L.R. Fletcher's Blog
August 14, 2025
My author origin story
I didn't grow up wanting to be an author.
I liked reading, and I quite liked writing stories when I had to for school, but never that much. I fancied the idea of making computer games, and in my late teens created a sci-fi world to set one in, but I quickly realised it would take too long to learn to code to the necessary level. I was more interested in the fun creative bits like doodling space ships.
Truth is, I was probably too lazy.
Now I spend chunks of my free time every day working on my writing. And anyone who tells you writing a novel is easy is a filthy liar.
So, what changed?
I watched The Matrix.
Back in 1999, when The Matrix was released, I wasn't a big film fan. Looking back, I didn't find most of the movies I saw engaging enough. This isn't to say they were all bad. I only ever went to the cinema with my family growing up, watching the likes of "Ghostbusters", "The Goonies", "Beverley Hills Cop", "Back to the Future", "Three Men and a Baby", "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids", "Independence Day", "Home Alone", "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure", and "Speed".
The eagle-eyed amongst you will have recognised the last two in that list starred Keanu Reeves. Had I therefore gone to see The Matrix because I was a fan?
No.
I was vaguely aware of the marketing campaign which centred around the question "What is The Matrix?", but it didn't entice me to my local cinema. I can't honestly remember if I ever saw a full trailer.
Sometime after its release, my dad was lent the movie on DVD, and my dad, my mum, and I gathered in his home office to watch it on his PC. This would be the first film any of us had seen on DVD, and we were aware of the positive word of mouth around it, so there was a frisson of excitement.
I was, of course, blown away. It wasn't just the action or how incredibly cool it was. The film had what I'd not realised I'd been missing: substance behind the style.
Critics will claim The Matrix isn't as deep as its made out to be, but that isn't really the point. That it made any effort at all to bake philosophy into the story of a Hollywood action movie was rarer than James Bond saying, "No, I've got a headache". And the philosophy was fully baked in, clearly an integral part of the whole piece. It didn't just throw in a couple of references to give the illusion of depth.
With hindsight, I realise this was one of those true fork-in-the-road moments.
Suddenly, I was interested in movies. I bought myself a PC with a DVD drive, then bought lots of DVDs to play on it. And I started going to the cinema more often. I was educated and entertained by "The Godfather" trilogy, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", "Taxi Driver", "Memento", "The Shawshank Redemption", "Donnie Darko", "The Sixth Sense", "Good Will Hunting", "Heat", "Vanilla Sky", "Lost in Translation", "American Psycho", "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", "Fight Club", "Pulp Fiction", "Saw", "Brick", "Minority Report", "Seven", "American Beauty", "Sneakers", "Schindler's List", and more.
For several years I fed my creativity without having an outlet for it.
One day, I was on my way home from work, trying to work out how to dissuade all bullies from ever bullying again. I don't think there'd been a particular incident that day; it was something I thought about from time to time. I knew how bullying had impacted me and I didn't want others to have the same thing happen to them.
I was less than a mile from home when the idea hit me: kidnap bullies and make them confess to the press! I didn't entertain actually carrying out the idea myself for even a second, but just as quickly, the idea to make that into a film seemed like a perfect way to reach an even wider audience of bullies.
I read books on how to write a movie, bought screenplay writing software, and began work.
It wasn't that simple, of course.
My first attempt was abandoned part way through because I knew it was awful. Aware I wasn't yet skilled enough to do the idea justice, I decided to write something else I was less invested in, as practice, the details of which I won't share because I may write a variation on it someday. I know I didn't execute it well, but it was the first thing I completed, and it gave me new confidence to attack my original idea, with a new twist I'd since come up with.
My second attempt was better; still not great, but I finished it. I knew it wasn't likely to ever be made into a movie. I'd known that all along, really, but had enjoyed the process. And, it was so personal to me that I didn't want to release creative control.
I had this work that I wanted to share and show people, but who reads amateur screenplays? I wanted people to be able to read it.
Around that time, I heard that Stephen King's Dark Tower series was going to be put on screen. I had never read any of his books, but the idea of having multiple different novels all set in the same universe, whether there was any story link between them or not, struck a chord with me.
I had plenty of ideas for stories, including one that would span many years, possibly decades. And I'd always liked the idea of worldbuilding, right back to my early attempts to design a sci-fi game. What if I linked them all together?
That's when The Spike was born.
I won't go into my whole writing process for that first book here, partly because it'd take too long, and partly because it's evolved since. Suffice to say it took me a long time and several drafts to get it to a place I was happy with. And, reading it back through now, I'm still happy with it.
The same way I knew my film script would never get made, I knew publishers would want me to make changes to my novel, and I wasn't prepared to let that happen. Perhaps their editing and marketing would have made it more commercially successful, but I'd told the story exactly the way I wanted to tell it, and that was the most important thing to me.
I put on my mask and cape, became "author L R Fletcher", and self-published my first book, plus three short stories (two in an online magazine that no longer exists).
Writing isn't the easiest of hobbies, and I don't make it easy for myself with what I write and the way I write it (more on that in a future post), but I don't have any inclination to stop until the arc of The Spike is complete.
There's much more to come. I'm excited for you to see what's next.
I liked reading, and I quite liked writing stories when I had to for school, but never that much. I fancied the idea of making computer games, and in my late teens created a sci-fi world to set one in, but I quickly realised it would take too long to learn to code to the necessary level. I was more interested in the fun creative bits like doodling space ships.
Truth is, I was probably too lazy.
Now I spend chunks of my free time every day working on my writing. And anyone who tells you writing a novel is easy is a filthy liar.
So, what changed?
I watched The Matrix.
Back in 1999, when The Matrix was released, I wasn't a big film fan. Looking back, I didn't find most of the movies I saw engaging enough. This isn't to say they were all bad. I only ever went to the cinema with my family growing up, watching the likes of "Ghostbusters", "The Goonies", "Beverley Hills Cop", "Back to the Future", "Three Men and a Baby", "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids", "Independence Day", "Home Alone", "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure", and "Speed".
The eagle-eyed amongst you will have recognised the last two in that list starred Keanu Reeves. Had I therefore gone to see The Matrix because I was a fan?
No.
I was vaguely aware of the marketing campaign which centred around the question "What is The Matrix?", but it didn't entice me to my local cinema. I can't honestly remember if I ever saw a full trailer.
Sometime after its release, my dad was lent the movie on DVD, and my dad, my mum, and I gathered in his home office to watch it on his PC. This would be the first film any of us had seen on DVD, and we were aware of the positive word of mouth around it, so there was a frisson of excitement.
I was, of course, blown away. It wasn't just the action or how incredibly cool it was. The film had what I'd not realised I'd been missing: substance behind the style.
