Update: Not Shutting It Down

Okay, I've had a few days to cool down. I'm not shutting the page down. I suspect anyone whose been here for a while knew that's what would happen before I did. Pulling the plug on the entire page would be a wildly overblown reaction. Like trying to unclog a sink by throwing dynamite down the drain. Sure, it might fix one issue, but at the expense of creating ten more. Not very efficient.

Incidentally, this is why I make myself take a day, or three, before I make any major decisions.

Life Pro Tip: Never make big decisions when you're angry.

In my experience, the angry-brain versions of ourselves are almost always the worst versions of ourselves. Those are the versions of us who do things like blow up friendships over stupid things, or say something irredeemably stupid and hurtful to our significant others, or give kids draconian punishments for what are, on balance, comparatively small offenses, or quit our jobs by firing off a profanity-laden, company-wide email that compares the CEO and our direct supervisor to Satan or Hitler. It might make you feel a little better, in the moment, but then you're stuck with the consequences of that rash act.

I'm no exception to that. I know that I'm the worst version of myself when I'm angry. It's why I put a fair bit of effort into staying on an even keel. Most days, I'm successful. Last Thursday, I wasn't. Mostly because it came from an angle I didn't expect. I expect that kind of commentary on Royal Road. It's just par for the course. I didn't expect it here, so I wasn't on guard for it. That let a comment that I would have normally just ignored sneak past my defenses and get under my skin. Once it did, I just seethed and seethed about it.

Obviously, that's not ideal because it short-circuits all the little habits I've developed to get my brain into writing mode. Some people can write angry. Hell, Harlan Ellison built a whole career on it. I'm not like that. So, for the time being, I won't be reading comments. That doesn't mean that it's open season in the comments section. The same rules apply. Kat will be keeping an eye on things there for me and will alert me if things start to deteriorate. I've tried hard to build a safe space for the readers on this page, and I think it's mostly succeeded. I'd like to keep it that way. I hate dropping the ban hammer on people, so please don't make me.

In other news, I am writing again. After I post this, I'll be dropping a chapter of Baron Assassin. It was a nice way to ease myself back in. So, I expect things will pick up tomorrow more or less where they left off.