Ghost Mode – what is it and why am I writing about it?
I decided when I launched inkworldsagas.com that I would blog once a week and allow some time off for the holidays or special occasions, but I wanted to commit to a weekly blog that my readers could count on.
Then in January I went into Ghost Mode. All went quiet. It wasn’t that I ran out of things to say, it is that I wanted to say too much. And to top it off I had an idea that took my attention away from The Inkworld Sagas into something truly creative and inspiring. For sixteen years I have been writing The Inkworld Sagas and nothing else. I was so far in the forest that it all began to look and feel the same. Eight books were completed and two books were on the market and I just got back book three from the editor with his polished version and then BAM – I could not proceed.
There were too many outside forces begging for my attention and a new idea I had that came out of Trankarri came to the surface all at the same time. I had forces coming against me and this new creativity pouring out of me. I looked at Instagram and couldn’t keep up with the ‘forced algorithm’ they demand for content creation and likes and a following. So I said to myself, ‘forget it – I am just going to pursue this quietly and when I am ready to blog again I will.” I used a little more colorful language than forget it, but you get the picture.
The truth is I am not going to chase algorithms or popularity. I am going to create something cool and I have created something cool with the Inkworld Sagas. This new idea is a complimentary feature to it and it has many new possibilities and directions I can go. That is the purpose of Ghost Mode. It is the subtle or abrupt shift from market engagement to solitude thinking and creating.
And you know what – I needed it. I really needed it. I find it fascinating how one day I am thinking one way and in the next everything shifts. I think I will stay on the topic of Ghost Mode for a few more weeks. It is important for other writers to know it is okay to step away from the market and retreat back into your own writing space for a little time while you sort out new ideas.
