Today is Lughnasadh, the Celtic harvest festival which marks the transition from summer to autumn. While we won't be in full celebration of the harvest until Mabon, the fall equinox, I felt like this was the perfect time to end my hiatus.
I want to start off by expressing my gratitude to all of you for your patience. Life has not gotten much easier, but the harvest of all my stress and struggle is the knowledge that I can make my own choices about how to handle it. Being overwhelmed is a choice, and so is how I express that state of mind. I went through a few different experiments in coping: a far more casual and laid-back form of writing, which backfired spectacularly, and more importantly, solidifying my vision for my future. While I was away, I met another facet of myself, and this persona became a "twin": Hazel, my crafty, spiritual side, who runs her Moving Cottage separately from my own business as concierge. There is now a clear distinction between my crafts and my authorship, and I am working on making that divide evident in social media as well. Hazel just needs some time to learn from me about how such things work: she does live in the forest, after all, and she's blowing the dust off her Wi-Fi router. (She does it out of love: if we sell what's in the shop this month, it'll cover phone and internet, which is sorely needed. And of course, copies of my novels will serve the same purpose.)
Some of you may be asking, "That's all well and good, Ang, and I'm excited about what Hazel's made, but what's your harvest as an author after this summer hiatus?"
My fruits are still growing. I have a feeling they won't see a proper harvest until Mabon. The first things I'm seeing spring up from the branches of my imagination are more tools, more gifts which work in the background: self-acceptance, patience, the lesson that I don't have to keep up with everyone else, or the constant flashfire of Daily Tweets and Weekly Blogs and Yearly Releases. Will I still strive for a book a year? Oh, absolutely. There's so much story between my ears and tucked into my heart, and so little time in the scope of the universe. But I'm done listening to the barrage of advice and trying to do it all. Bloghopping! Game hosting! Writer's Chats! NaNoWriMo! Camp NaNoWriMo! Daily prompts! Hashtag games! Release Parties! Daily Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/Tumblr/HotSocialThing! .... It's no wonder I started wearing down.
I'm taking a hard, close look at what's worked for me in the past. I'm going to do more of that. The first thing on that list was being an active part of a good community: not just acting, but reacting and sharing. I'll have a schedule for it: a designated day for each platform, so you'll know when to find me around. I've yet to decide whether updates for this blog will be monthly or bi-monthly, but I'm dialing Between The Lines back, as well. I let the social media and the promotion become the bulk of what I did, and in doing so, I became a Social Media Person first and an Author second. That's ... not what the name of the game ought to be.
This blog is going to serve as not just a keyhole into what's going on in Aviario, but what's going on in my author circles, as well. There may not always be a review, but there will always be community news. If I find something useful, I'll share it! You'll get a nice little compact breakdown of it all here, from across my various wanderings on- and offline. I'm really excited about what's coming up from the ground, now, and I hope you'll celebrate this harvest with me.
Until next time, I remain your Concierge,
I want to start off by expressing my gratitude to all of you for your patience. Life has not gotten much easier, but the harvest of all my stress and struggle is the knowledge that I can make my own choices about how to handle it. Being overwhelmed is a choice, and so is how I express that state of mind. I went through a few different experiments in coping: a far more casual and laid-back form of writing, which backfired spectacularly, and more importantly, solidifying my vision for my future. While I was away, I met another facet of myself, and this persona became a "twin": Hazel, my crafty, spiritual side, who runs her Moving Cottage separately from my own business as concierge. There is now a clear distinction between my crafts and my authorship, and I am working on making that divide evident in social media as well. Hazel just needs some time to learn from me about how such things work: she does live in the forest, after all, and she's blowing the dust off her Wi-Fi router. (She does it out of love: if we sell what's in the shop this month, it'll cover phone and internet, which is sorely needed. And of course, copies of my novels will serve the same purpose.)
Some of you may be asking, "That's all well and good, Ang, and I'm excited about what Hazel's made, but what's your harvest as an author after this summer hiatus?"
My fruits are still growing. I have a feeling they won't see a proper harvest until Mabon. The first things I'm seeing spring up from the branches of my imagination are more tools, more gifts which work in the background: self-acceptance, patience, the lesson that I don't have to keep up with everyone else, or the constant flashfire of Daily Tweets and Weekly Blogs and Yearly Releases. Will I still strive for a book a year? Oh, absolutely. There's so much story between my ears and tucked into my heart, and so little time in the scope of the universe. But I'm done listening to the barrage of advice and trying to do it all. Bloghopping! Game hosting! Writer's Chats! NaNoWriMo! Camp NaNoWriMo! Daily prompts! Hashtag games! Release Parties! Daily Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/Tumblr/HotSocialThing! .... It's no wonder I started wearing down.
I'm taking a hard, close look at what's worked for me in the past. I'm going to do more of that. The first thing on that list was being an active part of a good community: not just acting, but reacting and sharing. I'll have a schedule for it: a designated day for each platform, so you'll know when to find me around. I've yet to decide whether updates for this blog will be monthly or bi-monthly, but I'm dialing Between The Lines back, as well. I let the social media and the promotion become the bulk of what I did, and in doing so, I became a Social Media Person first and an Author second. That's ... not what the name of the game ought to be.
This blog is going to serve as not just a keyhole into what's going on in Aviario, but what's going on in my author circles, as well. There may not always be a review, but there will always be community news. If I find something useful, I'll share it! You'll get a nice little compact breakdown of it all here, from across my various wanderings on- and offline. I'm really excited about what's coming up from the ground, now, and I hope you'll celebrate this harvest with me.
Until next time, I remain your Concierge,
P.S: If you'd like to learn more about Lughnasadh, The Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids has a lovely article about it here on their website. Blessings on your own harvests: be they physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual!
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