Another year over and very little published! My end of 2023 review

As I stare at the paper (well the screen), I dread writing another end of year review, not that I think I have not achieved much. When I do this I always notice I have written far more than I thought and am pleasantly surprised. More so that it takes a while and I think I should be doing something less self-indulgent such as writing a poem, or a flash fiction, or more importantly, editing! However, here I am, another year down, another year older and still tons of unpublished stuff! Hey-ho, on with the review…

The Train Driving Detective

Let’s start with some good news as well as bad news. The great news is that I managed to make the edits I wanted to my children’s chapter book ‘The Train Driving Detective.’ I finished adding in sections then re-edited the book and ran it through my editing program ProWritingAid. I also asked a friend, who happens to be a librarian, to take a look at it. And that is where the bad news comes in, I have not heard from her regarding the manuscript and am too politely British to ask if she has had a look. That, and I am also scared she will tell me that it is utter rubbish! Also, as soon as I am OK with the text I need to think about images within the book. I am notoriously bad at drawing and think it will cost too much to pay someone else to do the illustrations. So, for the moment, I am happy for the book to sit with my beta reader and I can therefore ignore it for the foreseeable future!

A Close Shave with Destiny

Some more good news is that I am actually moving along with ‘A Close Shave with Destiny’ second edition. Some of the pupils I teach have found out that I am a writer when I am not teaching, and a few have ordered the book, whereas others have asked for it to be in the school library. The librarian asked if that was OK and I said, ‘not at the moment as I need to re-edit it.’ That is part of the reason I have been spurred on to complete the second edition. Also, because a beta reader took a look on a paper copy and the amount of paper in my house is ridiculous, so getting it edited also helps me tidy! At present I have about ten more pages to go via the paper copy then will run the book through ProWritingAid. I might even have the second edition out before the end of 2024, complete with shiny new cover.

Poems

Well, well, well, what a year it has been for me and poetry. I took a while to get started, but I nearly got into double figures of poems released. One thing that helped was starting YouTube Shorts, which I will talk about later in this review. By having vlogs that can only be about one minute long, I needed content to add. The reason for going on Shorts was to perform my smaller poems, but being there it also means I can write quick poems and get them up online without too much editing. Not all my poems in 2023 were short, and I am also halfway though another poem with a second and third complete and waiting to go, so expect even more poems throughout 2024. For the moment, let us take a look at what I wrote in 2023, and remember you can read them along with my other poetry on wattpad in my collection ‘Bad Poetry You probably never want to read,’ or listen to me reading them on my YouTube channel.

Shorts – In March I started my YouTube Shorts career! The first video may have been me explaining that I was doing YouTube Shorts, but I felt I better following it up with a poem. This is a jokey one (really, I did a comedy poem?!) about how I thought that when I was told Shorts was the way to go that it meant I should be wearing shorts. I know, it is all very funny. Anyway, you can read the poem here. 

Hitting the word count – The first of two poems I wrote in April was about the idea of elongating sentences and using extravagant words when you need to explain something in a given number of words but could not get to that number. If you think of university essays where you need to get somewhere between two word counts but do not have enough to say. Interestingly enough, I was the other way around at uni, blowing the word count to shreds. This poem was also inspired by the program 4theWords, where you need to write so many words per day. More about that particular program later in the review. For now, you can read the poem here. 

Sitting on the loo – The second poem in April was about the fact we do so much using mobile phones these days, even going to the toilet is no longer sacred as we spend those few moments scrolling on social media, playing games or sending emails. I write a lot using my phone, and have done so when sitting on the toilet. It may make you feel ick thinking about that, but you’d be lying if you said you don’t use your phone whilst on the toilet! You can read the poem here, whilst on the toilet if you like. 

Fit check – In May, I wrote a poem by request. Yes, someone asked me to write a poem. No, I don’t understand why either. The request came from some pupils I teach, they wanted me to name drop them but I said I do not do that as I want my writing and teaching to be separate parts of my life. Well, there is some crossover but very rarely. Anyhow, apparently a fit check is something they do on social media where people show you what they are wearing and explain where they got it from. If I did not work with young people I would never have known that. Oh well, it made me write another poem so cannot be all bad. You can read the poem here.

What if you cross…? – In June I wrote a bit of a random poem. ‘What if you cross…?’ happened when my mind wondered, probably as a coping mechanism for all the information that is flying at me. I started merging parts of animal names to make new funny sounding animals. It started OK but then got quite rude. I thought I could make the little game in my head into a poem, so I stripped out the unsuitable ones and popped the others down on paper (well typed them in). You can the read the poem here.

My first haiku – In September I tried my hand at a haiku. I had wanted to write one for a while but never really felt ready. When deciding what the topic should be, I had the clever thought of writing a haiku with the wrong number of syllables in it. Actually, that means that the poem was really easy to write. I have written a second sister poem to this one that has the right number of syllables, but that one is not out yet. For now you can read ‘My first haiku’ here. 

Refuge – October is National Poetry Day in the UK, so this year, as usual, I wrote a poem for it. The themes tend to be quite hard hitting, and this year it was ‘refuge.’ My National Poetry Day poem is usual serious, one of the few serious poems I write. In 2023 I tried something a bit different, making a funny poem out of the serious theme. Like previous years, I read it at the school I work at. They liked it so I hope you do too. You can read the poem here.

Climate change – I released a second poem in October. This one was all about climate change. I had written it about a month earlier, but not got around to releasing it. With National Poetry Day done and NaNoWriMo coming up (I will mention more about this later in the review), I had a short window where I could sneak in another poem. ‘Climate change’ is a tongue in cheek look at climate change denialists. My feeling is that man made climate change is real, and even if it is not, then do you really want to destroy animals habitats and make species extinct? You can read the poem here.

