The End of the Penmaiden

"All good things come to an end", or so the saying goes. It's completely inaccurate, as the source of all "good" things happens to be an eternal being with no beginning and no end. A much more accurate statement would be, "All bad things come to an end". But I digress.

The Penmaiden has had a good run. I've found so many people through this blog, learned so much about writing and life and people (and technical issues *rolls eyes at WordPress*), and made lasting connections both with readers and fellow writers. Shoutouts to all of you. ;)

But life happens. And the older you get, the more insane it becomes. Suddenly you don't have time for everything you want to do and have to focus on what you need to do, then prioritize your different wants in your spare time. You learn. Grow. And make hard choices like this one.

After this post, Sword of the Penmaiden will no longer be an active blog.

The Why

I've thought a lot about this over the past few months. The Penmaiden has been a crucial piece in my writing journey, a place of nostalgia and friendship and casual writing. But it's also a big commitment. It drains mental and creative energy and takes up time I could be using on other projects and priorities. And to be 100% honest with you, I don't feel like I'm serving you well through this blog.

My original vision for The Penmaiden was a writing help blog, teens helping teens, like I saw in so many other places. But as time went on, I morphed into entertainment and relationships, stories, resources, God life, even personality typing. I lost my focus, and honestly, I'm glad I did.

See, I'm not super qualified to be telling y'all how to write. I know stuff, yes. I've learned a lot through my decade of writing. But there are so many other people out there telling you the same things, and other resources I can point you to that have better, more helpful and experienced tips for you to learn. (Like Story Embers for example. Check them out.)

But my decision to stop blogging goes beyond just my own realization that I can't serve you like I want. There's also time, like I mentioned at the beginning of this ramble. XP A lot of big changes have happened in my life over the past year and a half, changes that resulted in loss of time and shifting of priorities. My days are packed with God and family and friends and writing and reading and music and exercise and social events and two jobs with housesitting on the side. All of it is part of a learning process that I'm enjoying, as hard as it is to stay on track sometimes.

One of the biggest changes recently was that I joined The Author Conservatory - basically an online trade school that focuses on creative writing and small business. It's a big commitment, and most of my previous writing projects have taken a backseat as I spend all my time on my projects within the Conservatory. I've only been in there for two months-ish, and I can already see how much I've grown. It's an excellent program. And it takes a high priority in my life.

So since I've carved out a lot of my writing time to make way for the Conservatory, and since I felt like The Penmaiden now had more cons than pros, it was a natural choice to decide to stop blogging.

What Now?

Now that I've spent way too much time explaining myself, I'd like to present a plan for the future. Just because I'm not blogging anymore doesn't mean I'm going to stop reaching out and trying to connect with you guys. You're important to me. But I have to narrow my focus and be more intentional with my time.

This is where my newsletter comes in. If you haven't joined us already and you'd like to stay in touch, you can sign up here. I'll continue sending out monthly emails, but changing them a bit to include some of the things I kept to the blog - like my flash fictions and writing resources. I would love to stay connected with you guys over email like that. ^_^

Newsletter aside, I will also be making some hefty changes to the Penmaiden in the next few months - taking down the blog page, moving things around, focusing on making the site more of a way for people to find me than an active thing. I'll be adding a lot more to the Authorized Personnel Only part of the site per the feedback from my lovely newsletter subscribers, adjusting the homepage a bit, and doing other, smaller tweaks. But (and this is very important) that means banishing almost all of my blog posts to the depths of the internet abyss. I'm going to salvage everyone's favorites and keep them on the site, so if you have posts you really enjoyed and ESPECIALLY if you have posts you've bookmarked, I need you to fill out this form real quick so I know what to save from the Abyss. ;)

Thank You

That brings us to the end of this post. So, to wrap things up, I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for how you've poured into me over the past few years. I never could have done this without you all, so thank you. <3

Until we meet again,

Take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth!! ^_^

-Joelle