#LockdownLife

It states on my website (www.kbwillson.com) that I write an occasional blog. Well, the last time I wrote anything on my blog was over a year ago, so unless I want 'occasional' to become 'annual', I guess it's time I rectified that!
As I type I am, like most of the rest of the world, in lockdown, though there are signs that governments are beginning to ease the strictures that we live under, and I just hope this is the right thing to do. Our Prime Minister advises caution while apparently rocketing headlong toward a return to normal which risks undoing all that has been achieved thus far. But hey, what do I know? I'm just a performer who writes.
Speaking of which, I can't say that I've found lockdown particularly difficult, aside from the total lack of work (and therefore income). Under normal circumstances, my work tends to be at weekends with the occasional evening, so I am used to spending most days at home, the only real change being the inability to pop out for a coffee or a spot of lunch. I do miss that freedom. Though I'm lucky with where I live and with the good weather we've enjoyed of late, I really can't complain.
What I have done, however, is to get far more involved with Twitter. For quite a while I have 'lurked' in the background of Twitter, jollying along with about 15 followers, but over these last few months I have become much more involved with the result that I now have a little shy of 800... no great shakes when you see how many followers some accounts have, but for me, that's huge! I have also discovered some real good folks in #writing community, basically a kind of worldwide writing group who are very generous with both their support and advice. So I can honestly say that so far, my Twitter experience has been extremely positive.
It is, however, a strange kind of beast when you really start to think about it. Unlike Facebook, which I reserve for genuine family and friends, and therefore know everyone I am 'friends' with, my connections on Twitter are far more nebulous. There are a handful of people I know well (these are people who I also know in real life), then there is a wider circle that I interact with regularly and feel I know, though in reality, of course, I don't. And then there are all the others. I find myself feeling bad that I don't interact with more of my followers but honestly, how can it possibly be achieved? There are simply not enough hours in the day! And if it's unfeasible for me, with my paltry 800, think how truly impossible it must be for those with thousands, not to mention millions, of followers. It boggles my mind.
Anyway, one way to connect seems to be to share links to blogs and books, so I put a short video (4mins) of myself reading one of my short stories (actually a piece of flash fiction) up on YouTube, so that if people want some idea of who I am and what I do, they can view it. (If you haven't seen it, it can be found at  https://youtu.be/7bvH9MHsItk )
But I'm painfully aware that at time of writing I have very little actual published material out there, should anyone be interested enough to want to buy my stuff to read. I currently have two short stories published in anthologies (details can be found on my website) with a third in the pipeline - and I'll post details of that once it is farther down the line. So while I wait for a traditional publisher to snap up my magnum opus, I have decided to bite the bullet and self-publish a collection of short stories so there's something out there for people to buy, should they have a mind to. And of course, I will keep everyone up to date with my progress, which means that I promise to update my blog more regularly. 
No, really. I will. Honestly. Cross my heart...
 

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