Summer '24 Plans

and a Great Big Thank You!

First, to each and every one of you -

❤️❤️ THANK YOU!!! ❤️❤️

for subscribing to, “Just A Blink!”

Whether you are a lurker (as one friend described herself) and simply read my posts, or you “like,” share, comment, or recommend my posts,

I sincerely appreciate all of YOU!

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The Origin Story:

When I retired in December of 2022, the thing I most wanted to do with my “extra” time was to write.

I wasn’t sure where it would lead. Would I write fiction or nonfiction? Would I write stories for my eyes only? Would I submit articles to magazines? Would I write and try to publish a book? Would I write our life stories just for our children and potential grandchildren?

I started by taking online Creative Writing classes from the University of Arizona. I wrote fiction, nonfiction, and even poetry. The more I wrote, the more I loved it.

But also, the more I wrote, the less enchanted I became with the idea of spending years writing a book and, if anyone would even accept my manuscript, getting it published.

I was already familiar with Substack before I retired, but became more so after. Finally, one day last fall, it clicked!

Why not write on Substack? Why not at least give it a try? I could write whatever I wanted without the need for it to be accepted by anyone. I could write on my own schedule. I could continue to improve my skills as I offered my writing to a wider audience than my family and classmates. What did I have to lose?

Last November, I set up, “Just A Blink,” with just 12 subscribers: my husband, my parents, our boys, their wives, my sister, my brother and his wife, and a few friends. I wrote two posts. Then, life and the holidays happened. I didn’t post in December.

In January, I made a commitment to myself and my 12 “recruited” subscribers. I would post once a week for “awhile” and see how things went. If I could find 100 more people, 100 people who subscribed to my stories by choice, that would mean I was not a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad writer. It would mean that my writing was connecting with others and if I was still enjoying it, I had a reason to keep it up.

The Verdict:

As of this morning, 250 additional people have chosen to subscribe to my stories!

More Gratitude:

Once again, a heartfelt thank you for making my retirement dreams come true!

The Pitch:

And if you have any inkling of a desire to write for an audience, I highly recommend Substack. I’ve found it to be an encouraging and supportive environment, despite the fact that I’m forced to block “Elon Musk” at least once a week.

The Conflict:

However, I am a slow writer. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it means a weekly post takes up most of my “extra” time. And as much as I love writing, it’s time to start on some of the other projects I’d envisioned for retirement. Plus, it’s summer! We have friends visiting this Memorial Day Weekend, my sister and niece are visiting in June, and we just bought plane tickets to visit our Munchkin.

The Solution:

For the summer, “Just A Blink,” will be sporadic rather than weekly.

My multi-part story, “Remembering A Scar,” will be completed and posted soon, hopefully next Friday! Be sure to read to the end to learn how, “Just A Blink,” got its name.

I also have a few other posts in progress, and I’ll be writing another story to Munchkin after we meet him in person.

So, “Just A Blink,” isn’t going away, but it’ll be a surprise when you receive a post over the summer. Who knows, I might even go a little bit crazy and send out a post on a day other than Friday!

Meanwhile, here’s a link to my home page if you want to read any of my stories that you missed. Click on “Archive” on the top row to see a list of every single post.

Time passes in the blink of an eye.  Things change, life goes on. But I am having a great time writing, thanks to all of you, and I’ll be back in your inbox on a regular basis before you know it. In Just A Blink really! 

I’d love to hear your thoughts! What wonderful summer plans do you have? What projects have you been meaning to get to, and what have you been doing instead? Any inkling of a desire to start writing yourself?