A Shift in Direction: Let's Talk.

Photo by Alexandru Acea on Unsplash

TLDR// I’m not ending or shutting down Hazel Allen Writes, just taking a step back to focus on other projects. I’ll still post here from time-to-time.

Hey there, welcome into my office, please— I insist, have a seat. Comfy? Good, good. Now let’s talk. Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad. Well, it might be different, and sometimes **different** can be bad. But let’s just dive in, and we’ll see what you think afterwards.

I started Hazel Allen Writes back on May 27th, 2024— almost an entire year ago. That alone is so incredible to think about. The idea that I’ve been blogging, creating, and writing here on Substack? For years I’d struggle to commit to something like this, but on here it finally came. I show I could do it.

But it’s not without its ups and downs. I’ve struggled a lot with keeping post consistency going, as well as engaging with others here.

This was in fact reflected in the growth of this blog, being at around 40 - 50 subscribers by January of 2025. I wasn’t really growing, despite everything I was trying to do with this blog: Author Spotlights, Book Reviews, Short Stories, and Poetry.

Perhaps I was trying to do too much with one blog, and wearing myself out.

But then that very January, I discovered

Bradley Ramsey

, who is probably one of the most influential members of the creative writing community here on Substack. He taught me a fair bit about staying engaged, and also inspired me to keep trying on this platform.

I’m not saying I’d left Substack or anything like that though. Just that I probably wouldn’t have tried so hard to grow.

But still, my brain flounders as it comes up with new ideas. And naturally I can’t keep up with everything, every single time I want to try something new. I find myself in this spot now where I’m trying to run Hazel Allen Writes, be the chair of The Poe-Tato Writing Collective, and do BookStack all at the same time.

Meanwhile, I am working a full-time job and possibly going to be getting a second (part-time) one soon.

So I’m already pressed for time and trying to balance all of this stuff all the time. I think people already know I tend to dip in and out with my posting consistency. This kind of gives you a better understanding of why that happens.

There are also days where I just can’t focus at all just due to executive dysfunction.

I want to do all these things but realistically I can’t.

So what does this mean for this blog?

You may have noticed I’ve been posting more frequently the past week here, with the Becoming Lego poetry posts. Those were all written in advanced. After those poems are out, I’m going to be hosting one more Poetry Prompt Weekly, and then I’m going to put that on the backburner.

Hazel Allen Writes itself isn’t going away, as this is a personal blog. And I’ll use it from time-to-time for poetry, short stories, or personal pieces like this one. But it won’t be my primary blog anymore.

I understand if that upsets or saddens some people, and will cause a dip in subscribers maybe.

The community oriented publications are where my focus is at now, and I want to keep committing myself to them as much as I’m able to. BookStack especially, because it’s one of my core missions as a writer and indie author to uplift other Authors as much as possible.

I thank you all for supporting this publication, and taking the time to read this. I know it’s not what many of you want to hear. But it’s important to me to communicate my feelings, and acknowledge how my focus is shifting.