Friday 26 July 2013

Announcement - The End of At The Back (As You Know It)

Dear reader,

I've been running this blog for about twenty months now and in that time have written close to 600 films reviews, attracting a number of loyal and occasional readers. I'm immensely grateful for every single visitor I receive, it means the world to me that someone would stop by and read what I think about something I'm passionate about. The problem is, that passion has been fading for some time now and I've reached the point where I no longer wish to continue.

The final straw came this morning after I watched Rebel Without a Cause for the first time. I really enjoyed the film and came to write my review as usual but it didn't feel fun. It felt like a chore and that's not how I want to spend my time. I initially started writing about film as a hobby, and grew to love it over the months but recently my passion has waned and I feel like my writing has become uninteresting and sloppy. I can hardly criticise a film maker for making a film I didn't enjoy if I don't have the ability to sum up what was wrong with it in an interesting and coherent way. My thesaurus is being stretched to breaking point and I feel as though I've run out of things to say.


What I've decided to do is take a break. I haven't exactly decided what I'll do and may occasionally write up my thoughts but perhaps with more condensed reviews or maybe I just won't review every film. I'll still continue to watch movies as my enthusiasm for the moving picture is as strong as it ever was but as Winston Churchill famously said, "Tom, if the passion isn't there, just don't bother mate". Wise words indeed.

Again I'd like to thank everyone who's ever stopped by for a read or even just a skim. I've been averaging around 17-18,000 readers a month recently which is something I never dreamed off when I started last year but it feels like I've gone as far as I can for now. I leave you with a couple of excellent bloggers who I've helped to get started in the blogging world so please stop by the excellent Head in a Vice and I Liked That Film if you haven't already, but from me, this is goodbye for now.


 

“This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time.” - Fight Club (1999)

12 comments:

  1. Aww this is sad news, but I understand. I've always been flabbergasted by the volume of reviews you put out. Maybe you'll rekindle your passion if you are more selective with your reviews?

    All the best bud. Don't stay away too long!

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    1. Yeah maybe. Hopefully. I'll still be reading and interacting with my favourite blogs.

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  2. Hey, I occasionally stop by your posts. I guz some time I have commented. All the best.

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    1. Thanks very much for your visits and comments.

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  3. Sorry to hear that your leaving buddy, but at least now I have time to catch up on reading more of your reviews. When you do decide to start writing again I will gladly read more of what you write. I understand your meaning of writing becoming a chore. It's hard for me to just watch a movie without needing to review it right away. Enjoy your break. We all need to have one once in a while.

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  4. Sorry Im so late to this Tom. I appreciate the shout out, and link, but its a shame your stopping. I have been toying with the idea of packing mine in, but kept it going after trimming it down. You do put a lot of reviews out here, I was always amazed at the amount. Hope to still see you around my place, and look forward to you returning to writing one day :)

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    1. Thanks mate. I think trimming down is what I'm going to do.

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  5. That's a shame, I always enjoyed reading your stuff. You're absolutely right though, writing should primarily be for you and you should do it because you want to not because you feel you have to. I hardly have time to write these days, so when I get the opportunity I still enjoy it.

    Anyway, enjoy your break and take it easy man.

    BTW You're on Google + right? I've done a few film review Hangouts before and I should really get back into it if you're interested.

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    1. Cheers. I'm going to come back slowly and definitely won't be reviewing everything from now on. I've had about ten days off so far and haven't felt compelled to write anything until this evening but I'll be choosing what I write about from now on, rather than everything.

      I am on Google + but I'll be honest, I have no idea how it works. If I can work it out, I'd be happy to take part some time.

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  6. That's a real shame Tom, but yeah if you're not enjoying it any more then taking an extended break is probably a good thing. I hope you come back at some point, and if you do maybe try cutting down on the number of reviews? You're like a machine at times dude, no wonder you burned out!

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    1. Cutting down is exactly what I'm doing. I've ignored the blog for a couple of weeks and now I'm only going to write when I really want to rather than because I feel I have to.

      There's no point in writing 30 reviews a month if it's no fun. I'd rather write a couple that mean something to me.

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