I’ve been staring at the screen and trying to put my thoughts into words, which is an unfamiliar situation for me – usually I can spatter out far more words than thoughts! Comes down to this:
I think I’m retiring.
It’s been over a year since I seriously worked on a book.
The main reason is just that I’m old, and I’m tired, and I’m not coming up with new ideas that I really think will be any better than the earlier ideas.
A secondary reason is that I feel the sort of books I have been writing don’t fit into today’s world.
I’ve been writing lightweight urban fantasy which pokes a little gentle fun at some of the more ridiculous aspects of “woke.” But that was before we went through the looking-glass; specifically, before the horrifying rise in anti-Semitism after the atrocities of October 7. You can’t gently poke fun at sheer, black in-your-face evil; I can’t, anyway.
I don’t feel capable of writing the kind of fire-and-sword-destruction stories that the world we’re now living in calls me to write.
I don’t consider myself a working writer any more, and so I should probably stop posting to this blog.
I can still read, though, so if anybody wants some proofreading and light copyediting help, contact me at Margaret Ball seven at gmail dot com.
Mad Genius Club 
19 responses to “Knowing when it’s time”
:ehug:
Do what you think you need to– and the nice thing about being self-published is that, should retirement prove to be a bad fit, you can unretire yourself.
I’m sorry to hear that, ma’am.
Never doubt that you will be missed.
What she said.
There is a time and a season for all things.
This may be your time of fallow for a bit.
Things may come around, or something new may come around.
You have imparted amazing knowledge, either way, and likely will continue to impart knowledge.
Be gentle with yourself. It is an exhausting time.
I’m perfectly delighted to hear from you in any form, whatever stage of your career you’re contemplating. We don’t stop being authors when we stop publishing, any more that we stop being parents even if the children no longer need us. It’s an experience as well as a craft, whether we’re currently practicing or not.
Only you can determine what might be a burden for you, but you are certainly a well-qualified and important contributor, and I hope to hear a lot more from you.
Thank you, Karen! I guess if nobody minds, I’ll keep on rambling about writing and what books I’m enjoying and which I’m not. I just feel I’m posting under false pretences since I’m no longer actively writing.
Yippee!
Take advantage of no longer being a writer to reflect on your career. 0:)
I’m sorry to hear your retiring from writing. I am glad to hear you’re continuing to edit. Your edits greatly improved my goofy little fanfic thing, and I’ll be forever greatful for that. Hopefully once I’ve got some fun life stuff sorted I’ll be able to finish the w(n)ip and have another book for you to edit.
On writing here, I’d think the editing discussions would still be very useful.
Hey, anything you still want to post here–even if it’s book reviews, or game reviews, or “hey this tv show didn’t totally suck bc good storytelling”–we’ll all enjoy it anyway. If you feel like it 🙂
I too am grateful for your edits and hope you keep writing here from time to time.
You do what you need to do. I hope you’ll continue posting here when you can/want. As said above, I would love seeing your thoughts not only on writing but also on books you’re reading, etc.
I always enjoy your posts. They are both thoughtful and filled with insight, and I’ve always gotten something from them. If you are interested in continuing here at MGC, I am interested in continuing to read you.
Also, count me as one of those persons grateful for both your gentle books and your keen copyediting.
All the best for whatever decisions you choose to make.
I enjoy reading your posts here, so I hope you continue to do so when time and inclination permit. You have a lot of experience as an editor and a writer and that’s still valuable to others even if you personally are no longer writing.
I’m younger than you, but kind of understand where you’re coming from. I’ve got to get this current trilogy-in-progress wrapped up because it’s unfair to the characters and the five or ten people reading it to do anything else, but I’m not at all convinced I’m going to continue to publish beyond 2025 or whenever I get that third book out. When I started, about eight years ago, it was an interesting challenge just to get a book out into the wild. Right now, it’s a less interesting challenge. Writing itself…I dunno. Of the first three novels I published, two were my sixth and ninth NaNoWriMo projects, not really written with an eye towards publication. Maybe I’ll manage to go back to that, minus NaNo.
So sorry to hear you’re retiring. You’re an excellent author and editor, and I’m certainly in your debt for all the pointers you’ve provided. Wishing you all the best.
Enjoy the lack of pressure, but please to continue to contribute. Book and movie reviews are always welcome . . . and just settling down to read may replenish the wells of creativity.
Or not. At my age, I too wonder if I’ve lost any pretense of originality and have started getting repetitive.
I think you’ll always have some of us who like to read your work even if it may not be strictly fashionable. But is hard to look at current events and not feel sapped isn’t it?
Penny who emailed me about proofreading – send your email again, please! I seem to have deleted it.
You’ve certainly earned the right to move on if it’s time. But all I have to say is that, if I’ve truly read the last Applied Topology or Dragon Speech novel, I’m going to be a little sad.
Please keep writing. Light urban fantasy is needed to counter all the darkness. If that isn’t possible for you right now, at least please post here from time to time.