Critics will claim The Matrix isn't as deep as its made out to be, but that isn't really the point. That it made any effort at all to bake philosophy into the story of a Hollywood action movie was rarer than James Bond saying, "No, I've got a headache". And the philosophy was fully baked in, clearly an integral part of the whole piece. It didn't just throw in a couple of references to give the illusion of depth.
With hindsight, I realise this was one of those true fork-in-the-road moments.
Suddenly, I was interested in movies. I bought myself a PC with a DVD drive, then bought lots of DVDs to play on it. And I started going to the cinema more often. I was educated and entertained by "The Godfather" trilogy, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", "Taxi Driver", "Memento", "The Shawshank Redemption", "Donnie Darko", "The Sixth Sense", "Good Will Hunting", "Heat", "Vanilla Sky", "Lost in Translation", "American Psycho", "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", "Fight Club", "Pulp Fiction", "Saw", "Brick", "Minority Report", "Seven", "American Beauty", "Sneakers", "Schindler's List", and more.
For several years I fed my creativity without having an outlet for it.
One day, I was on my way home from work, trying to work out how to dissuade all bullies from ever bullying again. I don't think there'd been a particular incident that day; it was something I thought about from time to time. I knew how bullying had impacted me and I didn't want others to have the same thing happen to them.
I was less than a mile from home when the idea hit me: kidnap bullies and make them confess to the press! I didn't entertain actually carrying out the idea myself for even a second, but just as quickly, the idea to make that into a film seemed like a perfect way to reach an even wider audience of bullies.
I read books on how to write a movie, bought screenplay writing software, and began work.
It wasn't that simple, of course.
My first attempt was abandoned part way through because I knew it was awful. Aware I wasn't yet skilled enough to do the idea justice, I decided to write something else I was less invested in, as practice, the details of which I won't share because I may write a variation on it someday. I know I didn't execute it well, but it was the first thing I completed, and it gave me new confidence to attack my original idea, with a new twist I'd since come up with.
My second attempt was better; still not great, but I finished it. I knew it wasn't likely to ever be made into a movie. I'd known that all along, really, but had enjoyed the process. And, it was so personal to me that I didn't want to release creative control.
I had this work that I wanted to share and show people, but who reads amateur screenplays? I wanted people to be able to read it.
Around that time, I heard that Stephen King's Dark Tower series was going to be put on screen. I had never read any of his books, but the idea of having multiple different novels all set in the same universe, whether there was any story link between them or not, struck a chord with me.
I had plenty of ideas for stories, including one that would span many years, possibly decades. And I'd always liked the idea of worldbuilding, right back to my early attempts to design a sci-fi game. What if I linked them all together?
That's when The Spike was born.
I won't go into my whole writing process for that first book here, partly because it'd take too long, and partly because it's evolved since. Suffice to say it took me a long time and several drafts to get it to a place I was happy with. And, reading it back through now, I'm still happy with it.
The same way I knew my film script would never get made, I knew publishers would want me to make changes to my novel, and I wasn't prepared to let that happen. Perhaps their editing and marketing would have made it more commercially successful, but I'd told the story exactly the way I wanted to tell it, and that was the most important thing to me.
I put on my mask and cape, became "author L R Fletcher", and self-published my first book, plus three short stories (two in an online magazine that no longer exists).
Writing isn't the easiest of hobbies, and I don't make it easy for myself with what I write and the way I write it (more on that in a future post), but I don't have any inclination to stop until the arc of The Spike is complete.
There's much more to come. I'm excited for you to see what's next.
July 6, 2025
an author's review:\Dracula by Bram Stoker
Dracula by Bram StokerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a difficult book to summarise because, for much of the book, there isn't much "plot" happening. Nevertheless, here's a brief spoiler-free summary:
A young solicitor travels to Transylvania to seal the purchase of a London property for Count Dracula, but he's prevented from leaving and is overwhelmed by the horrors there.
Not long after, an abandoned ship runs aground in Whitby, an asylum patient rants about the coming of his "master", and a lady battles a wasting illness that disappears her blood.
A baffled doctor summons Professor Van Helsing, an expert in the Un-Dead, who leads efforts to find and stop the vampire Count before he takes another victim.
The opening act is the strongest. It sets a spooky atmosphere from the very beginning, describing the journey of young solicitor Jonathan Harker to Dracula's castle in the deep of night. Stoker did a good job of showing this was a place to fear without explicitly showing anything violent or gruesome.
If you're squeamish, this is a safe horror to read.
When Harker arrives, Count Dracula is very charming and not at all scary. But things are not as they seem. Harker is slow to realise the situation he's in as the tension builds little by little, until the story switches to England, to the solicitor's fiancée and her friend.
All the atmosphere and dread that had been built since the first chapter vanishes into the mists.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
Dracula himself is only alluded to or talked about for almost the entire second act; we only see the impacts of his actions, which are intended to instil terror, but they felt weak considering how powerful we're meant to consider him.
When Van Helsing is beckoned, he's secretive about what they're dealing with. Stoker likely intended to create mystery and fear of the unknown, but unfortunately, he shows Van Helsing to be so capable that I never felt Dracula was a threat to him.
I didn't expect an action sequence finale given what had gone before, but I did expect some kind of struggle, maybe a battle of wits. Instead, Dracula does not appear until the final chapter, and whilst the ending made some sense, it was anticlimactic.
SPOILERS END HERE
The second act felt like it had been padded out and could have been far shorter. It never shifted into a higher gear; in fact the whole book was one-paced, even in the third act's race against time. It felt like a screenplay that ran out of budget.
Nearing the end of a horror story, I expected dread, apprehension, anxiety. I felt none of those.
Two traits of this book work in tandem to reduce tension: the structure and the writing style.
The story is told in a series of journal entries, letters, newspaper articles, memos, and telegrams. It's an interesting choice, and it did lend the story a sense of realism, especially about halfway through when it explained how all the different writings came together into one collection — the book you're reading. That was nicely done.
However, if you're reading something written by a character, you know they must survive the events of that chapter. Any situation that might seem threatening to that person immediately loses its sense of peril.
Whether it's because of the structure, the time period (late 1800's), or this was just Stoker's style, the writing is very formal. It was undeniably impressive and often beautiful, despite the dark subject matter, but it was incredibly slow throughout. Long and flowery sentences drain all tension. One passage felt particularly jarring: Van Helsing needed to pass on information in a hurried whisper before someone approached, yet he still spoke in the same more-words-than-necessary manner, a full lengthy paragraph.
I found the language style required focus to read. When I was tired, I had to stop sooner than I wanted because it takes effort to properly appreciate the writing. This isn't a criticism; it isn't light reading and that's fine by me.
There was very little differentiation between the characters, how they acted or wrote, other than a male/female divide.
The women were all gentle, caring beauties that the men instantly fell in love with; the men were all strong protectors. Whilst allowances can be made due to the time period it belongs to, it's harder to look past the lack of individuality. I often struggled to tell the various men apart, for example.
