A year ago I had an idea for a story, and it changed my life.
The archive room scene in Stuck With A Stark came to me late one night and wouldn’t let me rest until I’d written the idea down. I stayed up all night writing more and more and more, and when the sun came up, I kept writing.
I’d been excited about things before, but I knew something was different this time. I could feel my life changing.
This was a blindingly bright spark in the middle of a very dark time in my life.
I’d been undergoing years of difficult medical treatment for an illness that had left me almost completely bedbound. The treatment was slow and painful, and although it helped a bit, the bad days still far outnumbered the good.
My treatment increased and the side effects made it too hard for me to concentrate on writing. I had to take a break from updating the story I loved, and step away from the fandom community I adored being a part of.
Earlier this year my doctor recommended a new treatment that might help me. It would make me feel worse before I felt better, but it would hopefully improve my quality of life. We planned to start treatment in April, and I would spend most of this year focusing on that treatment.
Fate decided that the world would shut down right as I was shut away from the world. My plans for the year didn’t really change at all, and while the chaos and tragedy of the pandemic have been devastating, I’ve just focused on the progress of my treatment and keeping myself safe. Isolation wasn’t something new to me. I coped with it the same way I have for years — by escaping into fictional worlds.
The good news: the treatment is working. I still have a few more months to go, and some days are tough, but some days I feel amazing. I can get out of bed for a little while almost every day, I can think more clearly, and I’ve even been writing down story ideas.
My doctor expects that when I’m finished the treatment I may need some help to rehabilitate and get my strength back, but I should be able to manage more activity and get back to writing. And writing and writing and writing.
I’m sure a lot has changed in the fandom and that some people have moved on, or changed their username, or found other interests. But I know there are still plenty of you who will never let this ship go down, and I hope I’ll be able to reconnect with the people I got to know and catch up on the stories you’ve been writing.
I would love to know what everyone has been up to, so please leave me a comment or a message to say hi, or link any newer fics you think I should catch up on. I still have so many stories I want to share with you all and I hope you’ll stick with me as I keep working to finish Stuck.
I’ve missed this fandom so much and I’m so happy to be able to come back home to you all.
Love always,
forge-heat
💜💜💜