I thought I could do it – I really did. I thought I’d be able to get through this month participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and keeping up with the blog. There was only one new DVD out in November for me to review, and G and I had a pretty regular schedule going, so I’d have Retro-Views to post in the other weeks. It was all coming together.
Or so I thought. As the middle of the month crept up on me, it simply didn’t pan out that way. Much as I love Our Show, sometimes I need a break from it. I got Doctor Who fatigue, coupled with a big ol’ smack upside the head from Real Life.
Aside from the time commitment involved in trying to write a (rough draft of a) 50,000-word novel in 30 days, we got the unexpected news that my father has a critical illness. He is undergoing treatment, but we don’t know how much it will help beat back the disease, or how much longer he might have. Obviously, that situation has pushed things like blogging to a back burner – especially when I ended up spending three days visiting him in the hospital due to An Incident instead of the day and a half I’d planned to spend with him there. I have absolutely no regrets of any kind about putting my family first, but it has kind of put a kink in my regular schedule.
So today I confess to you all that despite the fact that it’s really important to me as a matter of pride to keep posting here – I’ve never missed a regular Wednesday post since I first started the blog back in January 2011 – sometimes Doctor Who is not the most important pastime in my life. I struggled a little bit with not having anything terribly relevant to say this week, but I’m hoping that anyone who’s already a regular reader will bear with me. Soon we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled program.
In the meantime, I’d like to take advantage of the American Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow to ask you all to think about the things that don’t happen to relate to the Whoniverse for which you’re thankful. Don’t forget to tell your loved ones how much you love them and why, because they may be gone before you know it. And remember that it’s OK both to ignore the silly stuff (e.g., your favorite TV show) for a while and to ignore the serious stuff (e.g., by talking about your favorite TV show) for a while.
Let me wrap up, then, with this brief thought about Who. Now that I’ve seen the prequel and the trailer, I can say I think the Christmas special has potential, but I’m not holding my breath. It will be nice to meet “Clara” formally as well as seeing more of Vastra and Jenny (though why did Vastra’s face look so different in the “minisode” than it did in A Good Man Goes to War?), but as with all things Moffat, there’s a certain danger of something I really loved (Vastra) being treated so differently on subsequent appearances that much of what I loved is lost. Time will tell.
I just hope Real Life allows me the luxury of a holiday where escaping into the Whoniverse for a while feels right. Because even though I can’t think about it all the time, I still want to think about it sometimes. And that would be the kind of gift I could really use.
Spoilers
*sigh* I’d managed to avoid all spoilers for the Christmas special, until now. Couldn’t you at least give a warning before ruining the surprise of who’s going to be in it!
Apologies
Deepest apologies, solar penguin. I hadn’t even thought about it, since I was only commenting on things that had been in the Children in Need prequel “minisode” and the official trailer. I tend to be rather spoiler-phobic myself, though I do watch “official” releases like those, and thus consider them fair game.
Again, apologies. I suppose you can consider yourself forewarned that any officially released tidbits may not be prefaced with a spoiler alert. :
Understand!
I do hope you father does well, MR. I totally understand how life gets in the way, and while we have an escape – Dr Who – at times, we have to concentrate on other things. I have to have open heart surgery in January, and real life is important. Sometimes you just have to do what is important first – taking care of your family and spending time with them. You come to realize that little else matters.
As for me, a reader, I will still be here whenever you write – loyal to the end! Try not to be so hard on yourself with deadlines and such. I got like that a lot with work, and I still do, but I’m not working while I’m ill. I always pushed myself way too much, and ended up stressing about things I couldn’t control. Easier said than done, though. Additionally, you didn’t spoil anything with the show.
Have a happy holiday and take care of yourself.
Tree
Thank you!
I can’t even express how much it means to me to have honest-to-goodness “loyal readers”! 🙂 Recent news regarding my dad is relatively hopeful and I’ve crossed 50k words for NaNoWriMo, so I’m hoping next week will be a little easier to manage blog-wise.
Thank you for the good wishes, and best to you in your upcoming surgery!
You’e welcome!
Oh, definitely a loyal reader – can’t wait for the second book! Sounds as though you’ve been successful with the writing and have had some good news about your dad. Thanks for well wishes, too, MR. 🙂
Always here,
Tree
🙂
I’ll be sure to let everybody know when the 2012 edition is ready!
Books
MR, do you read any of the Dr Who books – new or old? I’ve seen some lots for sale and recently bought some. Wondering what you thought.
Can’t afford all of fandom, though, and have not bought any of the Audio shows from Big Finish!
Not the best source
I’m afraid I’m not going to be the best source for book recommendations; the only one I’ve actually read is Lungbarrow, though I enjoyed it. Lots of folks have talked about how influential the Target novelizations were in their youth, though. 🙂
I totally understand about not being able to afford everything!
“Human Nature”
I completely understand. I forgot to check back here to see if you answered, and you always do! 🙂
I read the Virgin – and Bernice Summerfield book “Human Nature,” and it was with the seventh Doctor. Paul Cornell wrote it, I believe, and I found it was good – and I liked it as I saw the two parter with Tennant with the same name and story. Some changes, obviously, but the Human Nature two parter was once of my favorite 10th Dr/Martha stories. Loved Harry Lloyd as “Baines.” He was such a good villian.
Good Stuff
Yes, Paul Cornell wrote that ages ago, and then did the revisions to make it a workable Tenth Doctor script for Series 3. I’ve heard good things about it, but haven’t yet picked it up. Need to get on that. 🙂