Downhill – Right at the end of 2023, deep in December, I released my ninth and final poem of the year, ‘Downhill.’ This came about as I fancied recording some poetry in places other than my house. I was on a school ski trip and thought it would be awesome to record a YouTube Shorts vlog on top of a mountain. Unfortunately, due to when I got the poem written and being a surrogate parent to almost sixty children, I did not have time to record on top of the mountain. However, I am happy with the poem so have released it anyway. You can read it here.

So there we go, probably my best poetry haul in a year. The collection ‘Bad Poetry You probably never want to read’ is getting closer and closer to having enough poems to be released on Smashwords. Interestingly enough, I have two more poems complete and ready to be released, as well as a third that is halfway through. That third one is a bit of an epic in poetry terms even if the subject is not too serious. So look out for even more poetry in 2024. For now, get yourselves on to wattpad or over to YouTube and either read or watch me reading my poetry. Any comments, both positive and negative, are most welcome.

The First Flash of Hope

As has been mentioned earlier in this review, a large part of the year has been spent editing. I really need to get some of my work ready and released rather than starting new items. That said, I did start a new children’s chapter book, but I have 4theWords to blame for that! Along with editing, you can see I have written lots of poetry. That meant my sci-fi flash fiction collection, ‘The First Flash of Hope,’ was neglected a little. I did manage to write two more flash fiction stories for it though. If you want to read them, along with the others in the collect, then head over to wattpad.

Liberation – In May came a serious story about a group of humans liberating a planet from another alien race that had taken over. Amazingly, the story is inspired by a Futurama episode I love. Safe to say that, as with many of my other flash fiction stories, there is a twist at the end. You can read ‘Liberation’ on wattpad here.

Space station Earth – In July came the second flash fiction story. This one is based around the Earth being uninhabitable, so different countries have built space station modules and connected them together to orbit the Earth. But is everything as clear as it seems? It is one of my stories, so clearly not! You can read ‘Space station Earth’ on wattpad here.

So, my flash fiction collection continues to slowly grown. I do have to thank 4theWords, as that has made me write more, therefore I have needed more projects to work on. ‘The First Flash of Hope’ is a perfect vehicle for using 4theWords, but what is this mystery program? Well, it is only a mystery program if you have not heard about it. Rather than mentioning it multiple more times and confusing you, I will talk about 4theWords now.

4theWords

In 2023 I joined 4theWords after being told about it by The Merry Writer Podcast. I initially started with the free trial to see what it was like, but did not intend to pay the about £4 per month for the program. However, very quickly I realised how it motived me to write. In a nutshell, it is an online writing program that acts as a role playing game. You have different monsters that you fight, each a different word count and time limit. Writing the words in the time limit means you defeat the monster. You then have different quests you need to complete and you can level up to make monsters require less words to defeat. You also have armour and drop items that you can use to construct different, more powerful items. Along with this, there is an online community of writers as well as loads of customisable options from the way your character looks to building them a little home. The best part, you have writing streaks. To get a streak you need to write four hundred and forty five words a day. The more days you do this, the longer your streak, the longer your streak, the more items you get. So now I make sure I hit at least four hundred and forty five words a day, be that actually words of the equivalent time it would have taken me to write them as I edit.

Wow, that was a whistlestop tour. How do you find out more though? You can either head to the site yourself, or take a look at the review I did on this blog early in 2023. I would suggest you head to the site and have a go at the trial, it is free so you won’t lose anything.

Vlogs

Vlogging has continued strongly throughout 2023 with me reading my poetry and flash fiction stories when they have been released. I was also told that the best way to gain more engagement was to do YouTube Shorts. As I have many short poems, I decided to add this to my vlogging portfolio. I recorded some of my older short poems, as well as releasing some new short ones. I also got a new phone, so the quality of the videos is slightly better, although I do have to say that seeing my face blurry is a lot better than in HD! You can watch my vlogs over on my YouTube channel, again any comments are most appreciated.

The Gift

Last Christmas I gave you my heart…no, wait, that’s not what I meant to say. Last Christmas (2022) I took part in an advent story challenge created by Ari Meghlen. The idea was to write a flash fiction story using the prompt ‘The Gift’ and release it on a specified day. I mentioned this in last years review, but the reason I am bringing it up is that the story I wrote, which is about a man who lives as a hermit but finds an injured puppy, is now available on Smashwords. Head over there to read it, and feel free to add a review. I am going to add it to my list of books on Goodreads, but it is not on the site so I will probably have to create a new listing.

NaNoWriMo

For the third time, after quite a hiatus I must add, I took part in NaNoWriMo. If you do not know what NaNoWriMo is, it is a challenge where you write fifty thousand words of a novel in the month of November. My choice of book was a sequel to an unpublished piece of work called ‘The Fifth Coin.’ That book is about five coins of Roman origin that give the wielders special powers. It is a bit like a superhero book, but the novel follows a young fourteen year old thrust into that world. Also, the coin bearers are not suited superheroes but people just trying to do good and hide the powers they have. Someone has found out about the coins and is after them. So, yeah, basically I decided to spend some time editing that book, then wrote book two, ‘The Fourth Fugitive,’ for NaNoWriMo. I have always found that I do OK, then have to have a couple of big writing sessions at the end of November to complete the challenge. However, having 4theWords gave monsters with a certain word count meaning I had to keep writing to hit that number, rather than stopping after a few sentences. Also, writing using online platforms and having my phone at my fingertips meant I could write from literally anywhere that had internet connection. All in all, I smashed NaNoWriMo, completing the target word could almost a week early. Will I do it again next year? I am not sure. One reason I had not done it in so long was that I did not have a project that would be suitable for it. I now know I have it in me as I have complete NaNoWriMo three times, but I don’t just want to rush in each year without anything worthwhile to write.

If you took part in NaNoWriMo then well done. I hope you completed it. If not, then take a look at their website and see if it is something you might consider doing in the future. They also have many other projects on the go all year round to help your writing journey.

