Today is the first day of Spring, a time of renewal etc. March also marks the fifth anniversary of the official launch of this site, which was in conjunction with the dawn of the pandemic era — the timing was not necessarily a coincidence, since the shift to work-from-home (and as such being stuck in my then-apartment for weeks on end) gave me a lot more time to write and imagine things, although I had been planning to launch a site and even bought this URL six months earlier. The site didn’t exactly become the bustling hub of activity I hoped it might be, but in other ways it succeeded well beyond my expectations, since I’ve published a number of novels, novellas and short stories I can be proud of.
Attentive readers might note that it’s now been nearly a year since I’ve put anything out into the world. I posted “The Rental” and “Don’t Look Twice” in spring 2024, as well as the opening trilogy of Poles Reversed (which I write as “Logan Fournier” so as to not confuse my other bibliography) and then… nothing. Well, not nothing. I’m constantly on Bluesky talking about how many words I’ve put down on my WIP du jour. I’ve posted a bit here about that too. But nothing seems to be getting done.
About a year ago, two things happened that changed the trajectory of my writing habits: I was called back into the office for three days per week, and my wife and I adopted a dog.
I certainly don’t blame the dog, but caring for him, and appreciating his presence, definitely takes a little slice of my free time. He’s a good boy, so if he wants me to sit on the couch and pet him, instead of being across the room at my keyboard, I do, especially because, with my in-office work, I’m not always here to do so.
As far as the in-office work goes, you can’t underestimate just how much that would affect me. It’s not like I was spending an abundance of work hours shirking my responsibilities and writing instead, but there were days — slow days, quiet days — when I would be able to tinker as I pleased, yes, away from prying eyes. More than that, having to commute into the city — 90 minutes door-to-door — has a ripple effect on not just my free time but my headspace. I’m constantly going from here to there, having to be present or decompress. I am sometimes able to push through and write on the train, but I am a little suspicious of any work I get done there. It’s great if you really know what you are aiming for, but if you need freedom to gaze longingly at the screen and puzzle out your characters and plots and prose, I don’t really recommend it.
I do have some time, but because of the way I’ve spread myself so thin, it’s a perennial case of always writing but never getting anything written. I’ve put piles and piles of words on possible projects that never seem to get to the finish line, when in past years I was usually able to write at least three works of satisfactory length.
I don’t want to over-promise anything. I am currently writing to the best of my ability, and trying to negotiate what time I have and what my headspace is like.
As I’ve said before, I have a lot of interesting things in mind that I hope to have for you in the not-too-distant future. However, looking back at what I’ve accomplished, it’s as much or more than I realistically thought I would do before I launched this site. If I never put out another work of length again — and I’m sure I will but if I don’t — I’m extremely proud of all the works I have done, which have satisfied me creatively and made other people happy.
In the meantime, I’m also active nowadays at the Trading Post Inn blog again, writing my Marc character. It’s actually not even a TG story at this time, which is something daring, different, and somewhat askew to audience expectations for that project. I’m having fun with it.
Until next we meet, be kind
Liam
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