The title of
this blog is a little misleading, because I cannot actually tell you why I am
not taking part in NaNoWriMo 2016. Let me explain…
The problem with
leading a double life is that the big things in life, the key events, the
monumental decisions, the terrible lows and disappointments, and the wonders,
are all too much to be contained in one aspect of life; they spill over from
one identity to the next. There may be two faces here – the me that reviews and
writes and the me that works the day job – but we are one and the same. We are
a duo. A juggling act.
Confused? Not
too much, I hope. Essentially the me that is writing my Aethera novels and
reviewing books and attending conventions and dwelling in the fantasy fiction
world has had to take a back seat in 2016 because of life changing decisions
and focus on a secret project in my other, more mundane life.
I should say,
lest you think me a secret agent or other exciting being, that by secret
project I mean something that I cannot openly discuss or explain here because
it would have a detrimental effect on the ‘other’ me. It is a struggle, but
sometimes in life you have to sacrifice something to gain something else. I
have thought and planned much for my future this year, and my present has had
to go somewhat on pause as a result.
2016 has been a
hard year. Of course that is not just the case for me but for many of us. There
have been let downs. It began back in January so terribly, and things have not often
looked up since then. It has been hard to lay groundwork to change and improve
life, but it has been necessary. Self-preservation is the first law of nature,
said Samuel Butler.
Today I had an
intense day following an intense several months, but I am pleased to say it has
paid off – some excellent news came out of it, news which again I cannot share
but news which I think will bring positive and welcome changes into my life for
2017. After today I can take my finger off that pesky pause button for a while,
which is great news for ‘this’ me, because ‘this’ me has a third novel to write
(a third novel which has been impatiently circling the lower halos of my mind
for a very long time).
No, I have not
forgotten how to write, nor lost my love of it.
No, I have not
lost my desire to review and blog and attend events and immerse myself in this
industry which so inspires and entertains me. Time is a premium, and time well
spent on my real life now will better benefit this life in the year to come.
In the title
words of an excellent piece of fictional writing:
“Do Not Forsake
Me, Oh My Darling”
For am I still
here, and shall be for many words and many stories yet to come.