It made sense Dracula wasn't fleshed out — again, trying to create fear of the unknown — but I think showing Dracula's abilities would have been more effective than Van Helsing telling us about them.
The combination of the language style and the epistolary structure rob the story of all tension.
It's a horror novel that isn't scary.
But I enjoyed reading it. The grand prose will stick with me for a long time, and the deluxe hardbound edition I read added to the reading experience.
It isn't for everyone, and is probably tame by modern horror standards, but for Stoker's elegant language, and for its historic significance and influence, it's worth a read.
View all my reviews
February 15, 2025
WeeklyWritingWrapup.20250215
This week: the pros and cons of planning a piece of writing vs making it up as you go; an update on my writing; The Spike-related links; and chilling out to The War On Drugs.
plotter/pantser
Authors are often split into two camps:
Plotters - writers who plan a piece before they begin, often in a lot of detail. This can include the overarching storyline and theme, chapter outlines, character information and arcs, location maps, magic systems, and more, and will often involve up-front research of related topics.
Pantsers - writers who begin writing without a plan, sometimes with no idea where the story will end up. They write "by the seat of their pants", creating everything as they go. It's also often called "discovery writing", as the writer "discovers" the story as they write it, almost letting the characters or story write themselves.
As with almost everything, it's not so binary and is more of a spectrum, but for the sake of this piece, we're going to compare the two extremes.
One of the biggest considerations might be: which is the most work?
I don't think there's much difference.
When planning, a lot of the work is front-loaded, meaning that, as long as the plan is well thought through and adhered to when writing, there should be less fixing and rewriting to do at the end.
When writing without a plan, the hardest work is after the first draft has been completed. The opening and the conclusion will often be very different, the tone and theme shifting as the writer "discovers" the story, and the emphasis is on research and rewrites to polish what will hopefully be a diamond in the rough.
Some writers feel there is more freedom in pantsing, and that too much of a plan limits them. Their method is to get into a flow state and let the words go where they want.
However, if there's no plan, it's more likely the writer will hit a block where they don't know what to write next, or will write themselves into a corner, putting characters into positions or situations they don't know how to get them out of.
That's not to say blocks don't happen if you have a plan, but the more serious should be figured out before they're stumbled across.
Plotting can lead to characters feeling flat and unrealistic, as though they are there just to move the story along.
In pantsed stories, characters usually drive the story and they can feel more active and alive as a result.
The editing process is a lot heavier for pantsers. Their first draft will often be messy. If they began without an idea of the ending, there's no guarantee they'll be able to tie things off in a satisfying finale. It may require starting again almost from scratch.
Plotters will sometimes have heavy editing and rewrites too, but if the plan was good and it was stuck too, they should need to change far less in subsequent drafts.
There will often be a larger difference between the first and second drafts of a pantser than of a plotter.
Sometimes pantsers will reach the end of their first draft and realise there isn't enough for a good story. There may be characters or scenes that can be salvaged and reused in something else, but sometimes the whole thing needs to be abandoned, which can be a lot of work down the drain.
This should not happen to a plotter if they have planned their story carefully and, crucially, been honest with themselves as to the quality of the idea.
TL;DR:
If you hate spreadsheets and lists and charts, pantsing probably suits you best.
If you hate editing and rewrites, plotting is the way forward.
I'm a plotter.
My overall writing process has evolved with each major project, adding extra planning steps each time to make the drafting and editing smoother. I'm not sure if I'll ever reach the point where I have a set process that I use every time. I can imagine I will always find new improvements in the never-ending and impossible search for perfection.
progress_report
Blissfully, I've been on leave from my day job this week and have been able to dedicate more time to my writing. A solid 5197 words written over four chapters: not as much as I'd originally hoped, but I've gained some forward momentum that I intend to continue through the remainder of this draft.
I'm solidly in the middle section now, raising the stakes and putting the building blocks in place for the finale. Part 3 of Volume 2 has always been the part I've had most confidence in, and I'm enjoying writing it.
status.vol2
The Spike Volume 2 will contain three separate books from the perspective of seven characters.
Part 1 - draft 2 complete; further chapters to add.
Part 2 - draft 2 complete!
Part 3 - draft 2 written up to chapter 28; thirty-eight chapters to go.
The intention is to complete draft 2 of part 3 by the end of March.
Part 1 is currently much shorter than the others, and I want them to be closer in length, so I will need to decide how to tighten parts 2 and 3 slightly, and add more to part 1 - I have some exciting ideas to expand it.
Then a readthrough of all parts will determine how much revision is required.
The ultimate aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
Microsoft Study Finds AI Makes Human Cognition “Atrophied and Unprepared”
reCAPTCHA: 819 million hours of wasted human time and billions of dollars in Google profits
AI Company Asks Job Applicants Not to Use AI in Job Applications
Uber CEO warns robotaxis can't find a fast route to commercial viability
Google's AI made up a fake cheese fact that wound up in an ad for Google's AI, perfectly highlighting why relying on AI is a bad idea
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that's inspired my creativity.
This week, I've been listening to a band that I keep coming back to when I'm on holiday from work: The War On Drugs.
This habit goes back to 2018. I first discovered their album "Lost In The Dream" when I was stressed at work and shopping for a holiday destination; it's more chill then much of my catalogue. The album became the soundtrack of that holiday, and every time I play it now, it takes me back to that time.
"Under The Pressure" is the opening track and one of their live favourites.
What's inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
plotter/pantser
Authors are often split into two camps:
Plotters - writers who plan a piece before they begin, often in a lot of detail. This can include the overarching storyline and theme, chapter outlines, character information and arcs, location maps, magic systems, and more, and will often involve up-front research of related topics.
Pantsers - writers who begin writing without a plan, sometimes with no idea where the story will end up. They write "by the seat of their pants", creating everything as they go. It's also often called "discovery writing", as the writer "discovers" the story as they write it, almost letting the characters or story write themselves.
As with almost everything, it's not so binary and is more of a spectrum, but for the sake of this piece, we're going to compare the two extremes.
One of the biggest considerations might be: which is the most work?
I don't think there's much difference.
When planning, a lot of the work is front-loaded, meaning that, as long as the plan is well thought through and adhered to when writing, there should be less fixing and rewriting to do at the end.
When writing without a plan, the hardest work is after the first draft has been completed. The opening and the conclusion will often be very different, the tone and theme shifting as the writer "discovers" the story, and the emphasis is on research and rewrites to polish what will hopefully be a diamond in the rough.
Some writers feel there is more freedom in pantsing, and that too much of a plan limits them. Their method is to get into a flow state and let the words go where they want.
However, if there's no plan, it's more likely the writer will hit a block where they don't know what to write next, or will write themselves into a corner, putting characters into positions or situations they don't know how to get them out of.
