Hi everyone, no time no see. I’m not very good at making introductions for posts like this one, so I’ll just cut to the chase. You may have noticed that my online activity has been stagnant these past couple of months. Part of this is because of external factors (whoever said that doing your Master’s is less time consuming than doing your Bachelor’s has clearly never been to Humanities), but is it also because I’ve been working on some upcoming posts and projects — it’s just that I’m a huge procrastinator, so I’m constantly delaying projects because my brain is too lazy to stay on focus for too long.
(Heck, I went scrolling on Twitter right after writing this paragraph, that’s how unfocused I can be. And no, I don’t care that Twitter’s name has been changed to X, that name is pretentious and vague, so I’ll just keep calling it Twitter. Especially as it seems I’m not alone on this opinion, either.)
Still, since I have a feeling I won’t be able to finish any of my upcoming posts till next year at this point, I thought I’ll give you a bit of an update on what I’ve been working on, and what to expect in the future. I know I’ve basically been making a lot of promises lately without much outcome, but again, plans change, and I’m a massive procrastinator. It’s not for lack of trying or working, though.
The first major news is that I MADE A NEW SUBSTACK! It’s dedicated entirely to my fairy tale series, which has been retitled as “Fairy Tales for Young and Old”. I won’t go into too much detail on why I made this change, mainly because it’s irrelevant to the subject of this post. But the short version is the previous title was quite vague and somewhat overused, and I feel like the new one is more reflective of my ultimate goal with the series. I also decided it’d be more convenient if I separate my opinion-based posts from my fairy tale ones — to be more organised, you know.
Although both Substacks are already fairy tale-oriented (that’s what I love most, and that’s what I want to talk about), I find it’d be more appropriate if I separate the content I make so people can find more easily what they’re looking for. That is, if you just want to read my opinion essays, this Substack is the right place. If you want to read my fairy tale retellings, then head over to my other blog. This way, you won’t have to scroll through 100 or so fairy tale posts so you can read my review on, say, the latest Disney live-action remake.
Another reason for this decision is that my opinion essays tend to get into political topics, whereas with my fairy tale series, I intend to steer away from politics entirely. Making a separate Substack for the latter ensures that I stay consistent with my content and goals. Otherwise I’d just end up like those animation YouTubers who constantly talk about politics but for some reason don’t make a separate channel solely based around that, so they’ll end up having some politically charged videos alongside their more casual animation reviews.
Because of this change, all of the posts from this Substack related to my fairy tale series — the introductory essay and the “Table of Contents” one — will be privated as of the publication of this piece. I have already posted the list of stories in the series to the other Substack, and it will be followed by a revised and expanded version of the introductory essay. This is part of major news I was talking about. Surprise, I guess.
As for the series itself, I have already finished writing the first story. I am currently in the process of revising it, but because my time is overtaken by university work, I cannot promise when it (and the revised introduction) will be ready to be posted. All I’m going to say is that I’m really proud of how it’s turning out, and I’m excited to see what do you all think of it.
There are also two other fairy tale retellings I have been working on, which is another reason for the delay in my projects. (Yes, I know I’m one of those people. The kind that starts a dozen projects at once before finishing others. What can I say, the inspiration just hits me without notice, and I have to indulge it.)
One of them is a revised and expanded version of “King Donkey Ears”, which originally appeared in my very first Substack post. (No, I won’t be privating that post, in case you were wondering; that story only constitutes a small portion of it). Just for fun, I decided to revise my retelling of the story to align with my current standards for the series. It’s not yet finished, and again, I cannot promise when it will be.
The third story has already been completed, and it was originally intended as a Halloween special (yes, that’a how long I’ve been planning this). I decided not to post it yet because, well, without giving too much away, it’s definitely a Halloween story, and I don’t want that to be the first impression people have of the series, especially since it’s not even part of the official list (it’s a Substack exclusive).
As for this Substack, I’m currently working on a sort of book review, but because the book in question is so bad and boring, I’ve kinda hit writer’s block on this one. Once I find some free time (and motivation), I’ll get back to writing it. I’m also thinking of making a post listing and talking about major fairy tale releases (books, films, series) from 2023. We’ll see how that one goes.
Update 25.12.2023: I have decided to stop writing on the book review, mainly because, if I went forward with it, the post would have been repetitive and redundant. I have decided, instead, to dedicate a section in my upcoming 2023 fairy tale releases post discussing the book, as it is a 2023 release. This section, although shorter than the cancelled post, will nonetheless convey my thoughts on the book more effectively then I would have in a long-form post. The 2023 fairy tale rewind post will come out most likely at the end of January or February, depending on my schedule and how things go.
Update 15.03.2024: I have lost interest in the 2023 fairy tale releases post, but if anyone is still interested in seeing a list of these, and my brief thoughts on the ones I’ve watched or read, let me know. I’m currently doing research for my revised and expanded essay on fairy tales, which will be posted on my fairy tale Substack. After that, I will return to making regular opinionated essay posts, primarily related to fairy tales. I have decided to focus on the fairy tale essay first because whenever I’m making a draft for a new post, I inevitably write something that I think would make a great addition to said fairy tale essay.
And that’s it for this update. I have other projects planned out, but these are the ones I’m currently working on and can guarantee you’ll get to see in the foreseeable future. If you want to be first to get notified of my latest post (if my content is any worth reading, that is), the best way to do it is by subscribing to either or both of my Substacks (depending on what you’re looking for). I also post about my latest articles on Twitter, so you can follow me there too. The choice is all yours.
Anyways, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year everyone! See you (hopefully) soon!