Grinding to a halt…

Some of you lot may have noticed that this blog has been a bit slow of late. There’s been about one post a week for a number of weeks and discussion has almost finished evaporating.

I don’t think it’s run its course quite yet, but I can see the end in sight.

It never really had much in the way of a distinct purpose; a few guiding principles and a vague motivation, but no raison d’être.

My values are changing.

I look back at some of the things I was schizotypally whimsical about and wonder what on earth I was doing. Or at least I know why I did what I did but can no longer relate to it.

I’m not diving into anal retentive sub-editorialising, at least not yet. And don’t get me wrong, I haven’t suddenly jumped on board with common sense about these things – I’m still a bit weird.

I am however enjoying word-crafting somewhat more than usual – something that may not be apparent because so much of the tinkering has been done away from cyberspace.

I have drafts of a number of posts, printed out and sitting on my coffee table. I’ve always read better from paper than from the screen, but I’ve never been inclined to make the effort. These draft posts (this post not being one of them) won’t see publication until I’ve had a better look at them.

The drafts have been piling up faster than I’ve been publishing them.

What to do?

Spontaneous, slack-edited posts will continue for a while but at an ever decreasing rate. This will grind to a halt. I’m not always going to be quite so lazy just because it’s a blog.

As my attempt to write a decent manuscript moves into full-swing, my attention will be drawn away from the general topics I normally discuss even more than over the last couple of months. It’s getting really interesting on that front actually. This does mean though that the traditional inspirations for posting also will grind to something approximating a halt and the draft pile will eventually expend itself.

My writing will focus elsewhere in accordance with my new, emerging sensibilities.

My writing will have the articulated raison d’être that this blog has always lacked.

It seems to me that my writing is parting ways with this blog and ultimately for the better. I don’t see Thinkers’ Podium lasting until the end of the year.

I’ll be testing the waters elsewhere away from the blogosphere where I hope to get more polished pieces published. So what will remain?

The leftovers? An aspiring writer’s diary (a very doable prospect)? Interesting notes from the book-in-progress (some of the correspondence I’ve been having is worthy of writing about)?

There is I think something to having a blog to compliment the more traditional outlets, and part of it is the relaxed conventions.

But whatever reason I’ll have for blogging in 2011 will be at least as far as I’m concerned, different to the chaos of the last five years (good grief, I missed my fifth blogging anniversary last week). Which means that a new blog will have to be born, while I’m prepared to let Thinkers’ Podium grind to a halt.

Let the slow process of renewal begin and the silent countdown to this blog’s death commence.

~ Bruce

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