We need to slow things down...

We're going to slip into a lower gear for the remainder of 2022.

When I started this newsletter a little more than two years ago, I had no idea it would become the main focus of my film writing. 

It initially began as a place to consolidate my various blog posts, podcasts and other pieces into one regular update. As I played around with the Substack format, I found that I enjoyed the direct connection with my readers and the freedom to write whatever I wanted, in my own voice.

That was in 2020, as we were smack-dab in the middle of the pandemic. Movie theaters were closed, I was working completely remote and we weren’t doing much more than sitting around waiting things out. Plus, I had recently finished graduate school, which carried with a focus in media studies, and I was eager to prove that I hadn’t received the degree for nothing. 

Two years later, our lives have returned to some sense of normalcy. Actually, it’s probably busier for us now than it was in 2019. My kids are at the age where outside projects are taking up more time. My daughter is enrolled in dance classes, my son plays football. My daughter’s also involved at a church program once a week, and my wife and I are both planning to lead classes at church. Plus, I still review new films for CinemaNerdz and do a movie-related podcast, both of which I enjoy. 

When I made the choice to incorporate several ongoing series a week into this newsletter, I don’t really know that I considered the time commitment. For instance, this week I set out to do posts about Creepshow 2 and The Evil Dead, as well edit and post a podcast, in addition to a review for CN. You saw the post about Creepshow 2, and I’ll have the podcast episode for you on Monday (unless you’re a subscriber to our main feed, where it’s available now). But taking time to watch and write about several movies on evenings and weekends in addition to handling all of the busyness thrown at us is getting to be an ordeal, especially since this is all pro bono. I need a pace that works without sacrificing time with my family, without locking myself into unsustainable schedules.

And I can’t dance around the fact that I don’t have the infinite energy that I had when I was 25 and writing three times a night on Xanga. I’m a 43–year-old man with two young kids, a full-time job, and several other obligations. While I hope I’m not quite at the midpoint of life yet, I can’t deny that I’m at least close. And I’m starting to consider what else I might enjoy in addition to reviewing movies. I need to invest in relationships and service, take care of my health and fitness, spend evenings with my wife, and make the most of my time with my kids while they still want to spend that time with me. I want to be able to read and watch things for pleasure, not with an eye toward how I might unpack it in a post. When I write about movies and TV, I want it to be because I have something to say, not just because I have a quota of three posts a week to get out. And there’s an idea for a novel that has been stuck in my head for well over a decade that I’ve been putting off for too long. 

And so, we’re going to downshift a little bit. 

This newsletter isn’t going away. I still love it, and I’m still deeply grateful for every single one of you who have hit subscribe. Starting this month, though, I’m going to slow things down a bit, at least through the end of the year. I’m going to aim to get one piece out each week. Maybe some weeks I’ll feel compelled to write more; some weeks, I might hit less. I’ll probably still do a Franchise Friday, but I might do it as one post, after I’ve viewed everything in the series, so it won’t be a weekly piece. Some weeks, it will be a recap of what I’ve been watching, other times my musing on a subject that has been stuck in my brain. You know, a bit more like a newsletter and not like trying to get major essays written several times a week.

Maybe I just need this respite for a few months and then in 2023 I’ll get a renewed burst of energy. Or maybe it just goes back to being the weekly update it was when I started it in 2020. I don’t know. But I’m going to pull back a bit because the demands on my time are just a bit too much and I want to see where having some extra time might take me. That’s not to say I don’t have some ideas as to how I can get some fun stuff out starting in 2023; only that I want this to feel a bit more vital and alive, and make it work for my schedule and responsibilities.

I’ve had a blast working with Mike this year at CinemaNerdz, and I plan to keep using that as my outlet for reviewing new films; when I tackle newer films here, it’s either going to be because I couldn’t screen it in time for CN or because I want to do a deeper dive. And We’re Watching Here is one of the projects I’m most proud of in my life, and talking with Perry a few times each month is always fun, never work. I hope that pulling back on the obligation to write several pieces a week means my viewing becomes more personal and opens more opportunities to do some meatier freelance film writing for other outlets in the long run. I’m not done writing; just trying to figure out how to properly marshal my energies and priorities.

Balance is an elusive thing, and I’m learning that the older I get, the more effort it takes to obtain it. Again, I’m thankful for every person who reads this, and I look forward to keeping it going, just in a little bit of a lower key than before.