and come back in September refreshed and (hopefully) ready to write a ton of new content. I miss the book blogging world, I just haven't been reading enough to join in properly.
I may pop up later this month if Top Ten Tuesday takes my fancy, but if not I'll see you all in September!
Sunday, 14 August 2016
Hiatus
2016 hasn't been a good year so far.
Lots of great people have died, from Professor Snape to the Goblin King, and Britain's left the EU, resulting in an increase in racism and xenophobia that's made me feel ashamed to be British.
Outside of those issues, though, it just hasn't been a great year so far for me personally either. I'm not happy, and I haven't been happy for a while. One of the things we don't prepare young people for is how difficult your 20s can be and my 20s have been pretty miserable so far; I'm living far away from pretty much all of my friends, despite trying to find work near them for the past two years, and while so many of my friends are out moving into their own apartments, advancing in careers they love and just having fun together, I feel like I'm wasting time watching my life go by while I'm stuck in this rut I didn't ask for.
I can't catch a break. No matter what I try nothing works out, and there's only so many times I can hear 'You'll get to where you want to be eventually' before I feel like tearing my hair out. I've been in a creative slump since the beginning of the year, both with the reading and writing I've been doing, and the less I write the worse I feel and the worse I feel the less I write. I feel stuck, and I think my blog has been suffering from it; I haven't been updating my blog as regularly as I'd like and even when I do manage to write something I feel like my heart isn't in it.
So I'm going to go for a little while. I may still post the odd thing if the mood takes me - I have a joint review with my lovely friend Natalie @ A Sea Change to write up for the end of the month - but right now I need to concentrate on becoming a little happier. I'm still going to read blogs because I love knowing what you guys are up to and what you've been reading, but right now I don't want to be regularly posting content if I'm not happy with it.
Sorry this has been so whiny and self-pitying, and thanks to everyone who continues to read and comment on my blog. I hope I'll be back with some new stuff sooner rather than later!
Lots of great people have died, from Professor Snape to the Goblin King, and Britain's left the EU, resulting in an increase in racism and xenophobia that's made me feel ashamed to be British.
Outside of those issues, though, it just hasn't been a great year so far for me personally either. I'm not happy, and I haven't been happy for a while. One of the things we don't prepare young people for is how difficult your 20s can be and my 20s have been pretty miserable so far; I'm living far away from pretty much all of my friends, despite trying to find work near them for the past two years, and while so many of my friends are out moving into their own apartments, advancing in careers they love and just having fun together, I feel like I'm wasting time watching my life go by while I'm stuck in this rut I didn't ask for.
I can't catch a break. No matter what I try nothing works out, and there's only so many times I can hear 'You'll get to where you want to be eventually' before I feel like tearing my hair out. I've been in a creative slump since the beginning of the year, both with the reading and writing I've been doing, and the less I write the worse I feel and the worse I feel the less I write. I feel stuck, and I think my blog has been suffering from it; I haven't been updating my blog as regularly as I'd like and even when I do manage to write something I feel like my heart isn't in it.
So I'm going to go for a little while. I may still post the odd thing if the mood takes me - I have a joint review with my lovely friend Natalie @ A Sea Change to write up for the end of the month - but right now I need to concentrate on becoming a little happier. I'm still going to read blogs because I love knowing what you guys are up to and what you've been reading, but right now I don't want to be regularly posting content if I'm not happy with it.
Sorry this has been so whiny and self-pitying, and thanks to everyone who continues to read and comment on my blog. I hope I'll be back with some new stuff sooner rather than later!
Saturday, 25 July 2015
Upcoming Hiatus... Sort of!
As you can see above, I call myself a writer. I am a writer. Recently, however, I've found myself writing more blog posts than stories - in fact I've struggled with fiction since I finished my MA.
For any of you who don't know, in December 2014 I graduated with an MA in Creative Writing, a year in which I dedicated my time towards a 30,000 word portfolio with a 5,000 word reflective essay. I chose to work on a historical/speculative fiction novel involving witchcraft in Tudor England, and I really enjoyed it.
The MA was fantastic because we had two two-hour workshops each week in which we critiqued each other's work, and my MA group were an amazing source of support and encouragement. In the end my work paid off because I came out of my MA with a Distinction, but since then I haven't touched my novel (one of the main reasons being some big aspects of the plot are undergoing a major overhaul, so I need to pretty much rewrite a lot of the stuff I originally wrote anyway) and I've barely written any short fiction either.
As I'm sure you can imagine, this sucks. I love writing, and I hate how frustrated I become when I find it difficult to write. I have so many ideas, and then when I sit down to put them on paper it's like my brain leaks out of my ears. Also, let's be honest, I've also become a bit lazy since the completion of my MA. Because I no longer have a group to submit my work to I've found it more difficult to write, and I hate that; I should be writing purely for my own enjoyment, not because other people are going to read it, but I can't deny that knowing other people would be reading my work made me work my butt off to finish something even when I thought it sucked. Now if I think I'm writing something crap, I just let me convince myself it's crap and that I have no talent whatsoever and I might as well just quit while I'm ahead.
Not only that, but now that I'm working full time I have even less time to write. When you work eight hours a day five days a week, it becomes more difficult to dedicate your time to writing everything you want to write, reading everything you want to read, and then still trying to have a social life and me time somewhere in between. And I'm currently learning how to drive and applying for a PhD... I have a lot going on, though I know that's no excuse.
So no more! Because I am a writer, and at times I'm even a good writer, and I want to work at becoming a better writer. The only way to do that is through practice, so in August my blog is going to take a backseat.
That doesn't mean I won't be posting anything because I already have some things scheduled, and I like to write book reviews soon after finishing a book so my feelings are fresh in my mind. All this really means is that I won't be taking part in posts like Top Ten Tuesday or My Week in Books throughout August, and if I go the odd week without posting anything I'm not going to let that freak me out.
