We have been away a bit this weekend with some friends in Newark and with the help of their amazing cat, Mandy, I have made a few decisions about writing that I feel good about and I hope you will too.
Firstly, like Mandy, we refuse to conform; going forward from a writing perspective at least, from this very day, we are going to write whatever we like, and submit it to substack (or not) whenever we like…
Mandy isn’t constrained by a weekly deadline, she doesn’t spend the week fretting about the content she needs to generate by Friday lunchtime; she writes some weeks and not others, sometimes she produces short pieces, other times, long pieces and ofter no pieces at all.
I’m going to follow her lead and do what I like going forward.
This may come as a relief to you; you won’t need to worry if you have seen this weeks instalment, because despite having published something weekly for at least 58 weeks, Mandy and I will be quite happy to nonchalantly ignore strongly worded email reminders next week when the inevitable substack prompt to publish pops up, advising us we are in the top 4% of authors - well not going forward we aren’t.
I’m not a writer, I don’t do this to make a living and I don’t want to be constrained or obligated to perform on a regular basis. Mandy and I have agreed we will write when we want going forward. The 58 weeks were good, but now it’s over and we are happy about that.
Secondly, inspired by Mandy, I have taken a look at the strategic direction of theses scribbles and seen that we have reached a fork in the road and it is indeed time to open a can of meatballs.
Going forward, rather than generating content that adheres to a framework of linked non-fiction categories, we will write around anything and everything that comes to mind, introducing fictional themes as and where appropriate.
This is a big step away from the original intention of ‘You Can Do Anything’ and I fully understand it could turn any number of the unconventional flock away from what they signed up to; I hope not, I truly believe that what we go on to create is more engaging and less formulaic; time will tell.
I asked my daughter’s cat, Milo, what he thought about this seismic move; however he was unfortunately either unable or unavailable to comment.
Finally, I turned to our own cats, Hank (Amazon delivery) and Eva (furious, as usual) to make sense of the situation and perhaps apologetically at this late stage, having taken my lead from everyone else’s feline companions, seek some guidance and wise counsel from the very two living beings who have been residents of my study/office for longer than any other pet, especially those two spaniels who make their like a living hell.
Not surprisingly, they told me to get lost in no uncertain terms; feeling extremely hurt and somewhat indignant that having never had a mention until this very point in proceedings, they were not in a rush to offer any words of encouragement, having always thought my writing was shite.
So, to finish, Mandy deserves the last word, known for her reputation as the gentle giant, such a wise and sociable cat, as a Maine Coon, she is used to being a little different to other cats and certainly our other furry family members.
Mandy says it’s OK to be different, it’s OK to change course and do what you want, when you want.
If it’s good enough for Mandy, then it’s good enough for me.
Fly me.