PIVOT

And on the first day, there was mild frustration.

So, upfront honesty to begin. I actually planned on having my first ever blog out in the world last Sunday but, as many of you will probably understand, due to my patchy attention span and fluctuating level of confidence, it hasn’t seen its first word until today.

Definitely had nothing to do with the recent release of Horizon Forbidden West.

For my very first entry I wanted to say hi and explain a little as to why I decided to head down this path of blogging and vlogging and posting my work and opinions online. You see I’ve never really been one to share my thoughts with the internet outside of an article here and a meme there, but in today’s world I’m learning very quickly that it really is a fantastic platform to engage with other people, collect inspiration, and learn (so much to learn). And given that I like to do all of those things – and now need to do all of those things – I decided it best to start properly. Not last Sunday, but today.

Why tho?

Well … I have decided to pivot.

For those of you that only associate this term with machines or Ross from Friends I will shed a little light. To pivot, in association with life and business, by definition, means to change your course of action, your plan or trajectory, from your current one to something else, based on strategy, opportunity, and creative interest i.e. I’m currently in a stable, government desk job, working full time, doing the same thing every day with minimal risk and maximum job security. And I want to become a self-employed, independent creative that writes sci-fi novels and paints interesting things, and makes people feel happy and understood *Queue Collective Awww*.

I also have a book to get published - a rather robust 136000 word science fiction instalment (the first of three I hope), that I don’t want to self-publish. Mostly because I do not have the time or funds to do this, but also because there is an element of pride in having an established publishing company consider your work worthwhile. And one of the things that helps them deem your plight and efforts worthwhile is your online presence.

Another issue I have come to face is that no publisher in Australia wants to know about sci-fi, a fact I find both insulting and insane. Science fiction is the intellectual wonder you spoon feed your children to make them grow up with big dreams and comparably sized quirks. It’s beautiful, marvelous, inspiring, reflective, and usually packed with action, thought provoking concepts, and a satisfying ratio of the far-fetched and practically possible. Most of the time (no thanks to you, Cosmic Sin).

So here I am hustling. I have started a new Instagram account, made a business email address, created a Facebook page (kind of), and pulled together this semblance of a digital space to call my own and build into my little base for all things Jade. My own little slice of chaos. I appreciate every one of you that managed to read this whole rant about my reasonings and hope to entertain you more in future with words and pictures and thoughts.

Signing off

Jade