I Am Writing Again (Finally)

I am writing again. Not fiction yet but making notes and getting excited about stories. I am also blogging again with some level of consistency and that feels good.

As an editor (my day job), I am surrounded by other people’s stories and there is a mental load that comes with processing, reviewing and assessing others that left me feeling a little disconnected from my own voice. But I am finding my way back and that is incredible.

As I draft this post, my mid-afternoon Calm app nugget of inspiration reads: Be proud of who you are in this moment. And I am breathing in that affirmation or mantra as I push ahead with this blog. I tossed or archived my MJV 2026 content calendar and I am approaching this week by week as I figure out how I want to show up on the internet, what visibility means for my career advancement or if I should simply read for enjoyment and mark my books as read on Goodreads and the Storygraph app for my own records and reflection and let go of this online sphere.

I started MJV in 2017 or rather 2016 on different platform as way to build out a writing portfolio and so I feel it has served me well. This space has been a solid storehouse of what my writing style, voice and changes in my life has become and is evolving.

By now those of you on my mailing list. You can still join, my subscribers have gotten my September newsletter where I got a little vulnerable and shared my failures so far in 2026.

But today, I am celebrating a win, I am writing again. I read through all my 2024 short story collection notes, half drafted or first draft stories and I am ready again to dedicate my evenings at least one evening each week and my Saturday afternoons to this craft that I have long loved but has eluded me. I will build up slowly to more a more dedicated writing practice.

In the coming week, I will be rough drafting and re-reading and revisiting my books on writing and story structure.

I am excited.