This post was uploaded yesterday at patreon.com/champthehippie
Well, here we are again. It really is always such a pleasure. I’ve been telling myself that I’ll be starting my new routines and such “soon” and “once my life is set up,” and thus far my habits have been atrocious. “Just do the best you can,” I’ve been telling myself; “It’ll get better once life starts.”
I realized coming into this past weekend that we’ve done it. Life’s started; we’re unpacked. Sure, there are still some boxes around the house, but they’re either empty or will remain storage for the foreseeable future. Therefore, I can no longer put off taking responsibility for myself. I’m here in the laundromat again, writing a weekly update for Patreon and contemplating what precisely I’ll devise for weekly content on my blog. I have great ambitions for my content creative life, but it clicked for me that it all goes back to my writing. That’s what’s got to be at the center of my habits, just as my writing ability is at the center of my being.
Honestly, that realization reminded me of the “Pickles” episode of SpongeBob SquarePants. Bubble Bass convinces SpongeBob that he made a krabby patty wrong, and it sends SpongeBob into a spiral, his life descending into chaos. The two quotes from the episode which stick firmly in my memory come from the part where Mr. Krabs goes to check on SpongeBob. The fry cook greets his boss by saying, “Ah, Mr. Krabs. Do you how do?” It’s one of those moments when the show got surprisingly creepy for something ostensibly aimed at kids. SpongeBob’s target audience, however, is a discussion for another time. The other line is Mr. Krabs explaining his solution to SpongeBob’s predicament: “If you learn to make a krabby patty again, your life will be back in order!”
I’m hoping my situation is similar. If I get back into my regular writing routine (and back on my physical fitness regimen), the other pieces will fall back into place. I sorely miss writing in the world of Aryest, and I’m doggedly seeking a regular time in my week to put pen back to parchment to continue expanding that world. Once I finish this update post, in fact, I’m going to outline a new short story about a young Collins learning a harsh lesson. I’m planning on setting it in a place we’ve only seen once before, in an Umbrella Terms post called “Flash Worldbuilding.” If nothing else, I’ll post the rough outline next week, though I fully intend to have an actual first draft to show you as soon as possible.
My mother and I will be returning to podcast recording this Friday, which we haven’t done since I moved, and streaming feels like it’s going well. It’s such slow going that it can be hard to tell, but I’m still enjoying doing it, and people keep tuning in, so something must be going right.
Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank my patrons on Patreon, because without them, I wouldn’t be able to spend as much time and energy on the creative side of life. It is your support which keeps me going emotionally and quiets the anxious what-ifs that cause me to question the value of my efforts. Even if my writing and streaming makes only one person’s day better, it is worth having done, and all the support I have [t]here shows me it’s never only one person. Thank you, dear Patrons; I seek never to let you down.
Umbrella Terms 