Merry X-Mas! Happy Holidays! Cthulhu Fhtagn!

Well, here we are, the last stretch before 2025 and what madness that year brings begins . An update on the day of Christmas is surreal to me. What’s more surreal is that the next update is on New Years. Wild!

Maybe I’ll be able to sit down then? Yeah, I still don’t feel comfortable sitting. Still typing at my dresser which I got to say I’ve grown surprisingly used to it. It's odd how comfortable it is to type like this despite my “Burnt End” still itching.

But enough about the holidays and my toasty tush, what updates do I have for the website?

The biggest one is that I’m ready to post the two stories that were made for the blog. The Horror Comedy and Gothic Romance have been written and proofread once. And they will be as ready as they can be. There is a lot that goes into writing a story. A lot of behind the scenes stuff most people don’t think twice about.

And I’m a bit of a perfectionist and if I want this blog story thing to work, I have to let go of a lot of my own hang ups and accept the flaws with the fun of doing this. My stories shouldn’t just collect digital dust because I finish the draft, I linger on proofreading and adding more, then I walk away from it just to take a breather and then I move on to another project. Or I have some fears of sharing my work with the world.

And I can’t do that anymore.

For the stories being posted to the blog, I wanted to get them out there before I get too involved with the process and end up putting them in storage and move on to another writing project. And throughout this month I focused a lot on writing and proofreading these stories. I like to think I’ve grown enough as a writer to have some confidence and I tell myself that people will enjoy what I make, just as much as I enjoy making the stories.

But I know myself all too well. I get hyperfixated on things, especially on a writing project I am currently working on. And because of that, I ignore or procrastinate on certain things, like maintaining my website. Or making accounts on social media platforms. Ugh! Yeah, that’s something I have to do eventually.

I’m going to level with you, dear reader, I’m all about writing stories with memorable characters and interesting worlds. And I want to share all that here on my website, it is the reason I made the site to begin with. But social media, to be blunt, is not something I’m fond of. I engaged with Facebook a lot back in my college years but eventually, I got sick of the drama and negativity and just the visual noise, noise, nose! And, quite frankly, looking from the outside, I can tell that social media has just gotten worse.

But despite how I personally feel about social media, if a creative person wants to grow and survive they have to engage with it. Whether they like it or not.

And I hear about a lot of things like “how posting on social media is necessary” and “you have to follow trends, ride the waves!” and “post this-and-that” and all this other buzz-word, killer app, synergy, stuff! I’m not a social media person, I wasn’t back when I was active with it years ago. And I’m even more clueless now that sites like TickTock exist.

What is even TickTock? And why is it so popular? Is it even going to be around in 2025? When will it fade into obscurity, like all the rest? What will be the next social media platform that everyone obsesses over? Why is Gamora?!

I’m so confused!!! BLAAARGH!!!

I say all this, vent, get this off my chest now because come 2025, I know if I want to at least get something of a following, I have to at the very least have a presence on social media. The funny thing is I always have identified myself as an introvert and something like a social media site just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. But my friends circle insists I’m not an introvert. Maybe there is an extravert buried deep within my psyche and I can become a social media star?

A star is a stretch but at least trying to engage with a social media platform and gain something from it would be worth all the hassle. Right?

I just have to get over my own hangups about social media and accept, as a creative person, I have to engage with it, and try to do what I can with the modern technological power given to me. The internet was invented to connect the world and allow people from all walks of life to share their story. And I want to utilize that power to grow as a writer.

I know eventually, if I want my work to spread out there on the internet, I have to suck it up and have some kind of presence on some other platform besides my website. I like my website and I want it to be the hub for everything Buck Bloom. So yes, eventually, I will see about branching out to other social media platforms and surf that world wide web wave.

Surf that world wide web wave? Ha.

Listen to me, that was straight out of the 90s what I just said there. I’m so out of touch that once I engage with social media again, I’m basically going to be a tourist. Oh, wow, I’m going to be Twoflower from Discworld. I hope I meet a Rincewind during my travels.

Anyway, next week's update will have more on the upcoming blog stories. Wow, I am really doing this. I am seriously going to be posting something that I made on the internet. Deep breaths, baby steps, post your writing on the internet!

Good Luck and “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” is the best holiday special ever!

—Buck

PS: Written on 12/24/24 and apologies for the rant. I had to get all of that stuff off my chest because I hear about social media all the time, both the negative but there are also positives too. And I’m hoping by being on a platform someday, some positivity will come my way. At least it felt good to get my thoughts out there and be open about how I feel. Thank you for reading and see you next blog!

PSS: Oh, forgot to mention, there will be two Randall M. Ceah stories posted on the blog this week. Keep an eye out for more misadventures of our favorite interdimensional traveler!

PSSS: On the rune dice is Gebo, “a gift you can give or receive”. Other oddball dice that are featured on this update’s pic are Seven Deadly Sin Dice, Pizza Topping Dice, 3D Printed Elemental Dice, Zombie Dice (Santa Claus), Moon Dice, and Hipster Dice. Perhaps I will talk more in depth about the many, many dice I own. Some else to look into for 2025.

There, I promise this is the last PS . . .

Made you scroll down, ha! See you in 2025! 👋