It’s not Knight Time

I had the idea for another children’s chapter book in my head for some time, but felt I needed to edit and release some of my other books before starting something new. However, when I got 4theWords, I realised I needed to write four hundred and forty five words per day. Rather than looking at what I already had, I decided to start ‘It’s not Knight Time,’ a book about a child obsessed with knights who gets mocked by his peers, only for him to need to use his knowledge when a dragon appears on the village hall. It started well, but has meandered a bit. Also, my new strategy with 4theWords is to edit for fifteen minutes a day. I have worked out I can write about five hundred words in fifteen minutes, so I edit for the this time then past in five hundred words of rubbish to get my word count. This, along with NaNoWriMo, has meant the chapter book has stalled. It was going in a slightly different direction to originally planned as well. However, I will pick it up again, but first I want to get some of my other work published.

Future targets

Now we get to the bit about targets for 2024. I will start by looking back at what I said I wanted to do for 2023. In previous years the target was ‘just write,’ but I have started to add in one or two more to at least push me a bit. In 2023 we had…

• Complete editing on ‘The Train Driving Detective’ – I managed this and the book is with a beta reader
• Have a second version of ‘A Close Shave with Destiny’ ready – not done, but I am deep in the editing process
• Just write something! – at least I can say I did this

For 2024, I am setting myself the following targets…

• Release second version of ‘A Close Shave with Destiny’
• Finish editing ‘The Fifth Coin’
• Just write something!

For once I think I might achieve those targets. Anyway, I hope you have a great year and 2024 brings you success, I hope it brings that to me as well! Finally, if you read some of my work and want to review, comment or message me, then please feel free, it is nice to know that someone out there is accessing my stuff, even if they do think it is rubbish!

NaNo there we go!

I’ve done it, and with about a week to spare. At the time of writing, I completed NaNoWriMo 2023 the day before. This November has been so much busier than previous ones, but somehow I managed to complete NaNo in record time. It is true what they say, if you want something done then give it to a busy person.

So, I thought I would now share some things that helped me complete NaNoWriMo in case you want to do it in future years and need some tips…

• Planning – I am a planner at heart, sometimes this is just having key points in the story I want to hit and working my way between each point. However, for NaNoWriMo I planned in detail, this meant I never really got writers block, I just checked the planning and was away. I created simple character bios, chapter outlines and a timeline of events. When I needed info it was at my fingertips.
• Research – Many novels require research. Rather than wait till I was writing to research as I went along, I did it all in the planning stage before NaNoWriMo. Yes, there was some other research I needed to do as I went along, but the bulk of it was done before hand, so rather than spend what time I had looking things up on the Internet, I just took a glance at my notes.
• Online writing tools – I made sure that I wrote using online tools, especially online word processors, this meant I could write from anywhere. I added words whilst waiting for the train, in those five minute breaks you have throughout the day, on my own computer and on other’s computers I was using. All I needed to do was log in. For me that was Google Docs. Basically, once on a computer, I just took ten seconds to log into Google and I could write. Another tool I used was 4theWords, this is an adventure game where you have to write words to defeat monsters. As different monsters are different numbers of words, you can choose a size based on the amount of time you have to write. Before using 4theWords, I could stop writing at points, especially when not motivated. But this time, if I chose a 500 word monster I had to hit 500 words. This was a massive motivator to get things done. The monsters have time limits too so you can’t just leave them till later. You either have to write or get defeated. The fact there are quests means you sometimes need to defeat specific monsters. One quest needed a 2000 word monster and one day I had an hour and a half to write. Safe to say it motivated me and I hit my word count that day very quickly. At about £3.50 a month for a subscription, I think 4theWords is definitely worth it.
• No editing – one big rule is DON’T EDIT! The editing process comes later, you may need to reread little sections of your novel to get back in the flow, but don’t go deep diving into editing. NaNoWriMo is about getting the words down.
• Two thousand word target – the target for NaNoWriMo is 1667 words a day. I found it helps to set a higher target. For me, I went with 2000 words. Did I always hit it? No. But I did always write over 1667. A couple of days I hit two thousand words with some time in the day to spare. Most of the time I did not stop when the target was met, instead adding a couple of hundred extra words. Basically, set a higher target than needed and if you hit it then it does not mean you have to stop writing.

So, now I have finished NaNoWriMo, what next? Well, the challenge may be over but the story isn’t. I still have four more chapters to write. The plan then, is to slowly get through those. Once written, I will put the novel to rest for a while and pick back up some editing I was doing before NaNo.

I hope these tips help and if you are doing NaNoWriMo I wish you all the success you can have. Right, I’m off to lie down for a bit and try to forget about words for a while! And finally, keep a look out for my books being published in the future. How far in the future I don’t know.

YouTube shorts

I said in my 2022 end of year review that there was something special happening with my YouTube channel, and that it was a pretty obvious thing! Well, here it is, I am now making YouTube shorts. I was told toward the end of 2022 that if you want more views on your YouTube channel you need to do shorts. I am not usually one for such things as I find those quick videos can be a bit annoying, or rather they are full of people dancing, moaning about others and pushing their political views. Then I realised that I had a few poems that were rather short, just a few lines, a limerick or an acrostic poem. I have not recorded these for my YouTube channel as I felt that the video would be too short and not really worth it. However, they do fit YouTube shorts perfectly, so I have decided to use the shorts format and will record some of my shorter poems and published the videos that way. I will also have some newer short poems for you too. However, for now you can watch me present the introduction of YouTube shorts to my YouTube channel with a terrible joke!

