Coming Back from a Hiatus
Making My Comeback
How this all started
I was in my senior year of high school, and I was trying my best to be a writer when being a writer had never been so accessible. Self-publishing was booming, and I wanted to boom right along with it. A hiatus was nowhere in sight for me. I read so many blogs, books, and articles on writing and publication. All of them suggested creating and cultivating a social media presence.
Of course, that was no problem for a young, female millennial. I started making social media accounts under my preferred handle: LissyWrites. I created this blog last. In my first day or two, I wrote around eleven or twelve posts, scheduled them out, then started posting to social media. I grew a pretty steady following. People were interacting with me, we were sharing ideas, and I felt like I was embedded in a strong community.
Then, a year, maybe two, later, life happened. I was working long hours, school was getting harder, the finish line was growing ever closer, and all of this – my blog and my community – were growing more and more distant. Despite achieving so much at work, at school, and in life, I felt like such a failure because I was letting my blog and social media life, a life that had brought me so much joy, fall to the wayside. So, rather than make any attempt to put more time into my blog, I just stopped altogether.
I went on hiatus because it was easier to let go, and I did. I went on hiatus. That decision is one that I still regret to this day.
Now
I am back from hiatus. It’s been a year or two of infrequent edits and re-posts. Consequently, my group of regulars have moved on to what I hope are bigger and better things. When I started back posting regularly and updating social media like I used to, I felt like I was throwing words out into the ether. Was anyone there? Had anyone ever been there to begin with? I felt that self-consciousness creeping back. That fear of failure was palpable.
I wanted desperately to run, hide, and to pretend I hadn’t even tried to come back. I had made that decision before. The definition of insanity, as they say, is to do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome. So, I kept posting. I kept writing, and I update social media frequently.
I have met so many lovely people. People with a multitude of talents: baking, wreath-making, candle-making, writers, etc. I feel like I have gotten a life I lost, back. It’s wonderful. Don’t let the fear of failure keep you from doing what you love to do. Who knows what wonderful experiences you’ll end up missing just because you were frightened.
Lissy