It's no secret I've been missing in action from the creative writing world besides the few periodical moments my blog came back to life. I want to thank you all for baring with me these past few years. Sometimes your confidence just takes an unexpected hit, and it takes longer to bounce back than you could have ever expected. But after a while you find a way to reproach situations in your life.
During this time in my creative life I shall henceforth refer to as the Dark Ages, I saw a number of my peers furthering their careers and brands, both professionally and recreationally. While they inspired me, it also depressed me that I couldn't find the same self-starting initiative they had. I felt broken with no cheap mechanic to tune me up, because we all know psychologists cost an arm, leg, and a brain. Am I right? You've never seen one? Well, moving back to what a sad sack I was.
It wasn't until I noticed an old friend asking for writers to produce articles for his website that I felt I could successfully hop back into the double-dutch game. In all honestly, my Best Albums of the Year posts that have graced this page were mostly attempts at getting his staff's attention. (I also like bragging about my taste in music, so it really wasn't a stretch for me.) Even digitally, I can still be a bit too shy to say what I want. Given some of my past posts, I'm sure that's surprising.
When I reached out to him, he seemed excited to have me on board. All I had to do was prove I was actually committed and write a review or opinion piece. Figuring any nobody could write a review [see: Yelp, Facebook, my Twitter feed], I decided to voice my opinion on a matter I felt of the utmost importance: that the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack paled in comparison to those of Running With Scissors and Watchmen. That's right. I wanted to start off my opinion piece career with an unpopular opinion. So daring. Much opinion. OPINION!*
Let me spoil the end of this story for you: my piece never saw the light of day. I never even bothered to tell my friend that I didn't have anything for him because I, in fact, am the worst. But it's not as if I didn't try to write something. I got three paragraphs deep before I realized I was writing garbage. My argument was a year late and weak, so weak I even started to doubt it. I hid under my desk because it was bombing. Ok, it wasn't that bad, but it felt like it. I still wouldn't say I love the GotG soundtrack, but I can see the mass appeal it has.
That was seven months ago. It wasn't until last month that I was able to pull myself together and realized I could have written an entirely different piece on the relation between soundtracks and their movies and how they strengthen each other.
What I'm saying is, don't be me. Don't give up, especially on yourself. If you fail at something, try it from a different angle because you probably approached it wrong the first time. Turn those flops into hits. Sometimes you're more clever than you think.
Does this mean I'm going to rewrite that article? Maybe in the future, but I wouldn't hold my breath. I'll be too busy turning this ghost ship back into the Titanic. ...meaning, it'll probably die once it gets too cold out. Or maybe it won't! I'm trying to rebrand myself. Which is why you may have noticed this isn't in the typical Wacko Monologues stanza format you've grown to accept. I want to try something new and long form this time around, because change can be good, right?
As of now, I'll be posting three times a week: Mondays, Tuesdays/Wednesdays, and Thursdays. I figured having the Tuesday/Wednesday flex spot could be useful for when I anticipate Humpday being too much for you all [aka when Tuesday is too much for me]. I hope you're all excited to have me back. Because without your applause I just fade away. ...and that's my court mandated gay joke for the week. Til my next post, my dear friends and associates.
Word.
*Occasionally I have to call myself out for using the same word too many time and being too lazy to synonym it up. I like to think it adds to the humor of my writing if I'm self-aware.
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