Farewell, Adiós, Kawsaypuni, 안녕히 가세요, by Josh Stallings

My first post with Criminal Minds was March 2021. That seems like a blink ago. When I I received the email from Catriona McPherson asking if I’d “consider joining the squad.” I went three steps beyond chuffed. I screamed “yes,” at my keyboard, not knowing how actually great working with this amazing group of writers would be. And it has been wonderful. Every one of these writers has taught me important lessons about the craft and business of writing. I’m sure many of our readers will agree Criminal Minds deliver weekly wisdom. 

“Hey, Josh, if these folks are so freaking good, why’re you leaving?” Asked No One.

“Solid question, No One.”

“Then give me a solid answer.”

I am right now typing my 69th post for Criminal Minds, give or take a couple. I, like all the writers here, take this task much more seriously than my sometimes silly or flippant tone would suggest. Once coming up with a proper response that either answers or doesn’t answer the question at hand, it takes three or four drafts for me and Erika to exorcize all the devilish dyslexia from the post/essay. None of this is to engender a poor lil’ dyslexic response. I love writing. I love thinking about life and writing. I have the greatest gig in the world. 

But… In the words of Pee Wee Herman, “All my friends have big butts.” 

As I watch the clock spin by with ever-increasing velocity, it becomes crystal clear that every project I say yes to is a no to something else. Time is my most valuable resource. I am in the middle of the most ambitious novel of my career. It has taken me into worlds both familiar and outlandishly foreign. It tastes like nothing I’ve read or written. It may be the book that burns my career to the ground or reinvents it. That sounds like a lot of hyperbole but it is the facts as I feel them. 

To write an unimaginable book demands I separate myself from thinking about craft and what other writers are doing and focus fully on my internal workings. I need to crawl into a metaphorical cave. Living in a national forest, a real cave is also a possibility. 

That is the why of the matter. I will miss sharing this space with these writers and our wonderful readers. But I know when I come up for air I can check back in to see what you're doing.

Thanks to every one of you for making this such a wonderful place and inviting me to hang out with the cool kids.