To say that this project has been in the works for a while would be a huge understatement. I have fought with myself over what I want it to be…what I want it to be called…what I want it to DO. Combine that with what can only be described as a critical case of writer’s block, and you end up with a big pile of frustration.
When COVID-19 started occupying every aspect of our lives last year…upending our routines and turning us all into bakers and gardeners…it hit me again…just like it hit me after the tornado in 2012…that I needed to put SOMETHING out there. I needed to find a way to connect…connect me to you…connect you to each other…just CONNECT. However, just like after the tornado, the idea was strong, but the self-doubt and the lack of a focused vision was even stronger.
Still, the concept of “connecting” has been a constant theme and was at the root of the decision to start this project a couple of years ago. I was convinced then, as I am today, that the people who live in the Appalachian region have far more in common with each other than they have differences. That being said, I have never seen us as divided as we are now. We argue over the silliest of things and often act in a manner that works against our common interest.
Still, absent any thought about political affiliation or conspiracy theories, we hold the door open for each other at the store; we smile or wave as we pass; we rally when our folks need help; it is who we are…it is IN us to be that way. And even though it seems like we stray from that at times and are at conflict with one another, it is that common ground that I want to write about…to find those shared places of thought and have us walk them together. But while the desire to do that has been strong, the inspiration on HOW to do it has not.
I have worried and fretted over every aspect of this, and honestly, what you are looking at right now is not exactly what I had in mind to begin with. In fact, I have a whole other site that has seen about a million changes and updates since the Times of Covid began, but I never could quite zero in on exactly how it was going to function or what it would contain.
That initial idea…and the site I originally created (and am sort of borrowing this post from)…was for some sort of community-based site, with deep and reaching articles meant to make us all think and hopefully grow closer together.
To that end, I didn’t want it to be TOO political…but maybe just a LITTLE political? But how much is TOO much? Where is the line where it pushes away certain groups of readers and how do you avoid crossing it?
And how much is too LITTLE? Where is the line where the readers tune out because they see it as just some sort of vanity project that doesn’t really have any MEAT to it?
I think I was trying to craft the site as some sort of community news or editorial site, with an eye on eventually monetizing it, potentially even creating a print version…so basically, shit I didn’t really know anything about.
And I know I was trying to make it something everyone would enjoy reading, which was a ridiculous goal to have right from the start and one I didn’t really know how to achieve.
What I DID know was that I didn’t want it to be a TRUE news site. I thought about that, and that may be something that takes shape down the road, but I don’t think I’m ready to produce the amount or level of content I feel that would require. And I am certain that I’m not ready to produce that content in a timely enough manner to make a site like that be what I think it should be. But we will see where things go.
As you can tell, I have struggled with trying to figure out almost every aspect of this project. It was so much to think about that it turned into a giant weight that just bogged the whole thing down. At its core, though, I think all I’ve ever really wanted it to be was just some good honest writing and for people to enjoy themselves.
So, that is where I’m starting.
I am scaling it back from the idea of it being some larger publication with “issues” that come out monthly. I am not ABANDONING the idea of a larger and more regularly published collection of material, but I’ve decided that may not be the best place for me to start. I need to focus more on actually WRITING things again. The rest of that can come later.
As such, I expect that some of the writing here will be on a more personal level, but I don’t really want to call it a “blog”. I have one of those, and I’ll probably save my more personal writings and random thoughts for over there.
The style here may lean a little more towards being op-ed, but my aim, as it was with the larger project I had in mind, is to form a connection. I think that would be hard to do without making it at least a LITTLE bit personal, but I want to try and avoid having it just be about ME.
The content will be varied. It may be about issues in our community…it may be about the dangers of social media…it may be about some music I really like…it may be about good people and the good things they are doing…or it may be about trying to figure out why a large portion of our population seems to have lost its collective shit in regards to COVID. Basically, it may be about just about anything.
This site…well, this site is going to be something else. What that something is, I’m not positive about just yet, but I’ve also decided that I don’t need to be. I just need to get started.
The one thing I AM sure of is that it is going to be a work in progress…a testing ground for things that may come later. You are welcome to come along for the journey, and you are certainly more than welcome to drop me a line with thoughts and ideas.
I’m still not sure if what it is starting off as is what it will be in the future, but for now, I am going to be happy that it simply IS.
(Oh…and what about that domain name? sycamore.com was taken, of course, but then I hit on this one, replacing the “S” with “5” and the “E” with “3”, which appeals to both my nerdy side (leet speak) and…well…53…so…that’s it!)