I launched a project on February 29, 2016 (Leap Day) called the DK Chronicle. I decided to share my last post first. It’s a little messy because I’m not sure how the chronicle is going to turn out.
(PARENTHESES TO EDIT FOR FINAL DK CHRONICLE POST)
It is with (hesitation/relief/defeat/indignation) that I make this announcement today. After (insert number of minutes I worked on this project), I realized that I no longer have the (time/willpower/belief/credibility) to continue the DK Chronicle. It was the pressure of (strangers/critics/people close to me/my own doubts) that finally pushed me over the edge.
The DK Chronicle started with good intentions. I wanted to create space to explore different types of storytelling. The Chronicle began as a lab to test my own ability to communicate in a variety of ways.
I approached The Chronicle with fear and anxiety, and after a few late nights writing alternate scripts for West Wing episodes. I have trouble sharing stories that are authentic to me. When I care about something, I shield my feelings and become a timid storyteller. (A sentence on this being the reason the project failed).
I cared about connecting with my audience. I did not want to write for people easily distracted by shiny object or old Top-40 hits. I thought about writing pieces for my younger self (and maybe stop him from starting the DK Chronicle). Perhaps I could write for people interested in topics that interest me (I could not). I wanted to create things that I would want to come across online.
I knew that I would make mistakes (LIST BIG MISTAKES). I was (rightly) afraid no one would read The Chronicle. I might become an inside joke among people I knew (LINKS TO MEAN TWEETS). I tried to leave the door open to anything that might let The Chronicle evolve (but I tripped over my own hesitations).
I wondered, what’s the worst thing that could happen? I had a few thoughts. North Korea could love the Chronicle, adopt it as doctrine, and use it as justification to attack South Korea. I could break the Internet, and when they found out that I broke it, they would drag me off to internet jail where no one would let me use Twitter (plus or minus?).
Lawsuits entered into my mind. What if I plagiarized someone through telepathy, or wrote about a fictional character that turned out to be Stranger Than Fiction? What if everyone lost respect for me and I never got another job as a writer, journalist or lemonade squeezer?
(A paragraph on why I ultimately failed on all accounts if that’s what happened. That’s probably what happened. Talk about how I never could get past my doubts. I had trouble with the fake voices of people who might read The Chronicle, but in real life ignored me. Mention how I’m getting out of creative fields all together and taking a job as an insurance adjustor or a crossing guard.)
Thanks for braving the cold Internet to read this piece and consume any other piece from the DK Chronicle. By the way, it was called the DK Chronicle because my initials at the time of starting this project were D and K for Derek Kessinger (I realize that I might have changed my legal name in this time period). If any of my work here resonated with you, please send those thoughts to the therapist I employed because of anxiety caused by The Chronicle (INCLUDE ADDRESS).
—End it with a quote that best fits the situation:
“Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip it’s been.” —The Grateful Dead
“The best-laid schemes of mice and men, often go awry.” —John Steinbeck
“Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow.” —William Shakespeare
“Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike, they’ve all come to look for America.” —Simon and Garfunkel
“Well, live and learn. At least we lived.” —Seinfeld
“I’ve made a huge mistake.” —Gob Bluth
“Here’s some simple advice: always be yourself. Never take yourself too seriously. And beware of advice from experts, pigs, and members of Parliament.” —Kermit the Frog