Swallowed up

There's been a lot of good natured ribbing about my resistance to twitter. The thing is there's something that you don't know about me.

I'm a recovering addict.

They should have a button you can wear on your lapel like those chips that alcoholics have. The chips are a big deal. They're color coded with the number of months or years a person has been clean and sober.

I've been unplugged for almost two years now.

Not completely.

I mean I still emailed, still used a cell phone. But I unplugged from the constant. The constant barrage of tv news, entertainment news, radio news, news of the weird. The need to be UP on the newest thing. The need to wallow in whatever new misery was being shouted from the airwaves.

I was a bit worried when I launched the blog. Worried that I'd get swallowed back up by the constant. Be drained of my creative juices by something NEEDING and NEEDING to be constantly fed. But the thing is? Having my blog has fueled my creativity and gives me new ideas every day. Reading a few other select blogs also fuels my creativity. I believe creativity is often collaborative. Just read through some of our comment threads you'll see what I mean. Fun ideas feed on one another.

And when like minded folks get together to discuss something fun, or something deep, it produces an amazing amount of positive energy.

I LOVE hosting this site, I take away the positive every day from connecting with folks all around the globe as they come in to see what I'm yammering about.

I have made some of the best and most loving friends that I've ever had through this experience. I've also met some amazing professionals in the industry who have given me encouragement by enjoying my writing and reinforcing the dream that one day I'll join the ranks of my multi published "now in paperback!' friends who line my bookshelfs.

So the blog works for me.

Big time.

And on Friday I'm going to add a new flash fiction feature.

Alan Baxter just hipped me to a facebook group writing weekly flash fiction pieces in the hope of getting noticed by more folks.

I spent some time looking at the site last night. It was extremely seductive. There were literally dozens of opportunities listed for entering flash fiction, poems and short stories for anthologies.

But you could only see them if you joined facebook. So I was seriously considering getting a facebook account.

Vader was working HARD.

But the thing is?

I know me. I KNOW that if I got on facebook I'd spend too much time there. I'd short change the things that matter and are important to me.

My writing. Keeping my body healthy with adequate rest, exercise and meditation. Keeping my mind strong by being quiet and taking time to mull things over in silence. Walking outside in nature. Spending time with people I love.

If I got replugged into a huge social network like twitter or facebook it would be like an alcoholic just having that one little drink.

That one drink would set me back so far.

I can't even imagine going back to the swirling craziness that I used to live in.

My work would suffer. My life would suffer. My inner calm would wobble.

So, I decided not to go whole hog back into the swirling world of social media.

The great thing is the guy who runs the facebook page for the flash fiction pieces offered to tweet a non tweeter's story once it was posted on their blog.

So, once again, I will be depending on the kindness of strangers to get the word out for a new venture that I'm jumping into. Anybody who wants to join Jon Strother in tweeting my flash fiction to get me out there into the world feel free and know that it will be appreciated.

Otherwise?

Just keep coming in to see me and know that I enjoyed all of you trying to drag me kicking and screaming into the information age. But the thing that you didn't know was that I spent years kicking and screaming to drag myself out.

I'm happy and calm now. Living in my cave. The force is strong in me.

I will keep resisting the dark side.

I will keep feeding the blog and enjoying my readers.

And as each and every one of you read these words I want you all to remember, THIS is the blog you want and you want to come here every day.

I'm wearing the robe while doing the intense face with the hand thing, you just can't see it.