I usually write something self-deprecating here but can’t be bothered this time! My end of year 2022 review

So, another year is over. This one was, thankfully, a little more normal. Although, in terms of writing it was a bit of a failure. I did well with poems, and managed to get some flash fiction stories completed, but as far as novel writing goes, it was terrible. I do hope to put that right this year. In fact, the two areas of my life that have gone by the wayside are running and writing, so that will be the focus of 2023. Anyway, enough of what went wrong! This post is supposed to be all about celebrating success, so here we go…

The Train Driving Detective

Erm…so…yeah…about my children’s chapter book ‘The Train Driving Detective’…basically, I am not much further through it than I was before. Yes, I have had some good comments back from both my beta readers. But it has meant more work with editing. Basically the mystery was a bit too easy to solve, even for the intended age range. I have therefore decided to add some more bits of misdirection as well as a whole new character. These changes started well, but then I lost a little interest and got busy with other things, so it all stalled a bit. I did go back to the book, but that only lasted a few days. So, I am at the point where I will be finishing the story but need to gee myself up a bit. I think that last year when I got into writing modes, I went with poems and flash fiction. This year I will put novel writing first….well I’ll try.

Poems

It was an OK year for poems. Not my worst, not my best. I decided last year to write down the titles for poems in the notes section on my phone, then when I had enough time I would pick one of the titles and write a poem. Then I ignored the list and wrote poems as they came into my head. I am pretty happy with the poems I wrote in 2022; a brief look at some of my previous poems makes me feel like I have developed my style a bit, not much, but they are improving. Probably still not worth reading! As with previous years, I have recorded vlogs of me reading my poems soon after each was released. You can watch the videos on my YouTube channel. Anyway, here is a list of the poems I wrote in 2022, you can read them by clicking the link at the end of each description. You can also read them, along with my other poems, in my collection on wattpad entitled ‘Bad Poetry You probably never want to read.’

Festive Chub – I started off the year well by getting a poem ready in January. I am not the fittest person in the world, but like to be a little careful with my food intake as well as doing lots of sports such as running, football and badminton. I do, however, eat a lot of treats over Christmas and New Year. I saw a meme of Chris Hemsworth as Thor going from his usual toned physique to fat Thor, with the caption ‘Before Christmas’ and ‘After Christmas.’ This inspired a poem about the weight we put on during the festive period. You can read it here.

Valentine’s Day – The poems kept coming quick and fast, and in February I had the second poem of the year out. This was about one of my most hated holidays, Valentine’s Day. I suppose it is about a celebration of love, but always feels to me like the one day of the year you are supposed to be romantic and in love. It is as if you can love someone for one day a year, but can treat them like dirt for the rest of the time! You can read the poem here.

I’ve Been Found Out – Something happened in March which inspired a poem to come out in April. As you may know, I am a teacher, and in March some of my pupils found my YouTube channel. Safe to say I got loads of extra views. Some pupils were a bit cheeky about my poetry and short stories, some were very supportive. I thought therefore I would do a poem for the pupils I teach. It is a bit of a cheeky one about people who lead double lives, and includes me as the double life of teacher and writer. You can read it here.

Gotta Keep Running – You had to wait till July before getting my next poem. Work and general life taking over and me having to put writing on the back burner for a bit. As you may be able to tell from my blog posts and tweets, I do a bit of running. On one outing I was finding it hard to keep going but kept telling myself, ‘gotta keep running.’ As I ran, a few other lines came into my head. I got home and decided to write a poem from these lines. Obviously I had a shower first, I’m not that disgusting! You can read the poem here.

Do You Remember? – In October there is National Poetry Day in the UK. I always write a poem for it and, for the second year running, performed it at the school I work at. In 2022 the theme was ‘Environment,’ so I went down the road of talking about animals that are not extinct but could be if we do not change our ways. It is one of my few serious poems and I hope it hammers home its point. You can read it here.

Can I have some videos with these adverts? – My sixth and last poem of the year came in November. The basis for this one is the fact that we have to sit thought so many adverts online whilst waiting to stream content. It came to a particular head in November when I was showing my class a video from YouTube that should have lasted about twenty five minutes, but with adverts was more like forty. Even worse, it was the same adverts over and over again! You can read the poem here.

Well, I hope you like the poetry I have written and are looking forward to even more in 2023. I have an exciting new development in terms of poetry and YouTube, but you will have to wait a little longer to find out what. Actually, it is not that exciting and nothing particularly new, but hey, I’ve got to keep you on your toes. I am also still considering how many poems to include in my collection ‘Bad Poetry You probably never want to read’ before I say it is complete and release it on Smashwords. You may also have noticed that one of my poems has disappeared. ‘Dirty pants on the floor’ has been taken down due to some reactions. Quite a few people focused on the idea of people getting it on, rather than the point it is about; that the media tells you what to expect in the future, but actually life is quite different. The more I looked at it, the more I could see how it could be misconstrued and therefore, as a teacher and someone who can influence children, I felt it best to retire the poem. Sorry if you liked it, but sometimes these things have to be done. Anyway, there will be plenty more poems coming!

Book reviews

I said last year that I don’t mention the sporadic indie book reviews I do on my end of year summary, but then I thought, why not? It is more exposure to those indie authors, and if it means even one more sale it is worth it. So last year I read a total of one, yes ONE, indie book! I really must do better. In my defence, I am part of a book group and indie books are never really chosen, so that limits what books I can read. Anyhow, in 2022 I read and reviewed the book ‘Don’t Go There!’ by Adam Fletcher. It is an alternative travel log telling of how Adam went to many places that are off the beaten track, and the adventures he had there. Although they are places you possible should not visit, Adam realises that everywhere is special and worth visiting. I enjoyed the book and even got the sequel ‘Don’t Come Back!’ for Christmas. You can read my review here. Or if you feel you don’t need to and just want to go and get the book now, you can grab it from Amazon at…

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0796T9N19

US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0796T9N19

The First Flash of Hope

After resurrecting my sci-fi flash fiction book from limbo in 2021 with a new thousand word story, I managed to write two, yes TWO, flash fiction stories for it in 2022. OK, as mention in the last end of year review, I did write the first of those two in 2021 but did not edit it till 2022, so it counts towards that year and I won’t have anything else said! Anyways, here are the two sci-fi flash fiction stories I wrote…

The Last Hope – This story follows an attack on a planet, the defence are getting decimated. We follow one lone star fighter, the last hope of stopping the attack reaching the surface. I mean, there is not much more to say really. It is a high octane battle in space. You can read ‘The Last Hope’ on wattpad here.

