Void Thoughts

Last week, I posted the 200th edition of Fiction Monday. I started this journey in June 2020, when it was a biweekly segment. Three or four months later, I began posting the prompts weekly. During this time, I have taken a break from posting the weekly prompts only once or twice. 

Let me share some lessons I learned from hosting Fiction Monday these past four years: 

1. Consistency is hard. But when you have a clear direction, consistency comes easily if you want to stay on your desired track. 

Why did I start Fiction Monday? To inspire writing and creativity in myself and others. My motto was: If it helps one person, then it is worth it. The need to publish the prompts week after week gave me a purpose to show up on my blog. I encountered a lot of inspiring quotes as Fiction Monday progressed. The prompts gave me a reason to write even when I lacked motivation. 

2. Seasons change, inevitably. But that doesn’t diminish the value of being. 

Fiction Monday has had many participants over the years. Some were familiar faces from my early blogging years, and when they responded to the prompts, it made me so happy. When they stopped responding, it initially saddened me because then I was alone writing for the prompts. Then others came. They, too, left. This rotation of writers joining Fiction Monday kept happening. 

Now, I know I have no reason to be sad or unhappy about not getting a consistent response to the prompts. At some point in someone’s writing/blogging life, Fiction Monday inspired them. That’s amazing to me. That was my intention all along, right? 

I am here publishing prompts. I will continue until I no longer want to post, but the prompts will always be available to anyone who needs them.

3. Being alone doesn’t mean you are suffering. Instead, you might be alone because only you had the courage to go on when others couldn’t.

I have felt alone and lonely in this blogging world quite often over the past few years. Publishing Fiction Monday week after week with no one else responding to the prompts was discouraging and disheartening many times. But I didn’t let that stop me from figuring out the prompt for the next week and the week after that. At times, I felt like a fool for hosting something without a consistent audience. But those who did show up occasionally and stayed back every now and then dismantled this unhealthy feeling from my mind. I am proud of myself for standing tall regardless of the reward. 

4. I highly appreciate everyone who has ever written for Fiction Monday prompts.

All of you who had commented on these posts or responded to the prompts have invariably encouraged me, knowingly or unknowingly. Those tiny bits of positive feedback helped me keep going. I value your presence. Thank you. I must give a shout-out to Suzana, who has been writing for the FM prompts without fail these past months. She has inspired me beyond words. 

I wanted to keep posting the prompts, so I did. 200 posts is a big deal to me. One important lesson that I learned from this weekly affair is that I do things that matter to me. And that’s all the inspiration I need. Of course, the response, as always, is the icing on the cake. 

© Vinitha Dileep

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This piece is written in response to the  two hundredth edition of Fiction Monday inspired by the word prompt – CELEBRATION hosted by yours truly. Do join in if you have a tale to tell.

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