Prairie Center: Going Inside
This
much time on the road has taught me that each residency has its purpose
and impact. Two weeks into my time here at Prairie Center for the arts
and already I can tell that my job is to “go inside.” It’s something I
hear artists talk about more than any other professionals I meet, and by
going inside what I think we mean is–it’s time to get quiet,
time to pull back from the public sphere a bit, time to focus on
internal work.
that in mind, for the first time since in inception of The Writing Life
blog back in 2005, I’m going to cut back to 2 blog posts per week. I’ll
post on Monday and Thursday mornings. Posts may start to veer away from local
history and explorations and more towards the “what next” of this
writing life; the quiet ciphering of the mind as it exhales for the
first time in a while. I wait daily now for news in the mail about where
my next move will be. Whether it’s into the Airstream or northbound for
a fellowship, it’s all out of my hands at this point and the healthiest
way I can think to cope with that is by going inside.
pulling back from the public domain is also a great way to start
working on a new book. I have a lot of well-filling to do in order to
gear up for another manuscript. My creative spirit will be better served
by going inside–going deeper into my readings and writings–than it
will by a continuous outpouring through Blogger, Facebook, and Twitter.
intent here is not to drop off the radar, rather, to achieve a more
tempered online presence. The Writing Life has taken me through graduate
school, through several jobs, and now the three year tour. It’s gone
from a blip on the cyber radar to more than 7,000 monthly viewers and a
fully functioning website for my business at the same time. I’d never
abandon it.
I will pull back, if only for a little while, because I must in order
to serve whatever comes next. Please keep reading and visit the site.
Share it with your friends if you think it’s worthwhile–there’s nothing
more powerful than word of mouth, repetition, and link-sharing these
days. Consider subscribing by email to this blog instead (emails will go out bimonthly starting next week), or supporting this life on the road by subscribing to Monthly Fiction in the meantime. To
that end, I’ll mail any new subscriber to either of those options a
FREE ZINE with 4 of my war flash fictions (pictured above). That’s
right–real mail, from me to you, to say thanks for following along.
Your
support–through readership, through emails, through inquiries–over
the years has played no small part in fueling my writing life. I can
only hope for as much support as I pull back and go inside, doing what
needs to be done to keep on keepin’ on…
Good choice, well deserve respite from daily responsibility you always took very seriously… less frequent missives will be mourned, but only to surely enjoy the new timeline work products equally!
Good for you, Katey! It is time. Enjoy your inner work.