2023: Well that was quite a year.

About four weeks ago, I made a pledge to myself that I would restart my blog on here and try to post regularly. During a period I was working on Vigilance, the third novel in the fractal series, and also managing a few other projects to completion. Suddenly, with the word count requirements going up, the deadlines getting closer, and everything else, opportunities to write a blog post every week started to evaporate.

So, here we are again. New Year, new resolution. Every week I intend to write a blog post updating anyone who is interested in one up to and what I've been doing. Hopefully, 2024 will see this pledge being more successful.

So, what I've been up to over the last few weeks? Well, as mentioned, I had an imminent deadline for Vigilance. At the beginning of December, after a productive few months, I still had 50,000 words to write. So, December had to be the most productive writing month I have ever had if I were to meet the deadline in time.

Many be clear. I generally don't write a lot of fiction in the winter. The reason for this is that semester one is always the most busy period of my academic year. When I'm teaching modules in semester one, I find that I have a lot to do with marking and with creating content for the different sessions. As with most university degrees, the first semester is always about heavy loading, with the second semester about extended project. The latter is generally easier on the academics, providing a bit more time for research projects and the like.

Thankfully, with Vigilance, I was already immersed in the story. 70,000 word into a novel means that you are well into the plot and often the third act of a story is all about resolving the events that you have set up earlier on. In the case of Vigilance, the scope of my narrative had changed quite a lot from how I had considered it previously, owing to the presence of the additional fractal episodes, which are currently being published. This widened the plot considerably, and gave me a variety of new characters who I really wanted to weave into the main narrative. Any opportunity where that could happen, I started to exploit. Even down to small cameos with character names inserted in different extracts. I know that this will help when it comes to developing the story further after the third book is released.

By 31st of December, I reached my goal. 50,000 words in one month. The website Nanowrimo, regularly sets this as an achievement goal for November. I have never completed that goal. I did try to do rhino the first year was set up, but completely misunderstood the website and posted hundred and 20,000 word novel on the first day of the month. I got hate mail from participants, complaining that I couldn't possibly have written everything within 24 hours. Of course, I took down my post immediately. I had thought that this was a month for people to post up the novels, not for encouraging people to write. I haven't really been back to Nanowrimo since.

However, despite reaching my writing goal, Vigilance was not finished. It took another couple of days to tweak edit and write the final scenes for the first draft. Still, this was within the holiday period, and meant that my editor was able to start work on the first day back in 2024 with a drafted manuscript on his desk.

I'm not sure how successful the story is at this stage. I was fine that I doubt myself when a bit in the days after a completed draft has been submitted. When my thoughts strayed to the story, I find myself having ideas and remembering things, then wondering if I have included them in the draft. Of course, there will be another chance to right from the beginning.

I also have a short story in a forthcoming anthology with PS Publishing. The draft copy was returned to me just before Christmas. The amount of edits required were minimal and this was quickly dispatched back to the anthology editor, Dan Coxon. I really like working with Dan. He was one of the editors who helped with Resilient (2022) and he is a regular attendee at Fantasycon. His careful suggestions on my short story were immediately accepted, and I resolved the questions that he asked about the story.

In terms of publications in 2023, I have been incredibly fortunate.  The Historical Dictionary of Fantasy Literature  came out in June, published by Rowman and Littlefield and the Fractal Episodes, Europa, Ceres, Lagrange Point, and Terra have all come out in the last few months. Additionally, I had an essay in the fabulous gaming collection from Aconyte Books,  What Boardgames Mean To Me , along with some of gaming's greatest names. The UK publication of this comes out in February 2024.All of these opportunities have led to other opportunities. I've enjoyed working with new people, getting used to new processes. Everything bodes well for what may come in the future.

I also had a short story in Adventures in Space, published in March 2023. This was a collaboration between UK and Chinese SF writers. This was edited by Professor Patrick Parrinder, who I had the good fortune to work with a little when I was reviews editor for SF Foundation.

However, this long extended period of writing during the winter has taken its toll. I tend to find that my workload during this period along with the colder weather makes me nest a little bit. Other projects are discarded and left on pause whilst I try to manage the immediate requirements on me that have deadlines. During this last winter, my health has suffered. I have had issues with my back for nearly 30 years. However, the pain I experience in early mornings generally goes off, only to return in the evening or the next day. Unfortunately, the last few months have not seen this happening. Instead, my back has given me constant trouble. I had similar issues when I was completing my PhD in 2017. My health suffered owing to the long periods sat writing.

So, for 2024, a plan to make my physical health a priority. Exercise and diet are going to be an important part of the next few months. I always find that I have more mental capacity for different creative projects when my physical health is better. Hopefully, regular exercise and activity will improve my general well-being.

I'm not sure how much writers talk about this part of their lives. It is easy to fall into unhealthy habits, particularly when you are trying to placate the muse. I want to be creative and to be immersed in a story that I'm telling, so finding ways to surround myself with things that support this or rewarding my engagement with regular snacks and treats can be unhealthy if done the wrong way.

Going forwards, 2024 will bring a lot of really interesting opportunities. Be talking more about those in the next few weeks. What I'm also going to pledge to do is to give regular updates on how I am managing my health. This isn't just for the benefit of you, gentle reader. By documenting how I am feeling, perhaps I may be able to reflect on any improvements as the year rolls on.