A quick update

Hey!

So…it’s been a moment since I published anything at all, and as such, I wanted to check in, to let you know where I am at, what to expect for the next few weeks, and what it all means, if anything.

Usually, the first half of the year is quieter for the blog anyway, but by May/June, I’ve often started warming up in earnest, as it were.  And, quite frankly, that’s unlikely to be the case this year.  I’m anticipating that this will be my quietest year in a while — at least, for a couple more months.

But this lack of activity is not because of any personal difficulties or tragedy.  Nor is it because I’ve lost any love or motivation for writing — quite the opposite, as it turns out.  No, the truth of the matter is, I’m writing a lot, which rather detracts from my blog-writing time and energy.

You may fairly ask what “a lot” means, and what it is exactly that I’m writing.  To the first question?  A good hundred thousand words, and a few more besides.  To the second?  Well…I’d rather not get ahead of myself.  But 100,000 words isn’t a blog post.  And if it’s a short story, it’s a very long short story.

A very long short story indeed.

And that is all I will say about that.  There are still many hurdles to clear, and many doubts and questions for me to work through.  But…I’m excited.  And I truly believe that I’m working on something that will make the protracted silence from this blog worthwhile, eventually.

But speaking of that silence, this post is indeed concerned with the blog itself, not with any other writing that I’m foolhardily pursuing.  At the moment, I’m anticipating this other project being completed (in some form at least) by September this year.  As such, I’m planning to do another September Series — I haven’t locked down a topic yet, but am considering a few options.  I’d also like to try and write another short story in the coming weeks, and am conscious that the blog’s been light on Tolkien material over the last half a year…which is something that I would like to remedy.

So in short, while there’s really not much going on with the blog at the moment, that doesn’t mean that it’s dead — just hibernating.  And even while it’s hibernating, I don’t want to forget about it entirely.  Partly, of course, because I intend to come back to the blog sooner or later — but also partly because it’s both representative of and relevant to my current project.  And as such, I think and fear that the time has come for me to, y’know, actually try and encourage people to check this corner of the Internet out.

See, I’m genuinely quite bad at the whole “like and subscribe” thing.  Put simply, I do not enjoy doing it.  But I’m also going to be at a point pretty soon where, well…where it will be genuinely helpful for me to be able to show that there’s interest in my writing.  Where having an email list and a social media following, however small, will actually be worth something.

So.  If you’re reading this:

• PLEASE consider following the blog on social media.  I’m actually terribly quiet on Twitter, and even more so on Facebook, so I can promise you it won’t cost you much to hit that “Follow” button on either platform.  But that sort of online presence and visibility might be helpful for me in the near future, and I’m conscious of how bad I am at actually encouraging people to do the whole social media thing.
• Just as importantly, please consider subscribing to the blog via email.  Again, I’m actually terribly unobtrusive — I only send out an email once a month, rounding up the posts you may have missed (so no blog post?  No monthly email).
• You can, if you really want, even chuck a few dollars my way — there is, of course, no need to do so!  But any and all support for this project is also very gratefully received, and if you have a little to spare, and feel that my writing is worth it, it would truly mean quite a lot to me.
• And finally, please consider sharing the blog (or a favourite post from the blog) with friends, family, anyone really.  I’m fully aware that it’s an eclectic mix of stuff, which makes selling its brand rather tricky…but on the plus side, it means there’s hopefully something for everyone!

If you know someone who loves Tolkien, there’s a bunch of stuff to enjoy.  Do you like short fiction?  I’ve got it here (and can particularly recommend The Last Dragon, which is to this day my favourite thing I’ve ever written).  Down for something more critical or “serious”?  Well, you’ve come to the wrong place, but check this stuff out anyway.

So, that’s the state of things for the moment.  I’m likely to continue my inactivity here on the blog for the near future.  Nonetheless, I am still writing, and am really excited about what I am writing, but there’s still a lot of work ahead of me.  But please, please, please, if you would like to support the blog and my writing in any way, feel free to do so.  It will genuinely help me if it is possible to show that there is any interest in and support for my writing.  Like, share, subscribe, and all the rest of that nonsense, and know that it actually might make a difference.

And I’m really looking forward to (with any luck) sharing a little more news regarding my very long short story. Soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading – feel free to check out anything else you may be interested in on the blog, there’s plenty more to discover! Follow me on Facebook and on Twitter to stay up to date with The Blog of Mazarbul, and if you want to join in the discussion, write a comment below or send an email. Finally, if you really enjoyed the post above, you can support the blog via Paypal, and keep The Blog of Mazarbul running. Thanks for reading, and may your beards never grow thin!

 

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