Tuesday, April 17, 2012

An Apology and an Observation

First, an apology.

I've come to the conclusion that I just can't continue with the A to Z challenge this year. Too much unpleasant stuff in my life is making blogging at all extremely difficult. Blogging nearly every day and by theme has become impossible. I hate to admit defeat. You've no idea how much I hate it. But I've decided my sanity must come first. So, alas, as far as the Challenge is concerned I'm finished, over. Finished with. Over. Finished and done with.It's over. Completely finished.

On the other hand,  I do love the theme I chose for this year and the subjects I've explored and I know a lot of you have enjoyed it as well. I've appreciated your positive feedback so much because it's shown me without a shadow of a doubt that what publishers have been saying for years is wrong. Fantasy is still alive and well in the hearts of readers. We haven't lost our love of all things wide and wonderful, but it certainly does seem to me that the fare being offered to us in the Fantasy genre in recent years has been less than inspiring.

The Fantasy genre needs better ideas and fresh voices. It needs to break the fetters that have been placed upon it by the elite in New York and find its own way again. I am more determined than ever to be one of Fantasy's new voices.

So I intend to continue to write posts over the coming year that explore the ideas I chose for the A to Z. After all, there were so many good ones I never got to. I will be writing them at my own pace and doing a more in depth discussion than I meant to with the A to Z. So look forward to that in the future. In the meantime, I'm going to devote a little time to trying to get back into a writing schedule.

Good luck to everyone else still wrapped up in the A to Z! I'll be trying my best to follow along with your posts.

20 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear it -- I hope the unpleasantness clears up.

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  2. I hope things clear up for you soon. And yes--please continue with your posts. I've found them insightful, but your life comes first (and your writing second!). Take the time you need and post on your own terms.

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  3. Really sorry you're dropping out, but sanity is more important. And as a big fan of fantasy, we definitely need more!

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  4. I totally understand leaving the A-Z challenge, I didn't even sign up for just that same reason. Sanity needs to come first. I also agree about the fantasy thing, I love fantasy and if it's done right, people will eat it up!

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  5. "I hate to admit defeat."

    It's not defeat, Sarah. You simply chose to no longer participate. I made that decision the day before the challenge started, even though I had already outlined my A-Z topics and written a few posts. For me, I personally knew I would get bored half-way through so I decided not to participate.

    So, don't feel bad about it. Just blog whatever your heart desires. :)

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  6. Thanks for the well wishes. Unfortunately, the unpleasantness isn't something that will go away. It's something that I need to learn to incorporate into my life in the least stressful way possible. And it's going to take time to adjust. I probably won't post more than once a week for a while. If I can help it, I want to finally get a story published before spring is over!

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  7. I really liked the posts you did, and look forward to reading future posts on fantasy. Best of luck with getting your story published!

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  8. I have truly enjoyed your A-Z blog posts this year, but I understand completely about life getting in the way (the only reason I'm finishing is because I managed to get A-X pre-written in March).

    Have you ever heard of the Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog Tour (http://csffblogtour.com)? I think it's something you'd really enjoy :).

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  9. Sanity definitely comes first! Best of luck in finding that new balance for your life. I'm looking forward to your posts - you know I'm a sucker for fantasy.

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  10. Sorry life got in the way. I understand that. Dont' look at this as defeat. It's just a silly blog thing, which in the end just isn't all that important. Good luck with whatever is confronting you.

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  11. Sorry to hear there are issues. But, then, aren't there always? I suppose it's the issues that make our writing interesting.

    Speaking of fantasy, you haven't happened to have read Jim Butcher's fantasy series, have you? I have the 1st book sitting here, but I haven't had time to get to it, yet.

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  12. This is not called admitting defeat. It's called prioritizing what is most important to you. I hope that all of the bad things clear up soon.

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

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  13. I understand about needing to step out the challenge, it's wearing me down, too. But I love your thoughts on fantasy and excited to hear others have responded the same way. Will definitely be back to hear more thoughts.

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  14. Andrew, I read the first book (well, most of it) and just couldn't manage to enjoy it or completely finish it. It was disappointing, because I love what he did with the Harry Dresden books, but I just couldn't bring myself to care about the world or characters of the Codex Alera.

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  15. Oh... well, darn. That is why I only picked up the first one, though, instead of the whole series all at once.
    I had the same reaction to Tad Williams' first fantasy series. I'm still not sure why I bothered to finish reading it. I just kept hoping it would get better, but it never did.

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  16. This seems like so much work to me. I don't blame you at all. Sometimes it is good to step away and focus on other things :) Good luck.

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  17. Understandable, Sarah. You gotta do what you gotta do! :)

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  18. I hope things calm down for you soon. And I'm glad you'll be posting the posts you didn't get to. I'm looking forward to them!

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  19. A to Z is a big commitment. I wrote my posts in March, but those last ones were the week before it started. It's been a lot of stress to comment on other posts everyday. And after the first post or two, I gave up commenting back on my posts. There's only so much time.

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  20. Fantasy certainly does need a new voice so I wish you the best with yours.

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