This is one of those posts that only about 15% of you will care about. It’s not profound, creative, or even particularly well written. Rather, it’s my update on what I’ve been doing—accompanied by a reassurance that neither myself nor this blog are dead.
Those of you who are members of the crew heard from me at the beginning of this month. About a month before that, I sent the third email outlining my current projects. Even telling you about my projects was a project I didn’t follow through on.
Some of what’s been going on is applicable. I’ve been working as the managing editor of a literary journal, presenting at a conference on engaged learning, preparing to present at a conference on educational development in Sweden (ICED 2014), writing a book on engaged learning (with a team of seven other writers), solidifying a creative writing community in my area, attending classes, and obsessively reading the Song of Ice and Fire series. (Season 4 premieres in just over a week! Gotta prevent spoilers!)
The project I’m most excited for is teetering on the horizon: The Creative Writing Guild. I was overly optimistic about the timeline for that project, and thought it would be fully launched already. While I spent a good deal of energy beating myself up about and trying to re-commit to (equally optimistic) timelines, I recently decided that more productive and gentle approaches were needed.
Basically, I’m juggling too many projects. Some of those projects can be brought to a more comfortable point of stasis with only a week or so of energy. Last week it was presenting at SoTE and clearing a backlog of tasks for the Creative Writing Club on my campus. This week it was about taking care of my remaining duties as Managing Editor for Touchstones. This weekend, I focused on re-doing my kitchen (working fridge for the win!) and clearing a path through the storage space I pass through on my way into my apartment. I may make it even further by the time the weekend’s through.
The guild deserves my full attention, but so do these other projects. Rather than juggling all of them, I’m taking them one at a time. Some are time-sensitive, but I’m trying not to let that control my actions. Instead, I’m working through items one-by-one … until something becomes urgent, of course. (I reserve the right to change the order at any time.)
- My living space. Once I don’t feel maddened by living in someone else’s storage areas, I’ll be a happier, more productive human being.
- My money situation. My freelancing doesn’t cover the bills, and summer is swinging in fast. I have expenses to cover in traveling to Sweden and simply surviving the summer, and I need to make choices on how to manage those finances. I need to make choices on how much to opt for student loans, how much to apply for additional grants and scholarships, and how much to pursue additional freelance work.
- Book chapters for IMSR. The book I’m co-writing (which I’ll refer to mysteriously as IMSR) will have some segments written up and others refined.
- Essay on Jesus’s Buddhism. I’m writing an essay that gives a comparative analysis between the Sermon on the Mount and several Buddhist texts.
- Thesis proposal. The Creative Writing Guild is my thesis project, and I’m at the proposal stage. This will consist of a detailed project plan (more or less an expansion of this one) along with academic justification and expected outcomes.
- Volunteer work. Back in January, I committed to a volunteer project with a local school. I’d like to get to that sooner rather than later.
- Article migration for CW Guild. I’m moving a bunch of my writing-oriented content from this blog to the creative writing guild. Due to fancy redirects, this will be something of a major project.
- Site upgrading for CW Guild. I’ll be revamping some elements of the design and establishing a mailing list + other social networks for the guild. I’ll also get business cards, etc., during this phase.
- Prepare for the IMSR presentation I’m giving in Sweden in June. A version of this presentation was given at SoTE last week, but some expansion and practice will be in order.
So, here’s the thing about this blog not being dead. Until I reach about this point, the blog is a back-burner project. Sad to say, the White Silk Chronicles is also in that category. Once I hit this point, I hope to focus more on blogging, expanding my presence on the web, doing the book version of WSC, taking on more freelance gigs relevant to my passions, and writing a bunch more content for the guild site. I have dozens of ideas for both this blog and the guild site that I just don’t have time for yet.
I keep feeling unrealistic about my ability to handle projects quickly. I’m hoping to remedy that over the coming months and focus on clearing enough from my plate that I can start to branch out to projects that are less urgent but more important.
I really appreciate all of you who are going on this journey with me. Many of you have offered support and affirmations, and even though you’re “internet strangers,” it’s really helped me push through. I appreciate how loyal so many of you have remained even when I drop off the face of the planet for weeks or months at a time.
While it may be a few months before this blog gets the sort of attention it deserves, I want you to know I’m still working toward the same goals: Giving you compelling, well-written content.
You guys are my pack. My crew. My internet family. And while this site makes it visible how much I’m trying to give, it fails to show just how much you have been giving back. I couldn’t do it without you.
So, once again: Thank you.
Rob
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