When I put this site up I don’t know how many years ago now, the intention behind it was to put some of my work — specifically, the plays — visible and available to anyone who might be looking for them. My hope had been that directors and actors and suchlike would find them, read one, and become so delighted with what they’d read that they’d ask to produce it.
In the years that the site’s been up (five years actually, I just checked) I’ve only had one serious inquiry on a script . . . and that one, ultimately, went nowhere (more, I think, because the script wasn’t actually all that good and not due to any fault of the interested party).
Which is not to say the site hasn’t served a good purpose. More people than I ever expected show up here on a monthly basis, if the stats are even remotely accurate. And some of these people seemed interested enough to browse through the haphazard collection of stories, poems, and plays (enduring the even more haphazard quality of writing). Sometimes they even write to say nice things.
I’ve had old friends find me through the site and get in touch. I’ve made new friends through the site. I’ve annoyed and amused and alienated plenty of people, which turned out to be a pleasant by-product of the process — one I hadn’t anticipated, but there you go.
But the truth is, the site isn’t doing what it was meant to do. It hasn’t been doing it for a long time. I suspect it never really was. It was, ultimately, an experiment. And, like most experiments, it failed.
All of this is to say that there have been some changes. I won’t say they’re permanent, but I don’t think I’ll be going back to the way things were.
Along with the visual changes, the biggest change is that I’ve taking down all of the writing — apart from this online journal, of course. Some of the writing is very good and I think it’s worth reading — but most of it is not and I’m finding myself becoming a bit more embarrassed by that every day. There are too many websites out there, especially ones with bad writing on them. I don’t want this to be one of them.
There’ll still be things to read here, of course. I expect I’ll continue to post things from time to time. Maybe I’ll even read a few out loud.
For the plays, most likely I’ll post excerpts, just in case anyone is still interested. But the permanent library has been removed.
So. There you are. More updates and additions coming in the next few days.