That's not to say blocks don't happen if you have a plan, but the more serious should be figured out before they're stumbled across.
Plotting can lead to characters feeling flat and unrealistic, as though they are there just to move the story along.
In pantsed stories, characters usually drive the story and they can feel more active and alive as a result.
The editing process is a lot heavier for pantsers. Their first draft will often be messy. If they began without an idea of the ending, there's no guarantee they'll be able to tie things off in a satisfying finale. It may require starting again almost from scratch.
Plotters will sometimes have heavy editing and rewrites too, but if the plan was good and it was stuck too, they should need to change far less in subsequent drafts.
There will often be a larger difference between the first and second drafts of a pantser than of a plotter.
Sometimes pantsers will reach the end of their first draft and realise there isn't enough for a good story. There may be characters or scenes that can be salvaged and reused in something else, but sometimes the whole thing needs to be abandoned, which can be a lot of work down the drain.
This should not happen to a plotter if they have planned their story carefully and, crucially, been honest with themselves as to the quality of the idea.
TL;DR:
If you hate spreadsheets and lists and charts, pantsing probably suits you best.
If you hate editing and rewrites, plotting is the way forward.
I'm a plotter.
My overall writing process has evolved with each major project, adding extra planning steps each time to make the drafting and editing smoother. I'm not sure if I'll ever reach the point where I have a set process that I use every time. I can imagine I will always find new improvements in the never-ending and impossible search for perfection.
progress_report
Blissfully, I've been on leave from my day job this week and have been able to dedicate more time to my writing. A solid 5197 words written over four chapters: not as much as I'd originally hoped, but I've gained some forward momentum that I intend to continue through the remainder of this draft.
I'm solidly in the middle section now, raising the stakes and putting the building blocks in place for the finale. Part 3 of Volume 2 has always been the part I've had most confidence in, and I'm enjoying writing it.
status.vol2
The Spike Volume 2 will contain three separate books from the perspective of seven characters.
Part 1 - draft 2 complete; further chapters to add.
Part 2 - draft 2 complete!
Part 3 - draft 2 written up to chapter 28; thirty-eight chapters to go.
The intention is to complete draft 2 of part 3 by the end of March.
Part 1 is currently much shorter than the others, and I want them to be closer in length, so I will need to decide how to tighten parts 2 and 3 slightly, and add more to part 1 - I have some exciting ideas to expand it.
Then a readthrough of all parts will determine how much revision is required.
The ultimate aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
Microsoft Study Finds AI Makes Human Cognition “Atrophied and Unprepared”
reCAPTCHA: 819 million hours of wasted human time and billions of dollars in Google profits
AI Company Asks Job Applicants Not to Use AI in Job Applications
Uber CEO warns robotaxis can't find a fast route to commercial viability
Google's AI made up a fake cheese fact that wound up in an ad for Google's AI, perfectly highlighting why relying on AI is a bad idea
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that's inspired my creativity.
This week, I've been listening to a band that I keep coming back to when I'm on holiday from work: The War On Drugs.
This habit goes back to 2018. I first discovered their album "Lost In The Dream" when I was stressed at work and shopping for a holiday destination; it's more chill then much of my catalogue. The album became the soundtrack of that holiday, and every time I play it now, it takes me back to that time.
"Under The Pressure" is the opening track and one of their live favourites.
What's inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
February 8, 2025
WeeklyWritingWrapup.20250208
This week: work harder vs work/life balance; an update on my writing; The Spike-related links; and being inspired by Sufjan Stevens.
heigh_ho_heigh_ho
Almost from birth, we're told we have to work hard to get into a good school, to get a good job, to earn enough for retirement. We're told that, if we put the effort in, we'll get the rewards. And if we don't succeed, we obviously didn't work hard enough. Try harder.
It has become part of our culture, almost accepted as a given, an undeniable truth like a Call of Duty game will make a lot of money, or if a company collects data on you, they're going to sell it.
Increasingly, more and more people, and especially the younger generations just beginning their working lives, have come to the conclusion it's a con.
Government after government has told us we must work harder to bring growth. They've stigmatised everyone not working, demonised anyone on benefits. But growth for who? Who benefits from this growth?
When workers work harder, they don't earn more for themselves. They earn more for the elite.
Employees have got wise to the trick of believing they are competing with everyone else. Promotion and wage increases are rare, and even if they do come, the expectations rise concurrently. There are tales of people getting promotions and needing to work so many extra hours, they were actually paid a higher pro rata rate before the promotion. What good is a little more money if you're too busy to enjoy it?
Why no-one wants a promotion.
The ratio of house prices to earnings doubled between 1983 and 2022. That's ridiculous and unsustainable. Young people are losing hope they'll ever be able to afford a home. So what's the point of working harder? All you do is stress yourself out, make yourself unwell, and have a miserable 50 years until retirement. If you can ever afford to retire at all.
Like in our political views, we're becoming increasingly polarised around the idea of work.
The bosses want us to spend more time in the office and give them more hours for less pay.
The workers want 4-day weeks and to have flexibility to work from home.
How will this end? I haven't a clue. But if people don't see any benefit from working harder, why would they? And if a high enough proportion of employees decide to prioritise life over work, the hardest taskmasters will have trouble finding anyone to work for them, no matter how much they pay.
For my part, I've never had any interest in the rat race. I don't need a big home or a flashy car; my free time is more valuable to me than money, and that was true even before I wrote novels. If I could work less and still afford to keep my current standard of life, I would rather do that than work harder and earn more money.
I believe each person needs to decide what is most important to them and work accordingly, without being drawn into the key capitalist lie that you always need more. Consider this: when you look back on your life, are you more likely to wish you'd had more time; or that you had more money, more stuff, more things?
I think it's an easy choice.
progress_report
I needed to put in overtime on my day job this week, which cut into my writing time (on the positive side, it gave me the idea for the theme of this blog).
But, on the two days I had to go into the office, I stayed late and did some writing there.
It's similar to the theory of going to the gym on the way home instead of going home first. Once you're home and you've switched off, it can be difficult to motivate yourself to restart again.
So, two more chapters done this week. My pace is too slow, but I'm hoping to pick it up over the coming weeks, beginning this coming week when I'm on leave from my day job. I intend to make some good progress and report a better weekly wordcount than the 3180 of the past seven days.
status.vol2
The Spike Volume 2 will contain three separate books from the perspective of seven characters.
Part 1 - draft 2 complete; further chapters to add.
Part 2 - draft 2 complete!
Part 3 - draft 2 written up to chapter 24; forty-two chapters to go.
The intention is to complete draft 2 of part 3 by the end of March.
Part 1 is currently much shorter than the others, and I want them to be closer in length, so I will need to decide how to tighten parts 2 and 3 slightly, and add more to part 1 - I have some exciting ideas to expand it.
Then a readthrough of all parts will determine how much revision is required.
