Blogiversary – 6 Years On

H-hi?

Yes, I’ve been gone a while, but! I totally have legit excuses, and here they are:

• I have no excuse.

I’ve had all the time in the world since work ended back in May (10 months ago!?) despite some traveling around Australia before my sudden move a month later. But honestly, a part of me was glad I was asked to move because for some reason, just moving back home for lack of anything else planned/going on felt like a defeat (it still does), something to be ashamed of.

So I moved to a new house, in a new neighborhood, on a new coast (for the record, I’m not fond of New York for extended stays), and it was an adjustment. Is an adjustment. The unpacking of my stuff, plus all the stuff I had to go through from the actual moves my parents did since I last saw them in California, well… Let’s just say t’would be a cat heaven (because of all the boxes, ya know). It took me weeks to even get to sleep in my room, and even more weeks to go through said stuff (actually– I still have some work to do 😅).

I looked for jobs, slowly at first since I was almost always job hunting in Australia, applied for a few, and somehow– got confused, overwhelmed, and yes, a bit scared. So I got lost.

Writing wasn’t in the picture, at all. I started reading more though, which I’d completely neglected in the last few years. It wasn’t all bad, I did get to meet friends after over 10 years, but looking for jobs while unsure what I want to do added to the confusion and indecision. Add to that the societal pressure of “next, next, next!” or “It’s easier to get a job if you’re employed.” or “Gotta start somewhere.” and I dug a very uncomfortable hole I’m having trouble climbing out of.

While I am slowly pulling myself together (towards the light, I hope), I want to finish a new short story inspired by evasive sleep and submit it for publication(s). I want to edit at least another short story and submit it to other places. I may not be writing every day, but I sure am proud when I do, even if I write three craptastic sentences. Gotta start somewhere, right?

I know I’m an erratic/inconsistent updater, something I’m working on because it’s a chronic problem to let things go when down in the dumps, but that’s also why I couldn’t update. How can I write about writing, if I’m not even doing that? I want to start living life again, instead of watching it go by. This past year fell short on my hopes and expectations, but even then there were gems to be found. So thank you for reading this far and sticking with me. 🤗

In other news, it’s been a while now so forgive me if I mentioned it last time, but I gave my blog a makeover! I’m quite pleased with it. 😊 Also! If you’re on Twitter, I’m (slightly) more active on there, give me a holler @JusteWriting. I might lurk more than I post, but I do interact more with writers.

On that note, Happy Monday (after cursed daylight savings), and Happy Blogiversary to me~

How do you write when your mood sours or your heart’s not into it? Do you write a set amount of words or time per day or week? Do you write better if you read, or in between books?