Happy New Year!
You might have noticed that I haven’t written here for quite a while. I’ve certainly noticed, and I feel awful about it. I made a promise when I started writing online that I would keep writing and sharing what I wrote. But I just haven’t been able to figure out how to manage both a blog and a Patreon page. What gets priority—The Complete Flake, which has had a small but loyal following for years? Or Patreon, where a few supporters actually send me money?
I was torn, frankly, and that led to a long spell of writer’s block.
Finally, I had to ask myself what it was that I really wanted. The answer took a while but when it came, I was taken aback. Way back. I remembered, as a teen, reading the local paper and getting hooked on several columns, weekly or daily essays written about whatever the columnist was thinking about. Nothing fancy. No politics. Just interesting, well-written stories about life.
I urgently wanted do what they did, but I didn’t know how.
When the internet arrived and I first discovered blogs, I was transfixed. This was it! So I started my first blog, called Jump 2 Books (because I thought the term “jump 2” would be the cool kids’ way to refer to “hyperlinking” from one place on the web to another. Yeah, not so much.)
It was a children’s book review site, aimed at parents, that was a “proud affiliate” of a new company called Amazon. I made a grand total of $26 over the course of a year or so, and that blew my mind.
But I soon learned that to make an actual living at this thing called affiliate marketing, I would have to become obsessed with numbers, traffic, ROI, Google AdSense, and a bunch of other stuff that bored me to tears. And I realized that, with my ADHD mind, boredom was a sure recipe for failure. I did not want to be an affiliate marketer, I wanted to be a writer.
Then, I remembered the newspaper column idea. Wasn’t a blog the internet equivalent of a column, one that any writer could publish on their own? No need for gatekeepers. The internet was the Wild West!
So I started a new blog (called Born Famous after an unfinished movie script I had long ago given up on.) There, I wrote whatever I was thinking about, practiced getting better at it, and connected with a small community of other bloggers who did the same.
That evolved into The Complete Flake, purportedly about embracing ADHD and trying to figure out how to get shit done in spite of myself. To no one’s surprise, I lost interest in that subject pretty quickly, and once again wrote whatever I felt like writing.
And then, as you may have guessed, I fizzled out. Forgot what it was I was trying to do. Got addicted to social media. Set up a Patreon page. Got stuck.
Life happened. I moved into a van and traveled a bit. Made new friends. Got a puppy. Wound up, of all things, in a movie. Settled down in the mountains. Walked with my dog, Scout, in the forest twice a day, and felt truly content for the first time in my life. This, I knew, was my place.
I want to write about this. So, I’ve started a newsletter on Substack.
It’s called Walk with Me, where I take you along as I walk Scout. Sometimes I write about nature and the wildlife we spot along the way. Other times I just write about what I’m thinking. I think a lot about writing, so I’ll share some of that, too, and tell you what I’m reading.
In the next couple of weeks, I’ll be shutting down Patreon and archiving the blog. Instead, twice-weekly issues will come by email to everyone who wants them, completely free of charge, without you taking any additional action at all. Meanwhile, you can catch up with previous issues here.
There’s no requirement to support my writing financially, but if you wish you can sign up for either $5/month or $50/year (or a special Founding Member option of $200/year.) Patreon pledges will be cancelled.
Like I said, we’re just moving to a new location and finding a new focus. All you have to do is relax and enjoy the walk.
See you soon.