The ultimate aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
None of the world’s top industries would be profitable if they paid for the natural capital they use
UK demands access to Apple users' encrypted data
“Torrenting from a corporate laptop doesn’t feel right”: Meta emails unsealed
Declassified CIA Guide to Sabotaging Fascism Is Suddenly Viral
Concern over Google ending ban on AI weapons
Australia bans DeepSeek on government devices over security risk
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that's inspired my creativity.
This week, I've been listening to the 2023 album Javelin by Sufjan Stevens. I've enjoyed his stuff for years, he's wonderfully creative, and it's impressive how much he does on his own.
For this album, he wrote and recorded it mostly by himself in his home studio, with a few additions (mostly backing vocals). He's credited with vocals, guitar, drums, keyboards, piano, production, mixing, and recording. He even did all the artwork for the 48-page booklet that came with the album.
As someone who likes to do it all himself too, it's inspiring to see someone create such wonderful pieces his way and also be successful with it.
"So You Are Tired" was the lead single.
What's inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
heigh_ho_heigh_ho
Almost from birth, we're told we have to work hard to get into a good school, to get a good job, to earn enough for retirement. We're told that, if we put the effort in, we'll get the rewards. And if we don't succeed, we obviously didn't work hard enough. Try harder.
It has become part of our culture, almost accepted as a given, an undeniable truth like a Call of Duty game will make a lot of money, or if a company collects data on you, they're going to sell it.
Increasingly, more and more people, and especially the younger generations just beginning their working lives, have come to the conclusion it's a con.
Government after government has told us we must work harder to bring growth. They've stigmatised everyone not working, demonised anyone on benefits. But growth for who? Who benefits from this growth?
When workers work harder, they don't earn more for themselves. They earn more for the elite.
Employees have got wise to the trick of believing they are competing with everyone else. Promotion and wage increases are rare, and even if they do come, the expectations rise concurrently. There are tales of people getting promotions and needing to work so many extra hours, they were actually paid a higher pro rata rate before the promotion. What good is a little more money if you're too busy to enjoy it?
Why no-one wants a promotion.
The ratio of house prices to earnings doubled between 1983 and 2022. That's ridiculous and unsustainable. Young people are losing hope they'll ever be able to afford a home. So what's the point of working harder? All you do is stress yourself out, make yourself unwell, and have a miserable 50 years until retirement. If you can ever afford to retire at all.
Like in our political views, we're becoming increasingly polarised around the idea of work.
The bosses want us to spend more time in the office and give them more hours for less pay.
The workers want 4-day weeks and to have flexibility to work from home.
How will this end? I haven't a clue. But if people don't see any benefit from working harder, why would they? And if a high enough proportion of employees decide to prioritise life over work, the hardest taskmasters will have trouble finding anyone to work for them, no matter how much they pay.
For my part, I've never had any interest in the rat race. I don't need a big home or a flashy car; my free time is more valuable to me than money, and that was true even before I wrote novels. If I could work less and still afford to keep my current standard of life, I would rather do that than work harder and earn more money.
I believe each person needs to decide what is most important to them and work accordingly, without being drawn into the key capitalist lie that you always need more. Consider this: when you look back on your life, are you more likely to wish you'd had more time; or that you had more money, more stuff, more things?
I think it's an easy choice.
progress_report
I needed to put in overtime on my day job this week, which cut into my writing time (on the positive side, it gave me the idea for the theme of this blog).
But, on the two days I had to go into the office, I stayed late and did some writing there.
It's similar to the theory of going to the gym on the way home instead of going home first. Once you're home and you've switched off, it can be difficult to motivate yourself to restart again.
So, two more chapters done this week. My pace is too slow, but I'm hoping to pick it up over the coming weeks, beginning this coming week when I'm on leave from my day job. I intend to make some good progress and report a better weekly wordcount than the 3180 of the past seven days.
status.vol2
The Spike Volume 2 will contain three separate books from the perspective of seven characters.
Part 1 - draft 2 complete; further chapters to add.
Part 2 - draft 2 complete!
Part 3 - draft 2 written up to chapter 24; forty-two chapters to go.
The intention is to complete draft 2 of part 3 by the end of March.
Part 1 is currently much shorter than the others, and I want them to be closer in length, so I will need to decide how to tighten parts 2 and 3 slightly, and add more to part 1 - I have some exciting ideas to expand it.
Then a readthrough of all parts will determine how much revision is required.
The ultimate aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
None of the world’s top industries would be profitable if they paid for the natural capital they use
UK demands access to Apple users' encrypted data
“Torrenting from a corporate laptop doesn’t feel right”: Meta emails unsealed
Declassified CIA Guide to Sabotaging Fascism Is Suddenly Viral
Concern over Google ending ban on AI weapons
Australia bans DeepSeek on government devices over security risk
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that's inspired my creativity.
This week, I've been listening to the 2023 album Javelin by Sufjan Stevens. I've enjoyed his stuff for years, he's wonderfully creative, and it's impressive how much he does on his own.
For this album, he wrote and recorded it mostly by himself in his home studio, with a few additions (mostly backing vocals). He's credited with vocals, guitar, drums, keyboards, piano, production, mixing, and recording. He even did all the artwork for the 48-page booklet that came with the album.
As someone who likes to do it all himself too, it's inspiring to see someone create such wonderful pieces his way and also be successful with it.
"So You Are Tired" was the lead single.
What's inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
February 1, 2025
WeeklyWritingWrapup.20250201
This week: why I won't be covering the horrors of Trump every week; an update on my writing; The Spike-related links; and TV-show-that-feels-like-a-novel Bosch.
silence_not_compliance
For once, Donald Trump is staying true to his word as he carries out a lot of the actions he threatened to do when campaigning for president.
So far in his second week (at time of writing, it isn't over yet) his administration has:
- Halted with immediate effect all federal grants and loans, impacting school meals, home heating assistance, housing assistance, food stamps, child care, healthcare for the disabled/elderly, meals on wheels, suicide hotlines, child abuse investigations, and more. This was quickly frozen by the courts, and withdrawn, but the White House press secretary confirmed they still intend to carry these actions through.
- Imposed a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, increasing consumer prices.
- Ordered construction of a migrant detention facility at the notorious US Navy base in Guantanamo Bay.
- Restricted gender care for people under the age of 19.
- Offered more than 2 million federal employees the option to resign and receive pay for eight months, in an effort to gut the US government.
- Blamed a plane crash on diversity appointments with no evidence.
- Denied federal funding for schools that teach about racism and discrimination.
- Penalised schools that don't teach patriotic content.
- Signed an order to deport international students who protested the war in Gaza.
- Made moves to fire all the prosecutors and FBI employees who were involved in any of the cases involving Trump, and in the prosecutions related to the January 6 insurrection. They are also intending to release the names of those people, so Trump's MAGA militia can potentially threaten/harass/attack them.
