So Long and Thanks for Reading

After 200 first lines and 597 posts over almost four years, it is time to say good-bye. I wanted to thank everyone who has stopped by the First Lines blog, I hope you found something useful here. I'll keep the blog up for any newcomers searching for inspiration. You'll find prompts and exercises and interviews and book reviews here. Please have a look around, and I apologize for never organizing it better. It was a constant on my 'To Do' list. Which brings me to why I am ending the blog: my life is busy and I want to start a new project or two, which means I have to let go of a few things.

But I did want to leave you with one last exercise. Though I suppose it is not so much an exercise as it is a way of life. At least, it is a way of life for this writer.

#1. Go new places. Try new things. Never stop growing and learning and experiencing life.

#2. Explore your inner world as much as you explore the outer world.

#3. Observe. Always. Don't put an obstacle between yourself and the world, whether it be a digital device or a judgement. (Being alive is fascinating - I'm not so sure Facebook is.) As for making judgements go back to #2, the more you learn about yourself the more you will realize we are far more alike than we are different. (This is both freeing and disturbing, I'll admit, but it is also the foundation great art is built on.)

#4. Write. And not only for publication or imagined accolades. Write for the sure joy of it.