It's been a year
It’s been one whole year since I started Papyrus Rampant! Thank you to all my 360+ loyal subscribers, thank you to all my readers, and thank you to all my commenters. As I said six months ago, you’re the ones who give me most of the motivation to keep coming back here to write new posts week after week.
I’m also looking forward to the next six months here, and longer. I’m planning more posts about early American history and Roman history; as well as one on early-installment weirdness in fiction series; one on historical fiction; and more.
Looking back over the last year, I thought I’d call out some of my favorite posts. Please chime in and comment on what posts are some of your favorites!
From 2022 -
Telling the Story of a Social Movement (September 17)
So Many Worlds, So Few Good Books About Them (October 15)
The Smallpox Eradication Campaign (October 22)
From 2023 -
Memories of Childhood Storytelling, Part One & Part Two (January 7-14)
Rigging a Thought Experiment (January 21)
Visions Towards Utopia (April 8)
Emancipation on the Ground Level (June 17)
The Madness of Yankee Doodle (July 1)
Constraints as the Writer's Friend (July 8)
Don’t Deride the Masses (August 12)
I really loved "Constraints as a Writer's Friend" because of the directions it took me in my THINKING--It got me thinking about 10 different examples and/or principles, only a handful of which I mentioned in the comment!
Also, I love that Dorothy Sayers keeps coming up. It's encouraging me to read her--probably starting with the 2nd book of Peter Wimsey. (though I still haven't yet! What's it going to take?!?)
And, as you know, I think the recounting of childhood storytelling posts were awesome!! (I REALLY want them to find an audience elsewhere as well--something that gets moms of little kids thinking, "This could be what their inner world will end up being like," or "Oh yeaaahhh, I remember what it was like for me and my sibling(s)." It's my contention that people often do not sufficiently remember that they too were once children!!)
I understand that this may come across as lazy. I have no favourites. I mean I probably do but mostly I just enjoy that you do this at all. It’s all interesting and readable and thoughtful, but that you put this out and there’s hardly/nary a hint of the stuff that seems to leak in everywhere else that it’s like meeting with a good friend, just to relax and think, when I see your posts. Thanks!
(PS, please enable paid subscriptions- even if you don’t paywall anything I’d pay.)