Those are some of the headlines. Many will be challenged in court and perhaps blocked or overturned, but that doesn't mean they will stop trying to harm everyone in their orbit.
Each of those are worthy of an essay of its own, but I don't have the time, will, patience, or fortitude to go through them in detail. This is, of course, part of their plan. They flood the arena with stories that would individually be analysed and criticized for days; they don't give any time before the next outrage.
But this isn't a politics blog. So if I don't comment on some horrifying action by Trump or his cronies, don't take my silence as implicit acceptance or agreement.
Instead, I will point you to a few outlets that I believe will hold Trump's administration to account. Please follow and share.
MSNBC
BBC
Pod Save America
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
The Guardian
The Rest Is Politics
progress_report
Despite the day job still taking too much time and energy, I made a concerted effort to write more this week, and finally completed a long and dramatic scene split over two chapters.
I've changed my target to finish this draft. The end of February was too optimistic.
I'll be disappointed if I don't meet the new target of the end of March, particularly as I have two weeks off from my day job in that period and will be able to dedicate more time to it.
I can't wait.
status.vol2
The Spike Volume 2 will contain three separate books from the perspective of seven characters.
Part 1 - draft 2 complete; further chapters to add.
Part 2 - draft 2 complete!
Part 3 - draft 2 written up to chapter 22; forty-four chapters to go.
The intention is to complete draft 2 of part 3 by the end of March.
Part 1 is currently much shorter than the others, and I want them to be closer in length, so I will need to decide how to tighten parts 2 and 3 slightly, and add more to part 1 - I have some exciting ideas to expand it.
Then a readthrough of all parts will determine how much revision is required.
The ultimate aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
5 years after Britain left the EU, the full impact of Brexit is still emerging
Coder creates an 'infinite maze' to snare AI bots in an act of 'sheer unadulterated rage at how things are going' on the content-scraped web
Biden pushed back on Big Tech’s power, and Trump found a few new friends
China's DeepSeek AI shakes industry and dents America's swagger
We tried out DeepSeek. It worked well, until we asked it about Tiananmen Square and Taiwan
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that's inspired my creativity.
This week, I've been enjoying the Amazon Prime TV drama Bosch: Legacy, a spin-off from the original Bosch TV show. Telling you about the newer show would be a spoiler for the original, and I highly recommend watching the seven seasons of Bosch first.
Bosch is based on the best-selling series of novels by Michael Connelly, and follows an LA homicide detective. I've never watched a TV drama that feels so much like a novel - it moves at a slower tempo than many shows without ever being boring, and is really effective at building mystery and tension over the 10 episodes of each season. It's got a tone all of it's own which I really appreciate.
It hooked me enough to buy the first book in the series, although that remains in my too-long to be read list for now!
Bosch
What's inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
silence_not_compliance
For once, Donald Trump is staying true to his word as he carries out a lot of the actions he threatened to do when campaigning for president.
So far in his second week (at time of writing, it isn't over yet) his administration has:
- Halted with immediate effect all federal grants and loans, impacting school meals, home heating assistance, housing assistance, food stamps, child care, healthcare for the disabled/elderly, meals on wheels, suicide hotlines, child abuse investigations, and more. This was quickly frozen by the courts, and withdrawn, but the White House press secretary confirmed they still intend to carry these actions through.
- Imposed a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, increasing consumer prices.
- Ordered construction of a migrant detention facility at the notorious US Navy base in Guantanamo Bay.
- Restricted gender care for people under the age of 19.
- Offered more than 2 million federal employees the option to resign and receive pay for eight months, in an effort to gut the US government.
- Blamed a plane crash on diversity appointments with no evidence.
- Denied federal funding for schools that teach about racism and discrimination.
- Penalised schools that don't teach patriotic content.
- Signed an order to deport international students who protested the war in Gaza.
- Made moves to fire all the prosecutors and FBI employees who were involved in any of the cases involving Trump, and in the prosecutions related to the January 6 insurrection. They are also intending to release the names of those people, so Trump's MAGA militia can potentially threaten/harass/attack them.
Those are some of the headlines. Many will be challenged in court and perhaps blocked or overturned, but that doesn't mean they will stop trying to harm everyone in their orbit.
Each of those are worthy of an essay of its own, but I don't have the time, will, patience, or fortitude to go through them in detail. This is, of course, part of their plan. They flood the arena with stories that would individually be analysed and criticized for days; they don't give any time before the next outrage.
But this isn't a politics blog. So if I don't comment on some horrifying action by Trump or his cronies, don't take my silence as implicit acceptance or agreement.
Instead, I will point you to a few outlets that I believe will hold Trump's administration to account. Please follow and share.
MSNBC
BBC
Pod Save America
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
The Guardian
The Rest Is Politics
progress_report
Despite the day job still taking too much time and energy, I made a concerted effort to write more this week, and finally completed a long and dramatic scene split over two chapters.
I've changed my target to finish this draft. The end of February was too optimistic.
I'll be disappointed if I don't meet the new target of the end of March, particularly as I have two weeks off from my day job in that period and will be able to dedicate more time to it.
I can't wait.
status.vol2
The Spike Volume 2 will contain three separate books from the perspective of seven characters.
Part 1 - draft 2 complete; further chapters to add.
Part 2 - draft 2 complete!
Part 3 - draft 2 written up to chapter 22; forty-four chapters to go.
The intention is to complete draft 2 of part 3 by the end of March.
Part 1 is currently much shorter than the others, and I want them to be closer in length, so I will need to decide how to tighten parts 2 and 3 slightly, and add more to part 1 - I have some exciting ideas to expand it.
Then a readthrough of all parts will determine how much revision is required.
The ultimate aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
5 years after Britain left the EU, the full impact of Brexit is still emerging
Coder creates an 'infinite maze' to snare AI bots in an act of 'sheer unadulterated rage at how things are going' on the content-scraped web
Biden pushed back on Big Tech’s power, and Trump found a few new friends
China's DeepSeek AI shakes industry and dents America's swagger
We tried out DeepSeek. It worked well, until we asked it about Tiananmen Square and Taiwan
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that's inspired my creativity.
This week, I've been enjoying the Amazon Prime TV drama Bosch: Legacy, a spin-off from the original Bosch TV show. Telling you about the newer show would be a spoiler for the original, and I highly recommend watching the seven seasons of Bosch first.
Bosch is based on the best-selling series of novels by Michael Connelly, and follows an LA homicide detective. I've never watched a TV drama that feels so much like a novel - it moves at a slower tempo than many shows without ever being boring, and is really effective at building mystery and tension over the 10 episodes of each season. It's got a tone all of it's own which I really appreciate.
It hooked me enough to buy the first book in the series, although that remains in my too-long to be read list for now!
