December 15, 2024

Writing, Wandering, and Wondering: My Blogging Journey Begins

by Avery Roberts

Writing, Wandering, and Wondering: My Blogging Journey Begins

I started this blog in 2024 with almost the last £60 of my student finances in the run-up to the final summer exams. Ephemeral Dawn represents a bid at an escape from a life the world had not sold me on. That was a life I regarded to be devoid of adventure, meaningful growth, purpose, and beauty; one locked away at the back of an office, working so hard to be of no account, to die having left nothing behind by way of a legacy. And for all that, to have broadly hated doing it.

This, I resolved, would not be my future. So Ephemeral Dawn was born – more out of hope than anything else. But there are many things I love that I feel I can write about, and would like to share with you – it seemed like it stood as good a chance as anything else I’d try.

Why did you name it “Ephemeral Dawn”?

Back at secondary school, I started working on an idea for a novel set in the context of one of my deepest, and most enduring interests: the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. It was very much ignited by a childhood love of Hornblower, following C.S. Forester’s titular character through his career from a young Midshipman aboard H.M.S Justinian to his promotion up to Captain of H.M.S Hotspur, and beyond (in the books – sadly the films ended there). Mine, too, was to follow a young up-and-coming officer: a Lieutenant aboard the Ephemeral Dawn. I adore the name. I love how it sounds and how it looks, and think it suits the beauty and majesty of a ship perfectly. It is also so deeply rooted in nature and metaphor, and this, too, I love. It captures the idea of something beautiful but transient, and I couldn’t think of a better way to view our very lives. We, each of us, are the Captain of our own ships – our own fleeting beauty; our own life, our own Ephemeral Dawn.

There are too many (and yet not enough) great nautical fiction writers, though. C.S. Forester with Horatio Hornblower, Patrick O’Brien with Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, Alexander Kent with Richard Bolitho, L. A. Meyer with ‘Bloody’ Jacky Faber, and though not nautical originally, I can’t overlook Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe stories as another major influence, and love of mine. Any comparison between my work and theirs would be unflattering, I worried, and so stifled by self-doubt and indecision, I shelved this idea to work on another one where I’d be freer to do my own thing without such rigid comparison to others. It is a fantasy-historical series by the name of Daughter of Fury, and it’s been in the works for about four years. I will introduce it properly at some point and link it here for you to look at, if you are interested. This, I intend to publish one day as a trilogy.

What Is Ephemeral Dawn About?

In truth, I’ve never done anything like this before and so the proper way – if there is one – is not likely to be my first. The plan for this website is vague and sprawling. A problem I have is a wide variety of interests that wax and wane at a whim, often with moods. I’m not very good at this ‘niche down’ stuff everyone advises, and have too many interests for that to be appealing. This isn’t actually a problem, but it makes theming a website difficult, as there are so many interests I want to write about that probably don’t really fit on the same page. I know I could circumnavigate this by theming it around me, rather than any one of my interests, but that means putting myself in the limelight in a manner far beyond my comfort zone.

Sometimes I will write about history, about writing, or about life experiences. I also want to dedicate a section to ‘musings’ of some kind, though I don’t think I’ll call them that. But nevertheless, a place to write the sort of ‘thinking aloud’ posts I really like. I’d also like to review things where I feel I have something to say – particularly a creative form of media, like books, games, or films, as I enjoy thinking about things like that too. I’m ever-curious, and so I will also likely write essay-style posts on various topics that interest me as well. In short – all sorts. I’d also really like, with the growth of a community, to do something like a Q&A series, where you ask me things and I answer them. Possibly without any credibility or expertise, but it would be fun nevertheless!

Why did I make Ephemeral Dawn?

As for the “why”, there are longer and more interesting answers I could give to this, but chiefly I just wanted some space online to call my own. A space that was not built on someone else’s empire, or their assent; one where I was not ransomed or gagged, but rather one where I was free to do as I pleased and express myself as I felt was most authentic.

I have become entirely disillusioned with social media over the last few years, and abandoned Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and WhatsApp for – if I can help it – good. I retained Instagram as it was, once, a sort of online scrapbook, and I still have nostalgia for that even if what it is today seems so far removed from that happy conception. Otherwise, YouTube is my only other online presence. To have somewhere that was not ruined by algorithms suppressing truth, and beauty, in favour of promoting deceit and anger, is something that has become important to me. Somewhere not beholden to a stifling corporate monopoly, where free thought is choked and food for the soul is supressed in favour of brain-rot to sedate the compliant masses.

I instead wanted to create a slower-paced, more thoughtful and mature environment for the flourishing of things that, really, interest me. This is the sort of place where philosophers are more popular than celebrities; where leaders are admired more than influencers, and where ideas are more interesting to talk about than gossip. But it is easy to stand against something; that’s what everyone else is doing. I don’t believe this can be the sole basis for anything though. It’s important to stand for something as well. Here, I hope that a gentle kind of intellectualism may flourish. Not that each piece of writing has to be stuffy and pretentious, but that in the subject and content of things written about there is food for genuine thought, and that all of it might somehow tie in to a desire to feed the soul and the intellect. The intention is to do this with particular focus on the past, and on nature, where I believe wisdom is to be found in abundance. I would be very happy if I was able to make you smile, or even laugh along the way, and happier still if I could leave you each time feeling inspired or hopeful, too.

So, welcome to Ephemeral Dawn; to the blog of a 23-year-old aspiring writer setting sail into the vastness of life, with a hope to make something of it. I have an enduring passion for writing, a love of nature and history, and beauty, and seek to pay homage to each here. Whether it be comfort, inspiration, knowledge or entertainment, I hope you will stay with me and find something of value here through my writing, dear reader.

I wish you – whether visitor or follower – good health and happiness.

Ephemeral Dawn

Wanderer. Writer. Aesthete.

Old Soul. Nature Lover.

Ephemeral Dawn is dedicated to the better things in life: beauty, nature, adventure, history and creativity. I created Ephemeral Dawn in the wake of my graduation from university, to be an escape from the monotony of the 9-5 grind and unshackle the soul that it may dance, rather than trudge, through life. Through it, I hope to invite you to do the same, and create here a place – and perhaps even a community – of people and ideas united in a common sense of intrigue, beauty, nostalgia, and hope.