How to Kill a Series
How do you kill a series? Well, it is a lot simpler than you may think.
With the same loving compassion shown to a faithful horse lamed and suffering, you just walk over and put a bullet through its head. It is the kindest thing you can do for the horse or the series. A brevity of violence can eliminate any future suffering for all the parties involved.
And with that, I must turn to my intrepid steed, ‘Friday’s Phrase’, and hasten it
to the great beyond. I can no longer bear its suffering. Lamed and unable to keep pace with the herd, I must part with any sentimentality. Though being lamed is not its fault but my own, the suffering is still the same. It is a compassionate thing I do. I look away as the hammer falls, in hopes of lessening my sense of loss. Returning to gaze upon its stilled frame and loving face, I know, in my gut, that it is somehow happier now. Lovingly bequeathed to archival life, well-ridden and well-read.
And now there is an empty stable in the barn. The place I visited every week now seems hollow and empty. The barn needs a new foal and the series a new soul. The possibilities are endless with a plethora of strong and beautiful breeds to choose from. It should play nice with all the other animals on the farm and strengthen our community. Maybe it can turn a few heads with its style and grace. So adorable that visitors cannot help stopping to pet it and feed it on occasion. A resounding character that would encourage all the city-slickers to drive all the way out here and read it. I would ask that it could write itself, but horses just can’t fly.
What should I put in this stable? What weekly series of worth? I am open to suggestions, if there is something any of my readers may want to see. I look forward to any comments.
Or will my readers abandon me at auction, leaving me to pick out my own new horse? I will find a replacement to continue with a weekly Friday series, as I enjoy the challenge of writing to a theme. And it has got to be better because, let’s be honest here, it couldn’t be much worse than ‘Friday’s Phrase’. It’s a learning curve folks. My curve is steep in spots, not evenly graduated. Let’s hope the next horse can jump that hurdle.
Make any suggestions below but do it now. I have one week before I must have a new horse in the stall. I am going to swap out this series like a dead goldfish. So fast that the kids won’t even know ‘Friday’s Phrase’ is missing and I don’t have to tell them.
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[…] of the weekly series “Friday’s Phrase” and its penultimate demise, chronicled in the post “How Do You Kill A Series?”. Only to be replaced by the much more popular weekly series “Whittled Words”, a look into […]
commonsensiblyspeaking 
You know that I am a bit sad, as I enjoyed the learning of phrases I never knew the origin of. However, I understand that you want to find a series your readership might be more akin to than they have been to this one. Let your failure become a stepping stone to your success. I have no ideas at this time to suggest, as I do not know your readership’s likes and dislikes; I suspect motorcycles and poetry as your strongest pulls, but the bike will soon be put away for the summer months, and your poetry is already in place. Whatever you choose, I look forward to reading it!
I know you were the biggest fan for Friday’s Phrase. Maybe growing up in a house wrought with Pennsylvania Dutch slang and Northeastern colloquialisms fueled an interest in such origins. Maybe I can use it to highlight a poem by another blogger and thus help in building community. Still undecided for now. Thanks for your comment and loving support!
I’m sad to see it go, and I am sure you are as well. I think it makes blogging a bit easier if there is some sort of routine, and if you knew that every Friday was “Friday’s Phrase”, it provided some guidance on what to write at least one day of the week. Looking forward to seeing what your new series will be. Do you have any thoughts yet?
Haven’t made a decision on what follows yet. I was hoping for suggestions from the audience, but my readers appear to be mum on this subject. Thanks Jim!