A Country Doctor Writes:

A little over 6 months ago, I declared I would post very little on this blog and focus my writing on books and other platforms where I would not be tied to a self imposed editorial calendar.

As my regular readers soon noticed, I kept writing and posting here at well over half my regular rate. I did write some articles for other platforms and I did compile two books, but I came to understand how much I enjoy the immediacy of posting my work as soon as it is finished—waiting for an editor to accept and publish my work was much harder than I had anticipated. I still work that way to a degree, but I missed being able to share my writing in real time.

So, know that I have not ended up putting A Country Doctor Writes to rest, just know that I post when I have something to share. I know that my regular readers are quick to read my work because they subscribe via email or WordPress or follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

I do enjoy the freedom of not promising myself a set number or frequency of postings. I had developed an all-or-nothing view of my blogging that wasn’t at all necessary. It’s a little bit like my dietary habits. Let me explain:

As a child, I was a picky and squeamish eater. I could eat meat as long as it wasn’t recognizable as an animal part, such as a chicken drumstick or a piece of steak with its obvious muscle texture. Approaching my teens, I didn’t want to be viewed as a picky eater, so I decided to call myself a vegetarian, but I eventually decided to simply eat what I wanted and not worry about how to explain or justify my preferences.

So here we are. I write when I have something to say. But when there is snow to shovel, animals to take care of or family matters that occupy my mind, I go silent without worrying. Nobody will suffer from my periodic radio silences and nobody will set their alarm clock according to my writing habits.

I was being a little obsessive-compulsive about the whole thing. And now I have gradually given myself permission to go with the flow—of life, of waxing and waning inspiration and inconsistent degrees of ambition.

But I have come to realize that having my own “platform” is a very liberating feeling. I was just being a little hard on myself in my view of what that platform should look like.