Originally posted on my blog, The Comics Cove, not too long ago...

A couple of days ago, I hit 90 consecutive days of blogging on The Comics Cove. For the last three months, I've managed to write at least one fair-sized post on comics--be it a review, a comics-related musing, or some other relevant nugget of incoherence--every day. Tonight, I'm writing (and you're reading) post #100 on The Cove, and in about a week I'll hit 100 straight days of blogging here.

These are some significant milestones for me. I mentioned in my first post that I've made past attempts at writing consistently, and failed. This has been for good reason. Consistency and discipline have never been my strong suits when it comes to writing. I've always had talent--or at least, the feeling that I've had talent--and have had aspirations to be a writer ever since I was a child. But it's never been something I've really buckled down and worked towards, until recently. The Comics Cove marks a major achievement for me, as it's the first solid evidence to the world and myself that, when I really want to, I can do this.

I've learned a lot in the last three months. I've learned that my love for comics and sequential art is truly as deep and abiding as I'd thought when I set up The Comics Cove--I was scared that my interest in them was superficial and wouldn't sustain this blog for long at all, as I'd failed with many others. I've learned quite a bit about Blogger and how to use some of its functions to my advantage (thank goodness for scheduling posts, for instance!).

Perhaps most valuable, I've learned that the difference between wanting to be a writer and actually taking the steps to make it happen really isn't that wide a gap, even if it may seem that way from the safe side. I feel justified in calling myself a writer now. I may not be a paid writer, but I am at least writing consistently.

Looking forward, I plan to expand my writing endeavors. Because I just have way too much free time between work, a social life, video gaming, and blogging about comics. But seriously, part of the reason I think The Cove has been as successful as it has isn't just because it's been about comics, but that it's been nonfiction. It's been book reports and reviews about subjects I love, and it's comparatively easy for me to write about topics I have opinions about.

It's given me focus, which I've desperately needed. Now I need to take that focus and apply it to fiction.

Fiction is what I've aspired to write since I was little, and it's time to turn my attention to that on a more consistent basis. It is therefore my intention to start another blog in the near future, upon which I will be posting my creative fiction for people to read, critique, and hopefully enjoy. Look for a story from me to linked from this blog in the coming days.

Many thanks to everyone who's read The Comics Cove, who've followed and commented, and who've liked and discussed my reviews in other forums. Your feedback is a major factor in what keeps me going, and it really helps to know that when you're laboring on an endeavor such as this, you're not doing it in a vacuum. Hopefully I'll keep things interesting enough that we'll be celebrating in another hundred or so posts. Or maybe a year from now.

Onwards and upwards!