Edge of the Universe – The second sci-fi flash fiction story is based more around a Star Trek style. I used to watch Star Trek when I was younger but got fed up of all the talking and the fact stories wrapped up in the last few minutes of an episode. In my mind Star Wars is vastly superior! Anyway, ‘Edge of the Universe’ follows a massive colony ship that has been travelling for hundreds of years; they get to a swirling wall and are sure this is the edge of their universe. They then realise they might be able to break through to other side, but is that a good idea? The only way to find out is to read the story on wattpad by going here.

So, will there be more sci-fi flash fiction stories in 2023? I hope so, I have ideas but it is not quite on my radar at the moment. For now you can read all six of the stories in the collection ‘The First Flash of Hope’ on wattpad. If you want to hear me read any of the stories in the collection then head over to my YouTube channel.

Vlogs

I have continued to vlog, and in 2022 I created videos of me reading my poems and flash fiction straight after I wrote them. It means if you cannot be bothered to read my stuff you can hear me explain why I wrote it, then actually hear it. Feel free to head on over to YouTube and watch. You could even like and subscribe. In 2023 a new feature will come to the channel, one that a lot of people have been doing for the last few years but I have ignored. Can you guess what it is? Believe me when I say you won’t be surprised when it happens! Anyway, you can get to my YouTube channel here.

Advent Story Train

Another exciting thing that happened in 2022 is that Ari Meghlen, a co-host of the Merry Writer Podcast, set an advent story challenge. This she called the Advent Story Train. Here, twenty four authors were asked to write a one thousand word flash fiction story using the prompt ‘Gift.’ I applied and was lucky enough to be selected. My story was set up as diary entries and is set in the 1600s. A man befriends a wild dog but finds out he might not be able to keep him. My flash fiction was released on 7th December, and you can read it here. It is also available on wattpad, and will be coming to Smashwords later this year. The great thing about the Advent Story Train was all the different authors with their different takes on ‘Gift’ from lots of different genres. If you want to read the stories, all the links are available on Ari Meghlen’s website. I do hope she decides to do something similar this year, as I would be very interested to take part again.

Future targets

So, on to my targets for 2023. I had said for many years that I would set the target of ‘just write,’ and that worked really well. Then I moved back to proper targets and spectacularly failed them! Guess what?! Yep, I’ve done the same again. I have not finished edits on ‘The Train Driving Detective’ or complete the second edition of ‘A Close Shave with Destiny.’ Seeing as I have failed those two tasks for two years, I might as well roll them on to a third year. My other target from 2022 was to write at least one flash fiction. That was the easy target and I managed that. So, going forward, here are my targets for 2023…

• Complete editing on ‘The Train Driving Detective’
• Have a second version of ‘A Close Shave with Destiny’ ready
• Just write something!

Yeah, it ain’t gonna happen (except just write something!), but I can dream! Happy New Year, I hope it’s a good one for you.

National Poetry Day Poem: Do you remember?

It is amazing to think another year has passed, and one where Covid does not seem to be rearing its head as much (maybe because they have stopped looking for it!). So, here we are again, at National Poetry Day (well at the time this is posted). As per usual, I have written a poem for the day using the theme given. This year it is the environment. I found this one easier to write, as the environment is something I think is very important, so have some knowledge of the topic. My first idea is the one I wrote the poem on; the idea of asking people if they remember animals that are still in the wild, then using the last verse to explain that, though this might seem strange, the threat of extinction is all too real. I hope it makes people think of the beauty of nature, and may make them want to take some action. As my poem from last year’s National Poetry Day was so well received at a reading at the school I teach at, I have decided to do the same with this one. Hopefully everyone will enjoy it as much. So, sit back, relax and read ‘Do you remember?’ either below, or on wattpad, in my collection ‘Bad Poetry You probably never want to read’…

Do you remember?

Do you remember

The majestic White Rhino?

Hailing from southern Africa

Its grey hulking mass

Wide mouth and two great horns

A powerful plant eater

Do you remember

The gracious Sumatran Tiger?

Hailing from southern Asia

Black stripes on bold orange fur

A loud roar and huge claws

A deadly hunter

Do you remember

The ferocious European Badger?

Hailing from central and western Europe

Its distinctive black and white face

Low lumbering frame

A nocturnal wonder

Do you remember

The beautiful Lovebird?

Hailing from central Africa

Its colourful plumage flashing in the sun

As it flits from branch to branch

A winged paradise

But these animals are alive now

You may think

But what of the Dodo, the Caspian Tiger?

What of the Sicilian Wolf, the St. Helena Darter?

What of the Guam Flying Fox, the Golden Toad?

All these went extinct in, or just before our lifetime

Do not let our children’s children look on

The Orangutan, the Leopard, the Sea Turtle 

In confusion, wondering what they were really like

New Vlog: Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day may have been a few days ago, but I still can’t stand it! In fact, my wife and myself did absolutely nothing for it. We would much rather surprise each other with treats and outings at random points. I think Valentine’s Day puts too much pressure on people to say ‘I Love You,’ and maybe even suggests that the 14th February is the only day you need to show you love someone. So, taking that into account, I wrote a poem about my feelings and, as usual, recorded a vlog of me reading it. You can watch the video below, or head over to my YouTube channel where there are even more vlogs of me reading poems and short stories. I hope you enjoy. If you do, you could even like the video and subscribe to my channel!

