“Vulnerability is the core, the heart, the center of meaningful human experiences.” - Brené Brown
Well, well, well . . . it appears that it has already been one entire full trip around the sun since I officially created this website: Writing Rituals with Nick Fagen.
That certainly feels strange to say, I must admit.
How about a bit of a recap? And maybe a slight preview of what's to come in the future?
If you're a frequent visitor of Writing Rituals, you might have noticed that over the course of the last year, my website took many different shapes and sizes.
It surely needed to, I might add, given that I had not a clue of what I was doing, where I was going, or how I was to go about doing it.
And if we're being honest, I still don't.
To be a human being is to adapt to constant states of change, and ultimately (in the end) make every effort to spread positivity in the best & worst of circumstances. Writing is not too different from that!
I started this website one year ago after a continual round-the-clock inner back and forth battle inside each corner of my head, much like this:
See, I knew that I had this persistent urge throughout my life to spread my creative words with others.
And yes, I've always enjoyed writing, but this was more than that. I could feel it in my bones.
I knew that I had endured certain experiences that a handful of people might enjoy, and others might re-read once or twice, and while I won't deny these supporters as a definite motivator, the ultimate decision to follow through with the endeavor was the possibility of lending a vulnerable hand of aide to a fellow human.
The thought that someone (whoever and wherever they might be) is/was in search of a sense of inspiration following a violent scuffle or painful brawl from the everchanging situations of life was easily enough to push me over the line.
Along with a heartfelt love for helping others, I genuinely felt that I had a responsibility to craft a platform of my own. One where anybody (from the nearest and dearest of friends to a scattered few of complete strangers halfway around the world) could escape into a piece where they might relate to that heartbreak and/or grief of a lost relationship. Or maybe a struggling soul who simply needed a quick laugh.
Regardless of the necessities of any one of my readers, the positive ideology around creativity & the arts is that there isn't all too much negativity around spreading your own personal brand into the universe.
The biggest downside of all of it is: the need to be publicly vulnerable.
The ability to put yourself out there on Google and every search platform, allowing anybody on the globe the ability to type your name in a search bar and find your precious thoughts and feelings (some that you might have cherished for a lifetime) out & about in the public eye. It's no small feat, my friends.
Think about it for a second...
Yes, that means friends & family (and thank you so so much to every single one of you).
But, it also means the negative encounters such as the high school bully, the ex-girlfriend, the job recruiter, that one coach, or perhaps even that fellow artist who you just can't help but compare yourself to from time to time.
I'm not one to "toot my own horn", nor do I ever want to be.
But let's throw everything out there on the table for a second and think real quick.
Forget everything else.
If you, reader, were that struggling soul (which we all are at some point among the human experience) wouldn't it comfort you to have a quick source of access to relatability, escapism, or the possibility of authentic laughter (if even just for a moment)?
See, my mentality behind all of this was never "I've got something good to offer", but rather: "I've got something to offer".
"As a writer, you should not judge, you should understand." -Ernest Hemingway
If it doesn't come bursting out of you in spite of everything, don't do it. Unless it comes unasked out of your heart and your mind and your mouth and your gut, don't do it . . . Unless it comes out of your soul like a rocket, unless being still would drive you to madness or suicide or murder, don't do it. Unless the sun inside you is burning your gut, don't do it. -Charles Bukowski: "So, You Want to be a Writer?"
That was the goal.
And still is!
But I digress...how about transitioning to some of the fun stuff? Maybe some annual statistics?!
Once I hit the "1 year anniversary", Wix.com was kind enough to provide some statistics of Writing Rituals visitors over the course of the last 365 days.
I'm beyond a doubt proud to say that over the course of a year, I've reached roughly 1,300 various website visitors! How cool is that?!
I've even been privileged enough to have Writing Rituals visited by several countries outside of the United States, including Mexico, India, Japan, Germany, Canada, and more!
I must admit that I never would have expected such a small idea of a project to reach so far.
This makes the potential for the future incredibly exciting!
But, before diving into the future, let's take a quick look at a few additional numerical figures of the past.
The "Average Session Duration" (meaning the average amount of time a person spends on www.fagenblog.com) is 8 minutes and 6 seconds. *Jaw drops instantaneously*
The fact that anyone spends any time on my site requires a sincere THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for your support! Let alone an average of over 8 minutes...my gratitude could not be overstated!
And lastly, it seems that my top 3 blog posts were the following:
With 400 combined views on these three posts alone . . . I'm stunningly speechless and offer every one of you all another infinite:
The fact that any of my readers (no matter who you might be) are willing and able to spend this much time on Writing Rituals is more than enough motivation to continue to explore my open vulnerability.
With that being said...
Onward to the future!
As a majority of you will know by now, "A Moment in Time: A Highlighted Poetry and Prose Collection" was released 01/28/2022.
If you didn't know, now you do!
But what all of you readers have not yet been made aware of is that A Moment in Time: The 2nd Edition will release this Summer! Along with this news, it will also feature a hardcover version, in addition to the original paperback!
So, if you'd prefer to have the original 1st edition paperback, click below before it's too late!
On top of this recent news update, I'm thrilled to share that this 2nd edition of A Moment in Time will also contain a number of never-before-seen poetry & prose pieces, along with a preview of what's to come next in my newest work-in-progress project:
*clears throat*
(And of course this is very much in the works and will be some time before book #2 is publicly available but . . .)
Book #2 by Nicholas Fagen will be titled: Bittersweet State of Mind and I am so overwhelmingly over-the-top excited to eventually share it with you!
In the meantime, you, reader, can look forward to the upcoming blog post (among others):
Needless to say, I have a number of things planned in the future.
It's absolutely not easy, and it takes an awful amount of time & effort, but the rewarding support and messages of appreciation and acknowledgment are more than enough to keep me moving forward.
I know I'm not posting as frequently as I originally set out to do, but you know what they say: Quality over quantity, right?
Any who...it's a holiday today. And as such, if you're still reading until the end, I will leave you with this final note:
And also have a wonderful holiday!
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