There comes a time in every writer's life, when she has to decide what is more important, two sentences on a status update, or one thousand words a day, give or take.
For me, that time in my life was yesterday, 8pm or so Arizona time. It was one of the most freeing decisions I've made in a really long time.
Freeing. That's a huge word. Especially when you consider how extremely tight our ties are to that social media monster. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing inherently wrong with Facebook; on the contrary, it's what's wrong with us as a society. One views the deactivation of Facebook almost like a divorce, if you will. You fear you'll be alone, with no one to understand what you're going through. That you'll lose all the friends that you and Facebook once entertained together. And what about the children you created together - by children, I mean the photos you uploaded, the creative and witty posts you made, the awesome events that helped bring everyone together? Yes, those were your children and now with the divorce, will you ever see them again?
Dramatic, I know, but a truth of sorts nonetheless. There's many people out there adept at handling all the juggling required to maintain a Facebook page, write everyday, blog, network, family life, all while working full time job. But I am not one of those people. I tried to kid myself for a while, but when it came down to it, I was not that multi-talented. My production of work had stalled, my focus was out of whack, I became too caught up in what 'The Jones' were doing, instead of being caught up in what my characters were doing.
So I deactivated it. No notice, no tearful goodbyes, just rip the band-aid off and let the quick sting of pain come and go. And it did.
The thing is, while I expected it to be a really difficult decision,
with just two clicks of my mouse, (along with a small explanation as to
why I was leaving, which is kind of ridiculous if you ask me, especially
because Facebook requires it, but so be it) it was done. And I found
myself kind of smiling a little.
The withdrawal symptoms are almost non-existent, thank the Lord, but I
still find myself hearing something funny my kids say and think to
myself, "Oh my gosh, I need to Facebook that!" And then I remember and I laugh. And then I turn on my computer and pull up the story I'm working on.
I don't know if it will be for good, or if it's just a temporary situation, but I will miss my friends in the industry with whom I became great friends over the years - Ray Garton, Jeff Brown, Benjamin Kane Ethridge, Brad C. Hodson, and of course my Snutch Lab writing partners whose links you'll find on the sidebar of my blog. But then again, it's not like I'm falling off the face of the earth just because I won't see them on Facebook. Right? :) I still have Snutch on Zoetrope, and everyone else still has email...I think. Heh. :)
The important thing is I'll be making my writing my priority, not some funny quip I decided the whole world had to know right then and there. And maybe one day I'll be back. Who knows.
Until then, as always,
Ciao!
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