New Poem: Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. This is the one commercial holiday I can’t stand. Where as Easter talks of new life, Christmas is an end of year celebration and the birth of Jesus, Valentine’s Day is just, yeah, love. Almost as if it is telling you that you must show you love someone on that one day, but all the other days of the year don’t matter. Yes, I am slightly hypocritical because I do not celebrate Easter or Christmas in a religious way, making it more about fun, presents and too much food. But they are good excuses to party. Valentine’s Day is just pressure though. Surely if I give my wife presents and treats, take her out and shown her I love her on random days for no reason, then that is much more special. Oh well, just my thoughts; and I have thought this way for years, but have only just written a poem about my feelings. So, here it is, inspiringly entitled ‘Valentine’s Day.’ As usual, you can read it in my poetry collection on wattpad, ‘Bad Poetry You probably never want to read.’ There are also lots of my other poems there too. Otherwise, why not read it below…

Valentine’s Day

I love you

But only for today

I want to make you happy

But only for today

I want to shower you with gifts

But only for today

You see…

As long as I follow this commercial holiday

As long as I give you flowers today

As long as I take you for a candlelit dinner tonight

As long as I buy you chocolates on the 14th

As long as I treat you like a princess for 24 hours

Then I can forget about you for the other 364 days of the year

Well, maybe I’ll get you something for Christmas and your birthday

Love You

I thought this year was supposed to be better! My 2021 end of year review

Well….2021 was supposed to be a great year. We were supposed to finally put Coronavirus behind us and be out partying in the street. Personally, I was supposed to be writing loads, I was supposed to have my children’s chapter book out, I was supposed to re-release my comedy fantasy novella with an update version, I was supposed to write a plethora of poems. Let’s just say that did not happen! But what did happen in 2021? Well, for me, a lot of work. But writing wise, here are the following key points…

Islands of Hope

It seems like years ago I started my serial novel ‘Islands of Hope.’ That’s because it was. The amazing thing in 2021 was that I finished it. Well, I finished the first draft! After a little under four years, the sci-fi adventure about a totalitarian future and the rise of a rebellion (yes it sounds like it has been done before, probably because it has) is finished. I managed to get the last section done in March, but have since left it to settle. My plan is to edit it a bit more, then put it up for free on Smashwords. If you want to read it in its current state, you can head over to wattpad. Let me know what you think, and if there are any changes I need to make before it goes on Smashwords.

The Train Driving Detective

My children’s chapter book I am writing for my son, ‘The Train Driving Detective,’ has been mentioned many times in passing. My hope for last year was to have it out there, either self-published or at least sent to query. I managed to finish my editing then had a search for some beta readers. I got two! Both gave me some great advice and I am now on with making changes to the manuscript. They have stalled in recent months, but at least the project is moving forwards. Once my next draft is done, then I have another beta reader lined up. Hopefully there will only be some minor edits after that and then I can get a final copy ready to go. I would say by the end of 2022, but with the speed I am getting through my writing, it is more likely to be in 2023.

Poems

I thought that 2021 was a bad year for me writing poetry, but as I look back over the last twelve months I realise that I wrote more poems than I thought. I didn’t quite get to the seven I wrote last year, but five is not so bad. I have also started a list of poems I intend to write, so if I have a bit of free time I can just sit down, choose an idea and go for it, rather than previous years of waiting for inspiration to hit. As with last year, I have recorded vlogs of me reading all the poems I wrote in 2021. You can watch the videos on my YouTube channel. So, here is a list of the poems I wrote in 2021, you can read them by clicking the link at the end of each description. You can also read them, along with my other poems, in my collection on wattpad entitled ‘Bad Poetry You probably never want to read.’

Shower poem – I did not manage to write a poem until March, largely due to a lack of ideas. Inspiration finally came in a strange place. Well, actually, a common place of inspiration. In the shower. I thought of an amazing poem, with flowing prose and beautiful imagery. As soon as I got out of the shower however, I forgot the poem. So instead, I wrote a poem about the whole experience of forgetting a poem. It all sounds so meta! You can read it here.

Just a bit off – In April, after going for a walk, I got bitten by lots of bugs. It left me itching a lot and not feeling too great. This got me thinking about other times I have felt ill but had to keep going. So what did I do? Yeah, I wrote a poem about my experiences. You can read it here.

Dirty pants on the floor – In July I got inspiration for another poem based on my life. I noticed that I spend a lot of my time picking up people’s dirty pants. Not randomers or anything like that, people I live with. Basically my wife, son and daughter seem to have the inability to walk the few metres to the washing basket and instead just drop their pants where they get changed. This made me think about those movies where two loves rip each other’s clothes off and leave them strewn across the floor. That image was exactly the opposite of what I was doing. And thus a new poem was born. You can read it here.

Your choice – In October, within the UK, we have National Poetry Day. Every year I write a poem for it, using the theme given. The theme in 2021 was choice, and I decided to write a deep poem about choosing to be kind and nice, implying that that was what we should all be doing. As an added bonus, the school I work at decided to do some poetry reading, and I was encourage to read the poem I wrote. I am proud that it was received well and people were impressed I could write something serious (I am often known as a bit of a joker!). You can read the poem here.

Yet another love song! – I got another poem idea in October, but alas it would be my last of the year! My wife had bought a new CD by her favourite artist and it was constantly playing in the car. I enjoy the musician, but there was one problem. Nearly every song on the album is a love song. It got me thinking about how many topics musicians can write songs about, yet they seem to mostly revolve around love. Surely we can have some more non-love songs! You can read the poem here.

So, not the best year for my poetry, but not the worst! I did also get a few positive comments on the vlogs I recorded with me reading my poetry, so that at least means that it can’t be too bad. I still have three poems on my list to write, so expect a few more in 2022. I am also thinking about when I should stop adding poems to my currently collection and release it on Smashwords. I already have 33 poems, but am thinking I need at least 40. Here’s to another year of poetry!

