My condominium in Washington State has this weird space that’s in-between the garage and the kitchen. It used to be an outdoor area but it was closed in years ago. Now it’s a great space but it’s dark and has no temperature control. I call it the “room in-between.”
It’s a great metaphor for my life. I’m not even living in Washington State at this time. I’ve moved to Maine to test the waters for a potential place to retire and to get my daughter into a healthier culture. Yakima Washington leaves much to be desired. I’m currently stuck in-between the two places, a foot on each coast.
It’s Not Just My Location
When I first planned the move to Maine I had these stupid visions of getting here and everything just falling into place. I’d relax and live happily ever after. I could spend my time writing and composing music. Perfect.
Of course that wasn't very realistic. There’s always something. We didn’t move our stuff. I’ve done enough distance moves to know that it’s probably cheaper to get new stuff and sell the old stuff. So, that’s an ongoing process.
But back to that writing thing.
Again, I’m in-between. As I asked in my last newsletter, if I’m just a voice in the wilderness screaming to be heard, what’s the point? I’ve been doing this online writing thing for over ten years now. I’ve gained few followers and then lost most of them. It’s partly my own fault. I changed my niche a couple of times. I abandoned old websites and started a new one. But it’s also the nature of the beast.
The Internet is full. It’s full of millions of wannabes. It’s full of fiercely competitive people. It’s full of shit. Trying to find your voice and an audience here is exasperating. I find myself returning to writing about the same old issue: the problems with writing online. So I’m in-between. Lately, the writing muse has been active, but I feel like I’m wasting my time writing here, and just about anywhere on the interwebs.
What Next?
So here I am stuck in the in-between. I also may be in-between employment soon. That’s a whole other issue that I won’t get into here.
I can’t help but feel I’m not making the best use of my time continuing this online writing journey. Maybe, I should focus on live music performance. Maybe, I should get serious about writing another book and shopping for a publisher. Maybe, I should seek out opportunity in composing music for films, television, and video games. Or perhaps I should consider starting a brick and mortar business.
I will admit, the old domain bug hit me again. The other day I went to Go Daddy and started looking up Maine-related domains. I was excited to find that mainestop.com and downeastbeat.com were both available. So, I bought them. Why? Will I ever use them? And if I do, won’t that just create more busywork?
Maybe, Maine Is Just What I Need
I don’t want to count my chickens before they’re hatched, but maybe I bought those Maine-based domains because new opportunity will be knocking. As I slow down with my traditional career over the next 4-5 years, perhaps I can build something new that is local and fun. Who knows? I can only hope.
First things first. I’m in the in-between. I won’t be getting out soon. There will likely be another year of being busy trying to make this major life shift. In the meantime, I’ll likely keep tapping at the keyboard and sending out some new writing from time to time.
If you’d like to follow my journey, you’re invited to tag along. You might even decide to support my writing by becoming a paid member. I promise that I’ll be writing about more than the problems and challenges with writing in today’s electronic world. This is just where I am today. In-between. - dse