Hello everyone. It's been a while, hasn't it? Six whole months -- the year is half over.
In January, I wrote a 2023 plans post (which you can find right here) that spoke about all the writing projects I'd planned for the blog. More Random Manga Roulette, work on the second arc of my web novel, Where Sky Meets Sea, a "Top Ten Books of 2022" post, and a long-winded Attack on Titan essay.
I now plan to do none of that. At least, not this year, or any time soon.
Things happen, things change. I've been through a lot this year; some good, most bad -- but I don't say that to garner sympathy. I'm just tellin' it like it is. What I'm getting at is that my priorities have shifted, and what I want to do with my life is, I think, possibly going through a bit of a metamorphosis. I've meditated as consistently as I possibly can since February, been holding down a steady job, and have had six whole months where I have not bothered actually writing any fiction.
That's right. Since I've finished my fifth manuscript, I've taken a break from the world of prose narrative. I've just been busy, you know? And as things change and I approach the age of 25, I feel like I'm on the cusp of a serious change in how I live my day-to-day life. But I've still been writing... just not on the computer:
Yup. I've been journaling.
Journaling is a hobby I've tried to do for many years, but have always found daunting, a bit monotonous. However, writing things down has always been an easy way for me to memorize something, and I'm no stranger to books. What journaling has to do to be productive for you is become a habit, and a habit forms after seventy days of consecutive work. That was tough for me to do in years prior. Now, though, I can gladly say, then, that I've been journaling for 181 days in a row, so I think the habit has been formed.
The first two books are my Commonplace Books, both of which in the "Pocket" category, meaning I carry them around and write into them things that I see, hear, think, and read, all for transferring to a "Table" Commonplace Book at a later time. (The brown one beneath the first two is one of those). Essentially, when a thought strikes me, I'll put it in the field ledger. They're small, so I can take them anywhere. Later, when I have time to sit down and examine that thought, I put it in the bigger ledger that stays near my workstation. I'll cross-reference, analyze, and sometimes discard or expand upon this thought all in the name of growing my base of knowledge. A writer needs things to write about, obviously, and my head is not big enough to keep everything I need to know at the forefront of my mind. A lot of writers would dissuade you from keeping a journal, and I see why; it can become excessive, and distract you from your actual job: WRITING! But I've since needed a break from the craft itself, and journaling really soothes my chaotic mind. When working in the field of literature, you quickly see that material is literally everywhere; it's a state I think writers never truly get a break from. Naturally, in such circumstances, finding a way to document your findings is helpful. It has been for me.
The two corkboard books beneath that are the Diaries I've kept for 2023. So far, I've successfully catalogued the first six months in the top one, and have begun July to December in the second. I've learned a lot from the practice already; chief among my observations is that, next year, I need to choose bigger journals for the exercise. Other than that, I'll happily share with you that, yes, I do keep a diary, but no, you cannot see inside it.
Below that is my Travel Book, where I document all the places I go. I actually began this one in January of 2022, when I flew to Boise for my friend's wedding. I don't get to travel frequently, so it'll take a long time to fill it up, but I look forward to all the unique experiences that will get committed to paper in that book for future me to look back upon.
Under that is my Dream Log, where I analyze my dreams. I have very vivid and strange dreams, and this year I have had the most narratively consistent and, quite frankly, prophetic dreams of my entire life. I never used to give dream analysis the time of day, but this year changed things. While I'm not a spiritualist by any means, and I don't believe in precognition, I do believe the subconscious mind understands and is aware of things our conscious minds are not. Dreams are a way for the two communicate, I think. I've already learned a lot about myself and my subconscious by assessing my dreams, and it's painted quite the picture of my emotions, desires and fears. I recommend it to anybody who feels the need to know more about themselves.
The thin black book beneath the Dream Log is my Philosophy Workbook, where I channel out my own philosophical ideas. I'll write a thesis, and then every three lines expand upon that thesis with different assertions and criticisms, allowing room for my future self to go back in and add comments/observations to each. By the time I'm 40 I want to be able to call myself a Polymath, and while that will warrant its own post, part of the journey is becoming a philosopher. Thus, such a book is a great first step.
Below that, the gray one is a volume of compiled knowledge I call "Fact, Myth, Legend," which is mostly about ancient history and various world mythologies and religions. While a lot of that knowledge can be found in my more general Commonplace books, as a writer of fantasy (often with historical influence), I find keeping the topics in their own place is helpful for organization's sake.
Finally, the big leather one at the bottom is my Poetry Collection. It has my in-progress Epic poem, a few prose poems, and all my lyrical poems. More on that at a later date...
Not pictured here is my Meditations Log, my Media Ledger, a few finished Commonplace Books (pocket), around a half-dozen journals of various historical knowledge, and four or five notebooks all for work on my book series.
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Wow! That's a lot of writing, isn't it? So don't fret when I say, "I haven't written all year," cause it isn't true (and I didn't actually say that). I'm taking this year to step back from my fiction and take a look at myself, my direction in life, and what I actually want to do. I mentioned above that, by the time the next 15 years comes and goes, I want to be able to call myself a Polymath. That is not a replacement for my initial journey as an author; it's actually a consequence of it. I want more than just to be an author. I want to be a poet, a philosopher, a painter, a botanist, an alchemy historian, a multi-media artist, and who else knows what else? A filmmaker? A polyglot? A world-traveler? It's a fantastic little umbrella term. "Renaissance man." I like that. I think I'll write my own Renaissance.
This post was self-indulgent, and I've failed to deliver what I believed I would six months ago, and for both of those things I will say: I'm sorry. But I'm on a slightly divulging path than I was before, and all this growth has some unexpected consequences. This blog will stay up, and I will probably post from time to time, but whose to say what I'll post about? There's a whole world out there to explore and discover, and I want to see it.
Thank you for reading, truly. I'll see you soon.
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