The jellyfish of life

...that's why I'm (fashionably?) late to 2025...

Hello! Here’s to you fair subscribers old and new. And here’s to what I’d like to call ‘the New Year’ but, 2025 is nearly a whole month in now, so that’s probably pushing it.

I’ve been silent a while. I shared my last post (Tales from a Tour) back at the beginning of December. I’d like to say that I’ve been thinking. And I have. But, mostly, I’ve been resting my writing brain. And it’s been great.

After the tour of my play Previously Loved I felt completely exhausted and a little deflated. I’m still working out why. Obviously there’s the usual post-show come down. And I know I was a tad disappointed with my own performance as volunteer shop manager Des. Thing is, once you’ve experienced the thrill of not knowing where true ‘you’ ends and fictional ‘you’ begins on stage; it’s what you aspire to for each and every performance and character you take on. Anything less feels a bit meh. Everyone’s a critic - and, as we know, we’re severe critics of ourselves. So feel free to send me a note saying: ‘Get over it, Jax!’

Like many of us, I’ve also been catching up with friends and family, cooking shedloads of festive and post-festive food, maintaining all the other aspects of life - from volunteering to running charity events to having flu.

So, yes, the jellyfish that is life, absorbed my writing.

Or…

I’ve been taking a well-deserved break!

Taking a break. A gentle meander to Routin Lynn in North Northumberland. Was it planned? Of course not! We were actually doing Duddo Stones (see below) and decided to extend the outing.

Yes! The truth is, I’ve taken a couple of months ‘off’ and owning the idea of ‘taking time off’ feels almost as good as actually taking it. Would it feel as good if I’d planned it and let everyone know that I was going dark for a time? Maybe. But I don’t think I’d really made up my mind that that was what I was going to do. Note to self re forward planning (I can dream, can’t I!).

A while back my friend

Katiedraws (and writes) - The Illustrator Jobs Board

wrote a post about the stresses and strains of taking December off as an over-worked live illustrator and graphic recorder. She makes some great points about the impact on you, your work and your headspace - and about planning to take time off and sticking to the plan. It’s definitely worth a read.

Look, you’ve probably not missed me landing in your inbox for two months (not looking for denials from you, honest). And that’s great. But here’s a heads up: I’m going to take December 2025 and January 2026 ‘off’. Don’t worry, I’ll remind you nearer the time.

Meanwhile, as I step into my New Year, I’m going to look at refreshing and reconfiguring Previously Loved.

I’d like to look at developing a creative (writing, acting, etc, etc) skills’ exchange. What do you think? Throw any thoughts or ideas my way on that.

And, finally, I’m edging toward the thrilling, painful, bamboozling space that opens out when I start writing a new script. More of that anon.

As I continue to ponder both those creative endeavours, I may only send news every fortnight instead of every week. Look at me planning ahead!

Till next time

Duddo Stones. Mighty. Implacable. Inspiring. How long have they been doing their thing? Who really knows. Anyway, unlike me, they show no signs of taking time off.