Revisiting Old Friends

A sideways look at age, Blogging, Colin McQueen - writer, Getting Older, Humour, Memories, My Life, Real life through the kaleidoscope of age 2 Minutes

Well, here we are approaching the third anniversary of what started out as a once-weekly method of purging my brain of all of the gibberish that had formerly been paid for by the editors of magazines that, one by one, had ceased to exist.  Humour, it would appear, was no longer a laughing matter – at least if you wanted to pay the bills.  My intention was to fill a little time and continue to write these little nosegays, until such time as fate – preferably in the shape of an astrakhan-collared magazine proprietor with a big, fat wallet – came a-knocking at my door promising a pound a word and a double spread every other Thursday.  It never came.  My brain is a febrile thing: if I do not keep removing the litter between my ears, I run the danger of setting fire to my hat.  One blog a week became two, became three, became four and, for a short while five or more; all of them new, most of them intending to be funny, some of them even succeeding…

Of late, I have found myself struggling for fresh ideas: how to fill my pages four times a week without constant repetition.  In that, I think if I am honest, I may have been failing.  I recognise the signs: this is not so much the black dog of full-blown depression as the slightly gloomy Siberian Hamster of disaffection, but none the less, it leaves me with nothing much to say and no diverting way in which to say it.  I need to find another distraction.  To write, perhaps two blogs a week, maybe even one, but with a quality control department somewhat elevated from the British Leyland department it has become, giving me the chance for my mind to go elsewhere between times.  Perhaps I will re-visit some ‘old friends’ and finish long-abandoned manuscripts: polish and submit the radio series, books, plays I have written with little view to ever pursuing production or publication.  It’s ages since I’ve had a decent rejection slip to brood over…

Meanwhile, I will still be around, but maybe not so frequently.  I hope that you appreciate this once in a lifetime chance to get a little less of me.  Make the most of it before I change my mind (again)…

Published by colinmcqueen

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18 thoughts on “Revisiting Old Friends”

  1. Hey Colin! If you are looking for inspiration, I can give you an idea I stole from BeetleyPete–photo prompt. When I run out of ideas, I open Unsplash.com. They offer free photos. I choose one of them and write on it.
    Try it. It is fun…

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  2. I know what you mean Colin. There are days when I cannot think of a single thing but I am just an amateur. I believe you could write something funny about the floorboards.

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  3. I have abandoned my blog about 8 times. The only lesson I learned was after the first time: upon taking a break don’t delete a thing! I find I keep coming back to it like a dog to its…

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  4. I’m also having a bit of a dry patch. I don’t think it’s that I can’t think of anything, like you old chum, I have tons of scribbled ideas in a myriad of crumpled notebooks, I truly believe, that at this present moment in time… I just can’t be arsed!

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    1. I’ve just finished the Westhall scripts and I think I’ll probably try and do something with the book. I’m also half way through a play for two old ginger men and A.N.Other… I just have a feeling that I keep visiting the same places with the blog atm. I think a week or two off will cure it. How are things going with ‘the musical’?

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  5. I think you achieve “funny” more often than you give yourself credit for. Interested to see how the floorboard challenge above pans out.
    My own summer hiatus wasn’t planned – it just happened – remains to be seen whether the break has done any good though … :-/

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  6. A change, a rest can do you good. The only problem is- if you park the Marina up and don’t spin the engine and wheels over enough the grease packs up, the good oil drains away and the rust really sets in. Plus, as I ruefully found, people find themselves another bus, iand abandon your stop. If that doesn’t mix the Leyland metaphors. I now find, if it’s not fun, don’t do it. (But, yes the writers itch needs to get scratched. Take it like a run; pace yerself.)

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  7. Well, as Bruce said, I have abandoned and ignored my blog at different seasons and I think it’s helped. If you get a piece rejected you can post it here and we can all remark what an idiot the editor must have been.

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  8. Amazing how a break, especially once ‘official’, is often just the breathing gap needed. I can recommend not deleting the blog entirely and starting again, multiple times, only to end up with pretty much the same followers as you had the first time you did it and wondering why your brain makes you do that. But I am sure you’re not quite as silly as that.

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  9. I just celebrated my fifth anniversary with WordPress.
    I started my first blog 4 years back–‘Fly on th Wall’. Tried and dumped it, then went back and tried again.
    Created a new blog ‘Fish in the Tress’ for silly pictures I click. Abandoned the second blog.
    Then dumped my first blog too and, then, started again.
    Then I realised Mylie Cyrus has usurped the name my first blog! I could not take the insult of the association, so I moved everything from that blog to second one!
    Now I have ‘Fish in the Trees’ and a third blog ‘Tanha’ for Hindi Poetry…
    You see, once I got in the habit of all my nonsense being heard and replied on, I couldn’t stay away…Neither can you, my friend! 😀

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