In its current configuration, this website is about five years old, dating back to late 2019 when I decided to write my first novel. At that time, I had no books to my name and only a handful of blog posts. I had no intention of writing a regular blog. The site was primarily meant to be a showcase for any novels that I happened to write. Of course, at that time, I had plans for only one novel and hadn’t even finished that one. For that reason, I didn’t spent much time or energy on the website. It was something I threw together in an afternoon and it’s remained in that format ever since.
No doubt everybody had a different experience of the corona lockdowns. Here in Melbourne, we had lockdowns all the way until late 2021. With rather a lot of time on my hands, what began as an idea for one novel turned into four and I then managed to squeeze in two non-fiction books (The Plague Story and The Devouring Mother) before the lockdowns ended. None of that had been planned and none of it would have happened if it wasn’t for the “pandemic”.
Through all these unexpected developments, the format of this website, thrown together in an afternoon, has remain the same. Since my last three books have now been in the non-fiction category, and since most of my ideas for future work is also non-fiction, it feels like a good time for a site refresh to better reflect the direction of my work.
Another reason why it’s a good time to refactor the site is because I would like to lay out an overview of my Archetypal Calculus concept. Long-term readers would know that this is something I have been working through in an ad hoc fashion over the last few years. It feels like a good time to go back to the start and lay out the concept in a logical and orderly manner.
Since I would like to present that overview in a fixed, static format, I won’t be writing it as the usual wordpress posts that appear on the blog feed. Rather, I’ll be creating a new page dedicated to the Archetypal Calculus and adding material to it as I go.
While I’m doing that work, there won’t any new blog posts on the site. There will, however, be new content as I sketch out the overview for the Archetypal Calculus. If you’re interested to read that, I recommend checking back on the site whenever is convenient. I anticipate I’ll be making updates to the site whenever is convenient rather than on the usual weekly timeline.
I’m not exactly sure how long this will all take. Maybe only a couple of weeks (although I’ve said that before and been wrong). In any case, once the website refresh and Archetypal Calculus overview is done to my satisfaction, I aim to return to the usual weekly blog post format. Let’s see how it goes!
Hi Simon,
Respect and I look forward to seeing what develops.
If I may be so bold as to point out, behind most authors is a team of people. Man, Sandra reads all of my essays prior to them hitting the net, and that editing and review process took place even way, way back in the days when the essays were printed in publications which paid for the words. You’re attempting to do all of those activities yourself, and I’m in a bit of awe of your effort because personally I know I lack the competency to wear so many hats at once.
Just a different perspective for you to consider.
Hope your garden isn’t getting too blown around tonight? The wind has been feral here today.
Cheers
Chris
Chris – well, prior to writing I had many years of working in teams through my various musical activities. A well-functioning team really is a thing of beauty and greater than the sum of its parts. On the other hand, a poorly-functioning team is a source of constant annoyance and frustration. Sadly, the latter is far more common than the former! The solitary nature of writing at least means I don’t have to worry about such issues 🙂
Hi Simon,
Thanks for the laughs, and yes, I do recall you mentioning that particular experience, although the details and particulars escape me. You could say that there is a lingering sense of the emotional morass from that tale.
I’ll tell you a funny story. After reviewing and editing the essay I’d written long ago, Sandra turns to me and says: “Not your best work”. Proved to be good narrative fodder for the next essay. 🙂
Look forward to seeing what you come up with, and particularly how you integrate the three or four parts into a larger whole, that as you correctly note, will be greater than the sum of the parts.
Cheers
Chris
Chris – it’s a common story among famous rock bands that the song they threw together just to fill up an album ends up becoming one of their biggest hits. Sometimes your not-best-work becomes the one that pays the bills 🙂