I’ve published many pieces on this site, but I’ve never published a piece about this site. Seeing where things stand now—coming off of an unprecedented three months of continuous weekly posting1, and with several ambitious projects in the works—I think it might be prudent to at least explain what I’m trying to accomplish here. What are my goals for Let’s Get Off This Rock Already? What kind of content can you expect in the future? What’s coming next for my writing, as we look ahead to 2025? I offer answers to all these questions, and more, in today’s first-ever State of the Blog.
It’s hard to believe it’s been six years since I first posted here. Eight, since I registered the domain name. Let’s Get Off This Rock Already! began life all the way back in 2016, during my senior year of high school, when I had the crazy idea of writing things online where other people could see them. My original concept (above) was fairly similar to what eventually evolved: I would post reviews of science fiction books, movies, and computer games, alongside various spotlights of space-related topics. Sad to say I never got around to doing a Spaceship of the Month, though.
And now—we’re in 2024! I’m already coming up on the hundred-post mark, depending on how I count them, and even if email subscriptions are more sluggish than I would like, search traffic has been better than ever. August alone saw 563 page views, compared to 463 for the whole of 2019. That’s solid growth no matter how one slices it. My ambition is to expand on that firm footing, getting my work out to more and more people, though I have no intention of sacrificing my artistic vision in doing so.
What do I mean by artistic vision? Well, in today’s ever-shittier internet, amid the roiling seas of clickbait and AI-generated mediocrity, I want my own contribution to be… something else. Any idiot can have ChatGPT write a blog post for them; some who might not be idiots, but are certainly talentless mercenaries, can do quite well for themselves churning out piles of AI-produced drivel and optimizing it with SEO tricks. Not me! Everything I write here, I write because I genuinely believe in it—and I hope my readers will believe in it, too.
Part of my vision for Let’s Get Off This Rock Already! is a broad focus, rather than sticking to any one particular niche. While the site began with a mandate for only two subjects, space exploration and science fiction, I soon added alternate history to my mission statement, and these days, almost anything goes: vampires, ’90s submarine movies, screwing around with generative AI. Does this make me unfocused? Arguably. Will it be harder to market? Without a doubt. On the other hand, the eclectic mixture on offer here is something you’ll never find anywhere else.
You can expect a few things going forward. The posting schedule will remain every Sunday morning at 07:00 PST. I reserve the right to take occasional pre-announced breaks, as I did in August; doing so helps me rebuild my backlog and avoid burnout. A lot of my uploads—in particular, the factual deep-dives like “Lost Cosmonauts” and my piece on telescopes–are labor-intensive like you wouldn’t believe. Even my reviews of books and movies can involve a hefty amount of writing. But while the posting schedule remains a challenge at times, I’m confident I can maintain a consistent pace for the foreseeable future.
There will also be a heavier emphasis on original narratives: short stories and personal nonfiction. Next week I’ll publish an essay drawn from my middle-school experiences, a coming-of-age story filtered through my walks in the woods. Other stories and essays are on the shortlist for the months after that, to be sprinkled among my usual reviews and scientific/historical explainers. My hope is that these will demonstrate my skill as a fiction writer in advance of later, longer works.
Which is to say—I’m writing a novel! I’ve alluded to it a handful of times before, and rest assured I’m still making progress, though it’s a grinding, miserable, trench warfare kind of progress, rather than the swift blitzkrieg I once hoped for. Publication is planned for the summer of 2025; the formal announcement, including cover art, should go up in January at the latest. For now I’ll leave you with this little teaser:
Looks like that’s about all for today, folks. Hopefully I’ve clarified a few things about what my vision is for this site, and what you can expect in the weeks and months ahead. It’s only going to ramp up from here! I’ll catch you next Sunday with “Journeys in the Fever Forest”—an essay about woodland wanderings, and a whole lot more besides.
- Except for the weekend of August 18th, which passed conspicuously without an upload. In my defense, though, I announced that gap in advance. ↩︎
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