So my blog's not going to be dead because I don't like extremes. If I say 'I'm not going to touch my blog once throughout August!' all I'll be thinking about is my blog. What it means is that from this post on and throughout August I'll be a little quiet, but I hope you'll stick around! If you leave me a comment (please do, I love reading your comments) and I don't reply I'm not being rude. I will reply to you, even if it isn't straight away.
I've found a few anthologies currently looking for submissions and a couple of competitions I'd like to enter, and I have a whole pile of unfinished short stories that I want to finish. I want to get more of my work out there and continue to build up my writing portfolio.
So yeah. This is just a little note to say I may be quieter than usual during August and I promise I'm not ignoring you. I'm just going to take some time to get myself back into the swing of writing regularly, and get some of these stories finished!
For any of you who don't know, in December 2014 I graduated with an MA in Creative Writing, a year in which I dedicated my time towards a 30,000 word portfolio with a 5,000 word reflective essay. I chose to work on a historical/speculative fiction novel involving witchcraft in Tudor England, and I really enjoyed it.
The MA was fantastic because we had two two-hour workshops each week in which we critiqued each other's work, and my MA group were an amazing source of support and encouragement. In the end my work paid off because I came out of my MA with a Distinction, but since then I haven't touched my novel (one of the main reasons being some big aspects of the plot are undergoing a major overhaul, so I need to pretty much rewrite a lot of the stuff I originally wrote anyway) and I've barely written any short fiction either.
As I'm sure you can imagine, this sucks. I love writing, and I hate how frustrated I become when I find it difficult to write. I have so many ideas, and then when I sit down to put them on paper it's like my brain leaks out of my ears. Also, let's be honest, I've also become a bit lazy since the completion of my MA. Because I no longer have a group to submit my work to I've found it more difficult to write, and I hate that; I should be writing purely for my own enjoyment, not because other people are going to read it, but I can't deny that knowing other people would be reading my work made me work my butt off to finish something even when I thought it sucked. Now if I think I'm writing something crap, I just let me convince myself it's crap and that I have no talent whatsoever and I might as well just quit while I'm ahead.
Not only that, but now that I'm working full time I have even less time to write. When you work eight hours a day five days a week, it becomes more difficult to dedicate your time to writing everything you want to write, reading everything you want to read, and then still trying to have a social life and me time somewhere in between. And I'm currently learning how to drive and applying for a PhD... I have a lot going on, though I know that's no excuse.
So no more! Because I am a writer, and at times I'm even a good writer, and I want to work at becoming a better writer. The only way to do that is through practice, so in August my blog is going to take a backseat.
That doesn't mean I won't be posting anything because I already have some things scheduled, and I like to write book reviews soon after finishing a book so my feelings are fresh in my mind. All this really means is that I won't be taking part in posts like Top Ten Tuesday or My Week in Books throughout August, and if I go the odd week without posting anything I'm not going to let that freak me out.
So my blog's not going to be dead because I don't like extremes. If I say 'I'm not going to touch my blog once throughout August!' all I'll be thinking about is my blog. What it means is that from this post on and throughout August I'll be a little quiet, but I hope you'll stick around! If you leave me a comment (please do, I love reading your comments) and I don't reply I'm not being rude. I will reply to you, even if it isn't straight away.
I've found a few anthologies currently looking for submissions and a couple of competitions I'd like to enter, and I have a whole pile of unfinished short stories that I want to finish. I want to get more of my work out there and continue to build up my writing portfolio.
So yeah. This is just a little note to say I may be quieter than usual during August and I promise I'm not ignoring you. I'm just going to take some time to get myself back into the swing of writing regularly, and get some of these stories finished!
Friday, 22 August 2014
Mini Hiatus!
At the start of this year I said I wanted to get into blogging regularly, and when I decided that I wanted to post something new every Monday and Friday I was immensely proud of myself when I managed to keep to that self-made promise. This year I think I've really become a blogger and I'm really proud of the amount of content I've managed to put forward.
When I decided to start taking part in What's Up Wednesday and the odd Top Ten Tuesday there came times when I was posting four times a week, which is a lot for someone who also happens to be doing a Creative Writing MA and trying to write a novel.
For the most part I've been able to schedule posts, but I'm now nearing the end of my MA - my portfolio is due in in ten days! - and I want to be able to concentrate on finishing it without worrying about not having any content on my blog.
I know I'm not a world famous blogger or anything, I'm sure no one cares whether I post four times a week or four times a year, but I just wanted to tell anyone who might regularly read my posts that next week I won't be posting any new content. After next week I'll be back to scheduling as normal, but if posting something every Monday and Friday really starts getting in the way of my novel writing I may change things up a bit.
So, this is just to let any of you reading this know that I'll be absent next week while I work at getting my portfolio polished and finished!
Toodle pip!
J.
When I decided to start taking part in What's Up Wednesday and the odd Top Ten Tuesday there came times when I was posting four times a week, which is a lot for someone who also happens to be doing a Creative Writing MA and trying to write a novel.
For the most part I've been able to schedule posts, but I'm now nearing the end of my MA - my portfolio is due in in ten days! - and I want to be able to concentrate on finishing it without worrying about not having any content on my blog.
I know I'm not a world famous blogger or anything, I'm sure no one cares whether I post four times a week or four times a year, but I just wanted to tell anyone who might regularly read my posts that next week I won't be posting any new content. After next week I'll be back to scheduling as normal, but if posting something every Monday and Friday really starts getting in the way of my novel writing I may change things up a bit.
So, this is just to let any of you reading this know that I'll be absent next week while I work at getting my portfolio polished and finished!
Toodle pip!
J.
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