Bosch
What's inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
January 28, 2025
review:\Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Orbital by Samantha HarveyMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is one of those rare novels where it's possible to give a synopsis without worrying about spoilers, because there isn't much of a plot to speak of: six astronauts live a day on the International Space Station, completing sixteen orbits of Earth. That's it.
It's a mood-piece more than a story. I didn't mind that. Some of the description was evocative; some got a little boring and repetitive, essentially long lists of locations to give a sense of the speed they were moving at.
The six characters aren't easily discernible, with very little personality coming across, and we don't really get into the heads of any of them. They are sketches more than fleshed out individuals.
Attention is focussed on the Earth below rather than the people we're spending time with and, whilst I understand that was probably the point, without a story to speak of, or interesting characters, I think it would have become a struggle to read if it was any longer.
I thought there were some odd choices regarding grammar and punctuation. For example, none of the speech is in quotation marks. It often comes across as description of a conversation, rather than an actual conversation that's taking place. I'm not sure if it was done to intentionally keep the characters at a distance, but it serves that purpose. I suspect it's most likely to have been done so the dialogue wasn't too jarring a switch from the description-heavy prose, although there were a couple of instances with semi-naturalistic dialogue that felt clunky as a result.
It was interesting reading some of the most popular reviews on here and the backlash against what is viewed as a pro-Russian sentiment. I didn't get that from my first read. There are two Russian astronauts aboard the space craft, and when they reminisce about Earth and home, it makes sense they would remember it fondly. It could be argued there was more from their perspective than the other characters, but I would need to read it again to make a definitive judgement.
Overall, I'm pleased to have read it, as I do like to mix things up and try not to read two consecutive books in the same genre or style. This is certainly a little different, and I'm all for different.
My biggest disappointment was that, for a book that depends almost solely on description, it didn't feel lyrical enough. I wished it was more poetic. If it had been, the score I gave it would certainly have been higher.
Would I recommend it? If you need action, mystery, or twisty-turny plotting, then this isn't for you. Otherwise, you might like it, and it's a relatively short read.
I gave it a week before completing my review, in case I found it stuck with me, but that hasn't happened. I've barely thought about it in that time. So while I quite liked it, it's not something I'm likely to look back on fondly or revisit.
View all my reviews
January 25, 2025
WeeklyWritingWrapup.20250125
This week: the absurdity of believing billionaires Trump and Musk will solve wealth inequality; an update on my writing; The Spike-related links; and when the White Stripes channelled Citizen Kane.
the_wrong_solution
Part of me hates to do this, but this week I have to write about Trump, Musk, and the USA's descent into fascism.
Let me start by saying I understand the desire to see the establishment torn down. For too long, they have enabled the enrichment of the few to the detriment of the many. They have allowed the wealthy to do whatever they want, without consequence, and in some cases deliberately legislated to keep the poor, poor, and the rich, rich.
Emboldened, billionaires are increasingly deciding to control things directly instead of from the shadows - witness them all sat behind Trump at his inauguration. (For anyone who didn't notice, you might want to note that, between them, they control every major social media platform, and are manoeuvring to take control of TikTok too. This is not an accident. Controlling the message is page 1 of the fascist playbook).
However, voting to put billionaires in charge makes no sense to me. They haven't accrued their obscene wealth by being considerate of anyone else. Just focussing on Trump and Musk, there are boundless examples of their heinous acts - I could write a loooong list here but I won't because most people are probably vaguely aware of most of them.
The problem is, somehow, they've convinced at least half the voters that their immoral and, in some cases, illegal acts are unimportant.
Even more incredible, they've successfully sold the idea that illegal immigrants, who are unable to claim benefits, are taking more money from the normal working person than they are.
As reported this week by Oxfam, billionaire wealth surged by $2 trillion in 2024, three times faster than the year before, while the number of people living in poverty has barely changed since 1990.
Oxfam predicts there will be at least five trillionaires a decade from now.
204 new billionaires were minted in 2024, nearly four every week.
Sixty percent of billionaire wealth is now derived from inheritance, monopoly power or crony connections, as Oxfam argues that “extreme billionaire wealth is largely unmerited.”
Richest 1 percent in the Global North extracted $30 million an hour from the Global South through the financial system in 2023.
Oxfam urges governments to tax the richest to reduce inequality, end extreme wealth, and dismantle the new aristocracy. Former colonial powers must address past harms with reparations.
As Richard Murphy (a political economist, chartered accountant, and professor in political economy, accounting and sustainability with over 40 years experience) points out, the hording of wealth by billionaires hurts the global economy. When a poorer person gets money, they spend it, which stimulates growth. When a billionaire gets money, it goes into their bank account and earns them the interest they live off.
Rich people shrink the economy
Does anyone believe Trump and Musk would introduce a wealth tax? Or do anything in any way to reduce their own wealth and more fairly distribute it to the people?
I'm not sure even their supporters would say yes. Yet most will not accept anything negative about their "saviours". They refuse to even listen.
I agree with their desire to bring about change. But believing Trump and/or Musk are the answer is either ignorant or deluded in a way that could prove epically disastrous.
As we can see from Trump's first few days and the executive orders he's been throwing out like a dictator, it's a perilous situation, and I don't have an answer. It should be clear to anyone prepared to be honest with themselves that this isn't it.
progress_report
Not much progress to report this week, my day job has been just horrible. I did at least keep up my record of doing something, no matter how small, every day, now up to 232 consecutive days.
Next week is likely to be similarly painful, before hopefully things will begin to calm down a little and my focus can return to the work I prefer.
status.vol2
The Spike Volume 2 will contain three separate books from the perspective of seven characters.
Part 1 - draft 2 complete; further chapters to add.
Part 2 - draft 2 complete!
Part 3 - draft 2 written up to chapter 20; forty-six chapters to go.
The intention is to complete draft 2 of part 3 by the end of February.
Part 1 is currently much shorter than the others, and I want them to be closer in length, so I will need to decide how to tighten parts 2 and 3 slightly, and add more to part 1 - I have some exciting ideas to expand it.
Then a readthrough of all parts will determine how much revision is required.
The ultimate aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
UK Ministry of Defence enlists sci-fi writers to prepare for dystopian futures
The wonder material which could hold the key to near-limitless energy
'Dark oxygen' mission takes aim at other worlds
Decentralized Social Media Is the Only Alternative to the Tech Oligarchy
Beam me to the stars: Scientists propose wild new interstellar travel tech
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that's inspired my creativity.
This week, with that quote from Citizen Kane above fresh in my mind, I was reminded of the White Stripes track "The Union Forever".
It was a track I had always enjoyed whilst listening to their album "White Blood Cells", but I gained a new respect for it when I watched Citizen Kane. I quickly recognised a line from the film as being in the song. Then another. And another!
Every line in the song is taken from the movie, which is such a clever and creative idea. I'm sure there aren't many films where that could work at all, never mind this well, but it's a tribute to both Jack White and Citizen Kane that the result is fantastic.