Book reviews

From time to time I review indie books. Not very often, and only when someone asks me to or if there is a free download I have managed to read. I don’t usual mention these on my end on year review, but one book I read is an anthology collection which includes works by some friends I have made online, Ari Meghlen and Mikki Noble. The book is called ‘From Myths to Monsters,’ and contains short stories about mythical creatures and supernatural beings. It is a great book with an eclectic mix of authors and writing styles. I gave it four stars out of five, you can read my review here. If you are thinking, “no, I don’t need to read the review, this book sounds awesome,” then click here and you can purchase it yourself!

The First Flash of Hope

Some four years ago I started a book on wattpad entitled ‘The First Flash of Hope.’ I decided on it after one of my flash fiction stories got rejected for a magazine. The plan was to write twenty sci-fi flash fiction stories (up to 1000 words each) and slowly update the book before editing it and putting it on Smashwords. Due to focusing on ‘Islands of Hope,’ I stopped after three stories. In 2021 I resurrected the book by writing a new sci-fi flash fiction story entitled ‘The New World.’ The story follows two humans who are searching for a new planet to settle on. They are an advanced party for another group of humans who have escaped the destruction of Earth. The story is what they find on one world. You can read it on wattpad here. I also recorded myself reading it for a vlog, which you can get on my YouTube channel by clicking here.

There would have been a second story for the collection towards the end of 2021 but I was very busy and, after I had written it, I was too lazy to edit it. I did try to start a few times, but other tasks seemed more important! It does mean there will be another sci-fi flash fiction story coming in 2022. I have ideas for more flash fiction stories for the collection (including one I started some time ago but abandoned!) so, as they say, watch this space. SPACE…sci-fi…do you get it? Sometimes I even impress myself!

Podcast

I have been playing The Merry Writer game on twitter for a few years now, and through that have met (online only) Ari Meghlen and Rachel Poli. In September they invited me onto their podcast to talk about the benefits of using wattpad. I was a little worried about going on as I do not feel I am that knowledgeable on the use of wattpad, even though I have been on it for about ten years now! It turns out I know more than I thought. The podcast was recorded over zoom and I think I waffled a bit, but am generally happy with my first go at being a podcast guest. You can listen to the episode I am on using one of the following platforms…

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• GooglePlay
• Stitcher
• Tune-In
• iHeart Radio

Alternatively you can listen to it on YouTube…

Vlogs

I continued vlogging in 2021, mainly by reading my poems, but there were also a few videos of me giving updates and reading flash fiction. The most exciting update to my vlogging is that I have actually started to put thumbnail front covers onto my videos. It makes them seem a little more professional and also ties in with my overall marketing style. It might not seem that exciting to you, but it is to me, and reminds me of my days using Photoshop to create graphical user interfaces for web front ends. I am now using GIMP though, as it is free. Whoa, that all went a little technical! Anyway, you can check out my videos on my YouTube channel by clicking here.

Future targets

So, not as bad a year for writing as I thought, but I still think the overall mark is, “could do better!” I usual set the target of just writing, but last year I decided to try and do three things…

• Finish the first draft of ‘Islands of Hope’
• Complete editing on ‘The Train Driving Detective’
• Have a second version of ‘A Close Shave with Destiny’ ready

I said I would spectacularly fail, and I did! I did manage to finish one of those points thought. So, yeah, my hope this year is to complete my editing of ‘The Train Driving Detective’ and have the second version of ‘A Close Shave with Destiny’ out, but I wouldn’t bet on it! I also hope I will have a few more poems and at least one more sci-fi flash fiction story out too. So, for now it is HAPPY NEW YEAR, I hope you manage to hit your targets and, if you do read one of my books/short stories, please review it. Thank you very much, peace be with you and all that!

Remembering I wrote a Christmas poem

I haven’t blogged in a while; hey, I haven’t written in a while. I just don’t know where the time has gone recently. Other things in life just seem to take over. So, I thought I better post something to show you I am still here. I have written a flash fiction story for my sci-fi collection and it is ready for editing, but I have not got around to it. So, I thought that, as it is almost Christmas, I would post something festive. Well, the only festive thing I have out there is a poem I wrote a few years ago. It is based on the time my family were visiting Father Christmas and his hat fell off. My son picked it up, and in essence save Christmas! As with all my poems, I popped it on my blog, in my collection on wattpad and (actually a year or so later) recorded a vlog. So, here for the festive period, is the poem again, entitled, ‘The boy who saved Christmas.’ You can get to it via my poetry collection on wattpad, ‘Bad Poetry You probably never want to read,’ or read it below. If you can’t even be bothered to read, the vlog of me performing the poem is below the text of it that is below this bit of text. That is a lot of belows for one blog post! Oh well, Merry Christmas and enjoy…

The boy who saved Christmas

The wild blew wild in the chilly night

To anyone else it would give a big fright

But Father Christmas had to go

High above the blanket of snow

The icy air may make bone chilled

But children’s stockings had to be filled

Suddenly a gust of wind blew fast

And grasped his hat as it went past

An image in red dropped to the ground

Spinning like a sycamore seed going round

With a whip of the reigns the sleigh plummeted down

“My hat, my hat,” Santa moaned with a frown

They landed and searched, high and low

In trees, on houses, under lamps that glow

But no matter how hard, they could not find the crown

“Without it I can’t deliver the presents to town,”

Father Christmas uttered with a tear

It would not be such a magical year

But a little way away, coming from church

Slumped a tired boy, who walked with a lurch

He saw a beacon, as bright as the sun

Towards this wonder he decided to run

It looked like a Santa hat you bought from a shop

But the pompon glowed bright, right at the top

He knew in an instance it was no ordinary hat

No second rate knock-off, no cheap piece of tat

It was Santa’s himself and he must get it back

But where was he now, how could he track?

