The 2010 Post-Game Show

Here we are, in the waning hours of the year 2010. That means it's time to review the year that was.

On a strictly personal level, my main goal was to get myself righted to where I didn't feel like my life was perpetually collapsing around me. Happily, I think we succeeded there. I didn't really get as far as I would've liked, but I'll take stability right now if that's the best I can manage. The rest will come in time.

On the creative/blogging front, this year proved exceptionally fruitful. We've discussed the wrap-up of "Return of Jetman" already, and you can read a little bit more in a few hours over on the site itself. But that wasn't even all - not by a longshot. Though oddly, it was a random convergence of circumstances that lead me to the best stuff.

My "big plan" for OWARI at the beginning of the year was to make at least 155 posts and reach a cumulative total of 300. I hit that goal so early that I set the bar higher and decided to try to make 205 for 350. And then, I made it there and just figured I'd see how far I could I ride the train until the year ran out.

A big reason I was so prolific this year was the whole "Captain Satellite" thing. I had always enjoyed the profiles I had written for those characters when I posted them on deviantArt in 2007, so I thought they would make good material for the blog. I deliberately saved them up until 2010 and then intended to roll them out sporadically throughout the year. I knew they'd need some editing, but I had no grand plans.

Well, those characters recaptured not only MY imagination, but apparently those of the people who follow my work, too. When people asked if I intended to do anything else with them, I told them at first that I didn't have any plans. That was true, at least at first. But I started to get ideas. As I rewrote my old profile text, I began to create new characters, too. I drew new pictures. I wrote stories. I commissioned artwork. Now, something that was barely even discussed last year is a big part of this blog, and a big part of where I hope to go creatively in 2011. Very cool.

Now, interestingly, none of this might have happened if not for the single most important entry on this blog this year. That would be this one. Why do I single this particular unassuming entry out from among the 200+ posted during 2010? Well, there is a story behind it that I hadn't really explained.

The year 2010 began, logically enough, as a continuation of what I had been doing in 2009. However, by the end of February, I was feeling burned out with the whole thing. I could still put together a decent enough piece of work now and then, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to convince myself that I SHOULD do it. Faced with a diminished excitement over writing, I took the radical step of putting myself on hiatus.

Understand that the point of that entry was not for you, gentle reader. Oh, it served its purpose for you, but that entry was posted for me. It wasn't a big "Woe!" post or a cry for attention or anything of that nature. As I told some people, if I just wanted to take a break, I'd take one and leave it that. I abruptly dropped out of sight here for about two weeks in 2009 and the world didn't end. And candidly, I don't think a lot of people will fret TOO much about an absence of fresh content here.

No, that post was for me. It was my reminder that I had told everyone I was coming back here. It was designed to shame me into returning to this blog, because I have no intention on ending it with "More to come!" and then never delivering. I had to pick up the baton because I had promised that I would.

A funny thing happened during that self-imposed exile. As I took some time off and devoted myself to just seeing what that would do to my work, the spark came back. If anything, I was ANXIOUS to get back into the saddle and share my damaged thoughts with all of you. And when I got back into gear, I almost couldn't stop myself from posting. The difference has been astounding, and the productivity has continued almost unabated through the remainder of the year.

So, let me bid a fond farewell to the year 2010. It was filled with its share of triumphs and pain, but somehow, the good seems to outweigh the bad in my memory. That's always a positive sign. Now, let's see what 2011 holds for us all.