I just wrapped up the administrative work of scheduling the next few poems on the website, which involves a surprising amount of copy-pasting, as well as searching through my photo archives for an image that (politely and appropriately) compliments a poem about butts. I still have to schedule things on Substack, which is its own animal. And, surprise! Here I am, writing the Tuesday update late on Monday.
None of this is unusual, but it is part of the rationale behind the change I’m making in my publishing schedule. In short, I’m still publishing something every Tuesday, but new poetry/prose/art will be every other week. The odd weeks (like this one) will be more like traditional blog posting: commentary on what’s going on with me and the work.
The “All Posts” menu in WordPress tells me that I have one-hundred and thirty-three (133) published entries going all the way back to March 6th of 2023—although I really got going on July 16th. That’s two years of Tuesdays, and then some. Some of it (medium-rare) is kind of “ok, what?” and some of it (ideas: Personal Graceland Tour) is stuff that never really took off. Some of it (impetus) is a diary. And some of it (supporting cast) I’m really proud of, even though it hasn’t gotten a lot of readership or promotion.
The point of setting a Tuesday deadline was to get in the habit of creating stuff on a regular basis, whether I felt like it or not, and I’ve done that. It’s also been helpful in making sure that I don’t get too precious about my early work; I edit and polish to a point, but then it’s time to put it out into the world and move on to the next.
I’d equate it to doing a lot of ski runs on a small hill: you go up, you go down, you think about the things you did right and things you could do better, and you try again. You’re not winning a medal. You’re not even in the competition. Frankly, part of the learning is getting yourself to the chair lift and getting on without falling over, or getting off the thing, or not dropping your gloves, or pushing yourself along flat parts.
The other thing about it is, you’re not necessarily asking anybody to critique your technique or offer you tips. You know what you need to do: stay upright, weight and unweight the skis, keep your body pointed down the fall line, etc. You just need time and space to practice the basics. Repetition.
That’s what I’ve been doing for two years. I’ve been experimenting with different media, subjects, styles, length, everything. Outside of the actual writing, the administrative stuff is important…keeping to a schedule, learning the guidelines of different social platforms, formatting images, doing marketing and promotion, all of it. And I still have a lot to learn, but not as much as when I started.
Once you get to a point where you can ski a small hill, you’re ready to move on to bigger stuff. You’re also ready to start seeking out help. You want somebody to watch you go down a steep part and tell you what you’re doing wrong. You’re past the point where you know what you need to do on your own, and you need outside counsel. And because those runs have more substance to them, more length, there’s also a need to focus on endurance, and on chaining together smaller bits into a whole. You might have most of the run figured out but always get tripped up by a tricky part. Now’s the time to either get good at that part, or find another way down.
That’s where I am with writing. I’ve always known that good editing is a necessary part of writing, if you want your writing to be as good as possible. There are also elements of longer-form writing that require more planning and outlining. And, you need to get opinions, and sometimes those opinions may clash with what you want to do. Sometimes they’re wrong, but often they’re right. You need to learn how to handle that, because unless you’re truly writing for just yourself, your stuff will be better if you consider feedback.
Doing that takes time. This is a part-time gig, and I have lots of other demands on my schedule. In order to make that work, I’m going to ratchet back on new creative content to every other week. However, in order to a) stay connected with those of you who do check back every week and b) make sure I don’t get lazy, I’ll be writing commentary like this on the off weeks. Some will be longer, some will be shorter. Quality and “interesting-ness” will vary widely. But! There will always be something new on a Tuesday.
Most importantly, this will give me the time to work on some longer-format stuff that is well underway. It will give me the time to edit, to solicit feedback, to plan, to adjust the plot, to make sure that all the elements of the story and the characters make sense and come together as a rational package.
Slowing down also allows me to keep this site going as a place for experimentation and creativity. It’s a safe space to try things.
So. As of today, there are at least four new poems written and waiting to be published. I have a few short fiction pieces in various states of completion—even though fiction takes probably ten times as much work as even the most polished poem, and so it’ll be a while longer before those get more attention. Rest assured that I am diligently working on putting words and ideas together, and you will absolutely be able to read those words in the near-ish future.
I hope you’ll stick around! I have lots more to share.
—jr