He could use his phone, an amazing app

That would tell where Santa was on the map

But he knew that was not the Christmas way

It would not bring Santa here on his sleigh

He closed his eyes, made a Christmas wish

That Santa would come, quick, sharpish

As if he wished upon a travelling star

He heard the noise of sleigh bells afar

Coming closer, they came at amazing speed

Reindeers of the most fantastic breed

Flying on magic, with a jolly elf behind

Happiness and kindness to them was enshrined

Despite the snow, they landed not with a skid

Then Santa stood there right in front of that kid

He moved in a flash, like a great sprinter

And his glow stopped the biting cold of midwinter

“I see you have found my hat,” he said

“As a reward, tonight you can ride in my sled

Travel the world, give presents galore

Feel the spirit of Christmas and much more.”

The boy was so shocked he barely could speak

Slowly walking to the sled, a magic antique

Although hand painted and flow through the night

There was not a scratch, no sign of a fight

Santa helped him upon a cushion in front of a sack

All manner of toys were contained in that pack

Calling the names of every reindeer

They flew up in the air with a great cheer

The red and white hat now firmly on Santa’s head

They flew to places, about the boy had only read

From the plains of Kenya to the trails of Peru

From the lakes in Italy all the way to Timbuktu

He saw things he never dreamed he would

All of the wonders that currently still stood

And although the icy wind did blow

His heart was warmed by hot cocoa

And all the way round Santa made such a fuss

But then he was ‘The boy who saved Christmas’

Vlog of The boy who saved Christmas

Where have I been? The ‘where I am at’ Summer 2021 edition

Those of you who regularly read this blog may have noticed that there has been a distinct lack of updates recently. It is as if I finished the first draft of my serial novel then hid under a rock. I am glad to say that I have not indeed disappeared, but that I have been ridiculously busy due to taking on a new role at work. A role that will see me ‘snowed under’ towards to end of each summer school term. It means that from now on, around the end of May through to the start of July each year I may be a lot less active. The fact that we have had Euro 2020 (in 2021!) and it has been so hot recently in the UK, has not helped my productivity outside of work. But now it is the summer holidays, I am finding a little time to get some writing related things done. So, yeah, I am still around, and at this point I usually do a ‘where I am at’ post, so this one might as well be that! Here is what I am working on (or rather should be)…

Islands of Hope

My serial novel is now resting in its bed on wattpad. I am not touching the first draft (well I say first draft, I did edit as I went along) for a while whilst I pick up other projects that have sat to the side. That is not to say that you cannot read it, vote for it, or comment on it. Any support or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Particularly as I already have ideas for a sequel which may, or may not, get written. You can click here to have a read.

Bad Poetry You probably never want to read

Someone recently told me that they liked my poetry, and that I read it very well on my YouTube channel. I am sure they were just being nice, but at least that is some positive feedback! I have managed to write two poems so far this year and still have lots of ideas in my head. I hope to keep updating my poetry throughout the year, but they really are written sporadically. I do have an idea for a quick poem and am about half way through a poem I started a month ago but have not had time to finish. So watch this space! Like Islands of Hope, you can get to my poetry collection on wattpad, just click here.

The First Flash of Hope

A long time ago, I decided to write twenty sci-fi flash fiction stories. This was another one of those side projects I put on wattpad whilst I worked on my main projects. With my serial novel, poetry and editing of other projects, it got left by the wayside. This year I resurrected it; well it wasn’t dead, but I wrote another flash fiction story. Will there be another one this year, who knows? But it is fresher in my mind, and I will update it again at some point. Like the other books, you can read it for free so far on wattpad, just click here.

A Close Shave with Destiny

Erm, yeah, so! OK, I have not been reediting it! The comedy fantasy novella set in a moustache is still sitting there. I have a paper copy back from a beta reader with comments on it, but no changes made to the manuscript, and thus the second edition is still not available. The good news is that I got frustrated one night and spent a couple of hours designing a new cover, finishing it off the night after. It looks a lot more professional, but I am not showing you yet as it will be released when the second edition comes out (when I reedit and update the files on Amazon!). I have had a review of the book on Goodreads and it got 4 stars. So why not buy a copy of the first edition, hey, I’ll even give you one for free in return for an honest review! If you do want to buy it you can get it from…

Kindle UK Store e-book version

Kindle US Store e-book version

Amazon UK Store print version

Amazon US Store print version

Children’s Chapter Book

I keep mentioning that I am working on a children’s chapter book. I think I have already stated what it is about somewhere, even though I am trying to keep that under wraps till I start the marketing bit. Anyhow, it has been through developmental edits and proofreading. I am currently doing a final edit on a printed version before sending it to some beta readers. If you would like to beta read the book then feel free to let me know, I don’t mind sending you an electronic copy. Oooohhhh, I’m all with the freebees today!

YouTube

I have had a major development in my YouTube channel this year. I have worked out how to do splash screens, or thumbnails, or whatever they are called. I think my videos are now looking a little bit more professional. They are not amazingly recorded as I am not that great with video technology, but they at least look like I have tried. If you want to listen to any sample chapters or me reading poetry, they head over to my channel by clicking here. I am even considering creating a book trailer for A Close Shave with Destiny, although I am not sure it will be great. I have these ideas of grandeur and nothing ever turns out as good as I hope!

Podcast

I did something amazing the other day. I recorded my first podcast. No, don’t worry, I haven’t got my own podcast, I was a guest on a writing podcast. Bet you can’t guess which one! The episode with me on comes out in September and I am really excited about it, even though I am sure I pretty much waffled throughout the whole thing. More details to come as we get closer to the launch date.

Other stuff

Right, rather than making this post massive, I will just quickly comment on my other projects. No I have not finished reediting World Cup Dreams, no I have not started editing The Fifth Coin and no I haven’t done any more of my sci-fi role playing game. I really am trying to keep to one or two projects at a time. So many ideas, so little time.

OK, I think that is it. Thank you for reading this waffle, and hopefully you now know that I have not disappeared off the planet, but don’t expect lots of blog posts from me. Life is just too hectic at the moment!