#old timer

BMW 507 1957

The BMW 507 is more than just a car; it’s a work of art that elicits admiration wherever it goes. It’s sleek, graceful, and as handcrafted as a fine piece of sculpture.

Delighted, old-timer!

I've been working on two things this week.

Dies Irae

Community Engagement

The update for the first of those two is that I posted chapter 2 on Saturday, and since then have worked on, and completed the draft of two more chapters, so I'm on track to post another chapter at the weekend. I've been trying to make sure I write at least a few sentences each day. So far so good, and it's started to make me feel excited about writing again, which in turn is starting to make me feel more like myself.

As for the second, well, sometimes I feel like that phrase is like a dirty word. Being in my 50s (Yes, yes, settle down), I've been in a number of fandoms longer than some people have had hot dinners. Over the years I've seen fandom behaviors change, from paper zines, to IRC Chat, to other online list serves and message boards and...and...and...

(side note: I feel a bit like Elrond right now. "I was there, Gandalf, when the strength of men failed!")

Anyway... then came my tenure here at Tumblr, again in many fandoms, until I found my way to Rumbelle. Was I there from the beginning? No. I didn't find the Rumbelle fandom until just around the beginning of season 6's original air date. (You can blame Oded Fehr, of the Mummy Franchise). I'm still here ten years later. So way back then, the Rumbellers, and the writers and artists in the fandom were prolific, not just in their writing, but in their Tumblring too. There were TMIs and WIPs, and all kinds, and we all participated, supporting each other and everything - not just with reblogs, though there was that too, but with real conversations and sharing.

I miss that.

The other day I went looking for TMI Tuesday posts from mutuals and people in the fandom, and I ran out of time looking. It made me sad. Where has that gone?

And please done give me the tired old, "creators need to stop thinking that people owe them anything." pigs-pucky! I won't get on that soap box just now. I could probably give TED a run for his money on that one, but I just want to understand the sad and shameful lack of community engagement that I experience. After all, even after eight years, Rumbelle is still getting new members, new writers, new artists, but... why are we all hiding from each other in the shadows?