On hiatus

Who uses it: Network television executives
What it means: Suspending production of a TV show for some period of time. "Indefinite hiatus" usually means a show will be cancelled.
How you can use it: See you in September.

It's the last day of July, and the last day of the "Terms of Art" blog. This version of the blog has been less successful than "You Talking to Me?", I think, for a couple of reasons: I didn't feel as inspired by the theme, and I lost my best audience halfway through. But thanks to everybody for hanging in there with me, and thanks especially to all the people I don't even know personally who have checked in here over the past 11 months.

My pal Scott Phillips applauded when I said the blog might not come back in September, because he says blogging is a waste of time for serious writers. He's probably right about that; it is far from clear, however, that I am a serious writer. I am a serious reader, which I think is an underrated skill, and I am useful to several serious writers, which pleases me. It remains to be seen whether I have anything of my own to say, but that's one of the things I'll be spending August on.

I'm not going to discontinue the blog, though, because it provides some welcome structure in a life that doesn't have much. I might not post daily, but in the interest of that structure, I will try to keep to a predictable schedule. We'll see how things look in September.

The next incarnation of the blog, when it returns on September 1, will be Answers. People ask me all kinds of questions every day, both personal and professional -- everything from, "How long did it take to travel from Virginia to California in 1849?" to "Is that what you're wearing?" (The latter question came last week from five-year-old Grace Lechner, as I was about to go out shopping with her mother. I was mortified, but it turned out that she just objects to the color pink, which I wear a lot of.)

Anyway, every day I'll post a question I got the day before, with the answer. Feel free to send in questions of your own. I will not be answering questions that are too personal or hurtful (e.g., "Why aren't you married?" "Why did you date that guy?" "Don't you think X is a jerk?")

I'm in Freeport with Grace this morning, and will probably be posting to the Lechner family blog later this week, after we visit the Desert of Maine. I might post a reading list or two here between now and September 1, but other than that, I'm outta here.

Happy August.