AND IN CLOSING

First of all, welcome back to Way With Worlds - sort of.

I'd gotten very busy the last few months - including a change of job assignments, a certification program, looking into buying a house - so I took a hiatus from a lot of things. So the column was on hiatus as well - I wasn't going to be able to focus on it all things considered.

I had decided that the hitaus would help me refocus the column. I'd gotten suggestions to keep the focus on original and culturally-derived works, but also more requests to make sure it covered games, mainly role-playing. Sometimes, to be honest, WWW has meandered a bit, flirted with other areas, tried a few things - not always succesfully. There's a few that really weren't appropriate to my theme.

Then the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks happened. Many things followed, from bombings to antrhax infections. There's a lot I can say about these, but i'd only be saying what's been said by others. We all had our own experiences.

So, I didn't get back to Way With Worlds. And, as time wore on, I found I couldn't get back to it. There's a certain spark that faded as I took more time, and I don't think it's going to reignite any time soon. Too much has happened, too much has changed, and to continue when my heart isn't in it would be dishonest.

I'm sort of annoyed - I had some good ideas including "stereotypes of genres," "game versus story," and so forth. However trying to force it just isn't going to work.

But it's been a heck of a ride.

I feel I did a good job with it, I got some good feedback, I feel I helpd some folks out. This is the fifty-seventh column and that's not a bad run for something done casually. I may even revive it, or do some additional essays as the spirit moves me.

And to everyone who's been reading this - keep writing. Keep creating. It's worth the effort. You may channel your creativity differently as time moves on, but the creativity itself is what keeps life moving on.

I wish you the best.