The Obligatory Announcement Of My Return And Reason For My Departure Post

So, it ended up being a little bit longer than a 'week or so.' I am now back, though really, I never really left. I just didn't type up copious amounts of words for your eye consumption. Even then, I may have done that in e-mail form or if you happened to be a client. I was just a little blog absent.

And that my friends, is probably the question that should be answered first. Why the heck did I go on a blog hiatus without any warning or reason? Well, let the moment of enlightenment begin now.

I started this blog back in 2005, with the main reason being it seemed like it would be a fun way to eat up a few minutes here and there. That was about it. I did it for fun, and I planned to stick with it as long as it remained fun. I didn't really have any deeper or more fulfilling purpose than that. Which is probably a good thing, because for a few years, I did rather good job of not sticking with the blog.

Then 2010 came stomping into the room, and along with my dream of finally pursuing a full time freelance writing career. I knew it would take a lot of time and effort, but at the start of 2010, it seemed like a worthwhile dream to try to turn into a reality (and yes, it still does now). I didn't really believe that my blog would be any massive assistance towards this dream. But I did think it would be a good place to continually hone my craft and also be a place for others to see my style of writing. I believed it would be a spot to test my persistence and desire to write. At the end of January 2010, I set the goal of trying to write a post a day, and see how long I could stick with providing daily content. And as my archives will prove, I did a rather splendid job of sticking to that goal. Of course, it helps that I stuck to my original intent of this blog, which was to have fun. I have had a lot of fun writing posts this past year, and allowing others to read my crazy ramblings.

Things started to change a little bit at the end of the year. I think a large part of it was due to the fact my 'day job' was suddenly getting extra busy, while I also was working really hard at providing content for my clients at my other job (freelance writing). Plus there was this little thing called Christmas and Emily's crazy desire for me to spend time with her. It was getting a little bit harder to blog on a daily basis, but I still wanted to do it considering I had a rather nice streak going on. The fact was, the blog started to feel more like a job or obligation and a lot less like a hobby or fun. When a past time starts to feel like a job, then it might be time to take a break. I am okay with writing not being fun or entertaining, but I'd rather reserve that type of work for something I'm getting paid for (because a good job is one that can help pay for the mortgage).

So, I took a break from the blog, because it just wasn't fun at the moment. I also needed some time to refocus for the new year. I really believe (and even more so, really hope) that it is going to be a rather big year for me. I've got some potential writing projects coming up, and some real opportunities to really start moving towards it being a full time career. This means that the writing that is going to pay me money needs to be the stuff that takes top priority.

This isn't to say that my blog can't be helpful towards some of these goals. It will likely never be a form of direct income (because I don't want it to be), but it can indirectly further some of my career aspirations. I do believe that the blog is still a worthwhile endeavor to pursue and put a good amount of time into. I also realize it can't come in the way of the work that actually will allow my freelance writing to be a real life job that gives me big people money.

All that to say, I took a break in hopes that I would start to miss blogging and get a desire to actually start writing on here again. And it worked. I did miss it. I was actually itching to start posting again at the very start of January, but things started to get a little crazy over here in the land of Spicer. So, I held off.

You see, my 'day job' has changed up a little bit, and I now have some new requirements and tasks at work. These changes have meant that now I am actually expected to be at work during the day. The plus side of this is that I am actually home in the evening to see Emily and able to spend some time together -- which I've heard is kind of helpful for a marriage. The downside of this means my work has got a little less flexible with the hours I can come in, which means it has been harder to reach and contact clients for my writing business. I am still trying to balance everything, and not cause my writing work to suffer from these changes. Though the plus side of the change at work is that I've become even more motivated and assured about making freelance writing my full time career. Oh yes, life's great motivator for success -- the crappy job.

I'm back. But I can't necessarily promise that I'll be popping something out every single day, but I will try to keep the blog rather active. If the blog does go a day or so without rantings and rambling, then rest assured it is probably because I'm doing actual paid writing. And wouldn't you love to be able to read an article in magazine by me or maybe even a short story from a collection of works? Sure you would. So, I'd say that type of thing is fair trade off for a few empty blog days.

I believe I've now compiled enough words to make up for my holiday and beyond disappearance. But don't worry, your next hot and tasty batch of sentences will be arriving before another two weeks pass.