bvlavender - Tumblr blog

[bvlavender]

...maybe ...just maybe ...I jumped the gun with this announcement

[bvlavender]

man, I severely underestimated the amount of time that goes into producing a [redacted]

I knew it was going to be a lot, but when you do it yourself it really *hits you*, you know?

[bvlavender]

😢🥲🙂😀😃

faking sanity 101

[bvlavender]

NEVERMIND, I GOT A SECOND BOOKING

BEGONE CLOWNS

HELLO AUDIO

tfw you spend so much time messing with the MIDI keyboard in the studio that you don’t have any time left to record 🤡

[bvlavender]

tfw you spend so much time messing with the MIDI keyboard in the studio that you don’t have any time left to record 🤡

[bvlavender]

just spent nearly 4 hours designing a carrd

i want to commit stab

https://bvlavender.carrd.co

[bvlavender]

[bvlavender]

For posterity’s sake, the profile picture and banner I had during A Story A Day Keeps COVID Away. Though my username has changed, all the posts are still up, and any link to them can be fixed by changing “astoryadaykeepscovidaway” in the URL to “bvlavender”.

[bvlavender]

hang on, did I really hit this milestone exactly at The End???

[bvlavender]

The final word and page count for "A Story A Day Keeps COVID Away Masterdoc", the Word file that I've been using for all my challenge-related stories, notes, and unfinished ideas over the course of the past 221 days:

[bvlavender]

A Story A Day Keeps COVID Away – The Past Reviewed and The Future Anticipated

In case you missed it, there’s officially a vaccine now.

This doesn’t mark the end of the pandemic – it barely marks the beginning of the end. In many places (including my country), case counts are higher than they’ve ever been, and only getting worse by the day. It will take time for vaccines to be distributed, and even then, it won’t mean the end of masking or social distancing. Not for a long while yet.

But it does mark the end of this.

“One story, every day, until a vaccine is developed for the novel coronavirus.”

Yesterday was the first day in 221 days that I did not write a story. (remember: 10/25/20 does not exist.)

It was weird, in a good way. I wrote part of this this post that day, but didn’t finish it, and just… went to bed.

Writing daily has taught me a lot:

I am not, by any metric, a pantser, and trying to be one will not end well for me.

Sometimes writing is a slog, but it’s alright if you have to really push yourself to get something out. It might be a sign that you need a break, but it’s not necessarily a sign that you’ve “lost your touch”. You just might need to try something different.

Compromise is necessary. For the sake of time constraints, your story, and/or your sanity, you might have to negotiate for something you never wanted, but really, really need. And that’s okay.

Poetry is dope 👍

and much more!

But as educational and enjoyable as this experience has been, I’ve been looking forward to the end. Not just because news of a vaccine is desperately welcome, but because it would allow me more time and mental energy to direct towards the larger stories I want to tell. Over the course of quarantine, I’ve had epiphanies that caused me to drastically rework plotlines I’d been thinking about for years, new ideas that consumed all of my attention for days on end, and grief over having to scrap certain stories that I couldn’t find a way to logically execute.

I want to start writing – not brainstorming, properly writing – some of those stories. And the thought of doing that excites me beyond words.

As for housekeeping: as I said in the (soon to be edited) about page, my accounts on all platforms will become personal accounts. Wherever my username is “astoryadaykeepsCOVIDaway”, that will be changed to “bvlavender”. The post rate on all these platforms will decline significantly, as I am generally a private person. Should I start releasing any of my aforementioned larger stories, information will be posted on my accounts. My profile picture and banner will also change – though I’m not sure to what at the moment. These changes will be somewhat delayed, as I’m in the midst of finals season and personal aesthetic isn’t exactly my top priority at the moment.

If you’re reading this: thank you. I’ve said that before, and I’ll keep saying it, because it’s true. I’m grateful that I did this challenge and for anyone else who witnessed it, whether you were one of the 60 followers I have right now, or a lurker, or someone who comes across this years into the future. Thank you. Thank you so much.

We’ll get through this.

[bvlavender]

In case you missed it, here’s the final story of A Story A Day Keeps COVID Away. Thanks again for reading.

A Story A Day Keeps COVID Away – 12/08/20: The End

I want to write. I want to ramble. I want to go on forever until I feel like I’ve said everything right, and I can leave knowing I’ve done everything I wanted to do.

That’s not possible. That’s not even what I need. But it is what I want.

I’d at least like to end on a bang, on the highest note possible, because – how else should it go?

The curtain’s closing, even though the show’s not over. You still have to let the magic of the performance settle into your bones. You still have to leave the theatre. You still have to wear a mask when you go outside.

The world’s still burning outside.

What else is left, but a future you can’t see and a past you can learn from? What else is left, but whatever you can hold close?

There’s more to it. You’re never just waiting for the end. You’re living your life: having heartbreaks, causing misery, making history, being lovely. And even when it is just waiting, just the stillness of acceptance (or perhaps resignation), it’s still a choice. Influenced by you and your world, but a choice.

So I choose to end it here.

Thank you.

❤️

[bvlavender]

A Story A Day Keeps COVID Away – 12/08/20: The End

I want to write. I want to ramble. I want to go on forever until I feel like I’ve said everything right, and I can leave knowing I’ve done everything I wanted to do.

That’s not possible. That’s not even what I need. But it is what I want.

I’d at least like to end on a bang, on the highest note possible, because – how else should it go?

The curtain’s closing, even though the show’s not over. You still have to let the magic of the performance settle into your bones. You still have to leave the theatre. You still have to wear a mask when you go outside.

The world’s still burning outside.

What else is left, but a future you can’t see and a past you can learn from? What else is left, but whatever you can hold close?

There’s more to it. You’re never just waiting for the end. You’re living your life: having heartbreaks, causing misery, making history, being lovely. And even when it is just waiting, just the stillness of acceptance (or perhaps resignation), it’s still a choice. Influenced by you and your world, but a choice.

So I choose to end it here.

Thank you.

❤️

[bvlavender]

In case you missed it, here’s yesterday’s story.

A Story A Day Keeps COVID Away – 12/07/20: Alone

Anxiety fills me as loneliness consumes me, overwhelmed by nobody, surrounded by everybody.

[bvlavender]

um

[bvlavender]

A Story A Day Keeps COVID Away – 12/07/20: Alone

Anxiety fills me as loneliness consumes me, overwhelmed by nobody, surrounded by everybody.

[bvlavender]

Late today, but: in case you missed it, here’s yesterday’s story.

A Story A Day Keeps COVID Away – 12/06/20: Let me alone

Let the world burn, let the continents collapse, let the country fall, let the city turn to ash.

Let your skin grow cold, let your skeleton splinter, let your soul ache, let your faith in me shatter.

Let me alone, for I let the world and your whims steer my love and my fate for too long.