The Union Forever - The White Stripes
What's inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
the_wrong_solution
Part of me hates to do this, but this week I have to write about Trump, Musk, and the USA's descent into fascism.
Let me start by saying I understand the desire to see the establishment torn down. For too long, they have enabled the enrichment of the few to the detriment of the many. They have allowed the wealthy to do whatever they want, without consequence, and in some cases deliberately legislated to keep the poor, poor, and the rich, rich.
Emboldened, billionaires are increasingly deciding to control things directly instead of from the shadows - witness them all sat behind Trump at his inauguration. (For anyone who didn't notice, you might want to note that, between them, they control every major social media platform, and are manoeuvring to take control of TikTok too. This is not an accident. Controlling the message is page 1 of the fascist playbook).
However, voting to put billionaires in charge makes no sense to me. They haven't accrued their obscene wealth by being considerate of anyone else. Just focussing on Trump and Musk, there are boundless examples of their heinous acts - I could write a loooong list here but I won't because most people are probably vaguely aware of most of them.
The problem is, somehow, they've convinced at least half the voters that their immoral and, in some cases, illegal acts are unimportant.
Even more incredible, they've successfully sold the idea that illegal immigrants, who are unable to claim benefits, are taking more money from the normal working person than they are.
"It's no trick to make a lot of money if all you want is to make a lot of money." - Mr Bernstein in Citizen Kane
As reported this week by Oxfam, billionaire wealth surged by $2 trillion in 2024, three times faster than the year before, while the number of people living in poverty has barely changed since 1990.
Oxfam predicts there will be at least five trillionaires a decade from now.
204 new billionaires were minted in 2024, nearly four every week.
Sixty percent of billionaire wealth is now derived from inheritance, monopoly power or crony connections, as Oxfam argues that “extreme billionaire wealth is largely unmerited.”
Richest 1 percent in the Global North extracted $30 million an hour from the Global South through the financial system in 2023.
Oxfam urges governments to tax the richest to reduce inequality, end extreme wealth, and dismantle the new aristocracy. Former colonial powers must address past harms with reparations.
As Richard Murphy (a political economist, chartered accountant, and professor in political economy, accounting and sustainability with over 40 years experience) points out, the hording of wealth by billionaires hurts the global economy. When a poorer person gets money, they spend it, which stimulates growth. When a billionaire gets money, it goes into their bank account and earns them the interest they live off.
Rich people shrink the economy
Does anyone believe Trump and Musk would introduce a wealth tax? Or do anything in any way to reduce their own wealth and more fairly distribute it to the people?
I'm not sure even their supporters would say yes. Yet most will not accept anything negative about their "saviours". They refuse to even listen.
I agree with their desire to bring about change. But believing Trump and/or Musk are the answer is either ignorant or deluded in a way that could prove epically disastrous.
As we can see from Trump's first few days and the executive orders he's been throwing out like a dictator, it's a perilous situation, and I don't have an answer. It should be clear to anyone prepared to be honest with themselves that this isn't it.
progress_report
Not much progress to report this week, my day job has been just horrible. I did at least keep up my record of doing something, no matter how small, every day, now up to 232 consecutive days.
Next week is likely to be similarly painful, before hopefully things will begin to calm down a little and my focus can return to the work I prefer.
status.vol2
The Spike Volume 2 will contain three separate books from the perspective of seven characters.
Part 1 - draft 2 complete; further chapters to add.
Part 2 - draft 2 complete!
Part 3 - draft 2 written up to chapter 20; forty-six chapters to go.
The intention is to complete draft 2 of part 3 by the end of February.
Part 1 is currently much shorter than the others, and I want them to be closer in length, so I will need to decide how to tighten parts 2 and 3 slightly, and add more to part 1 - I have some exciting ideas to expand it.
Then a readthrough of all parts will determine how much revision is required.
The ultimate aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
UK Ministry of Defence enlists sci-fi writers to prepare for dystopian futures
The wonder material which could hold the key to near-limitless energy
'Dark oxygen' mission takes aim at other worlds
Decentralized Social Media Is the Only Alternative to the Tech Oligarchy
Beam me to the stars: Scientists propose wild new interstellar travel tech
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that's inspired my creativity.
This week, with that quote from Citizen Kane above fresh in my mind, I was reminded of the White Stripes track "The Union Forever".
It was a track I had always enjoyed whilst listening to their album "White Blood Cells", but I gained a new respect for it when I watched Citizen Kane. I quickly recognised a line from the film as being in the song. Then another. And another!
Every line in the song is taken from the movie, which is such a clever and creative idea. I'm sure there aren't many films where that could work at all, never mind this well, but it's a tribute to both Jack White and Citizen Kane that the result is fantastic.
The Union Forever - The White Stripes
What's inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
January 18, 2025
WeeklyWritingWrapup.20250118
This week: why AI is a lie; Apple finally reacts; an update on my writing; The Spike-related links; and recognising hope and joy don't have to be corny with New Amsterdam.
ai_is_a_lie
This week, the UK government presented a new plan to make the most of AI's "vast potential".
As the fifth government to state their aim of becoming a "world leader" in AI, it's concerning they don't seem to understand it may already be close to its limit. And it is definitely not "intelligent".
The Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT that are becoming so prevalent may be capable of learning, kind of, but they do not understand, nor can they have an opinion of their own. And they are entirely reliant on the quality of data used for training.
Defenders of AI will point out that humans are no different, but of course, we are. We can choose what data we decide is most relevant, what information may seem small but be inversely significant, what moral reasonings are applicable, and what conclusions to reach. Our results may vary between ourselves, but we are capable of explaining how we came to them.
This piece in Nature explains how LLMs lack essential metacognition for reliable reasoning.
Basically, an LLM can't recognise when it doesn't know something, will present an answer that cannot be correct as fact, and cannot explain how it came to that conclusion. The idea this could be used in any area, but particularly in medicine and treating patients, is scary.
The LLMs are like that kid at school who just repeated back everything you said to try to be amusing. There's no independent thought or creativity there. It's just a mimic.
I'm not going to rant now about the government's decision to allow AI companies to ignore copyright laws and scrape whatever writing, images, video or music they want to train their models. I could go on for pages. Many others have already laid out their criticisms, like here and here.
I'm still hoping the government will be convinced to change their mind, if they can look past the promise of vast sums from the tech giants. But I will say this:
The idea that creatives should need to opt out of having their work stolen is like a shop owner needing to tell everyone who walks in they are not allowed to shoplift, otherwise anyone can take whatever they like without punishment.
I've signed a statement against AI training, against the flagrant disregard of creatives and copyright rules, here. If you're a creative of any kind, please consider doing the same.
apple_finally_reacts
Having just written about the lie of AI, I return to the subject of AI making up and reporting lies, although the irony isn't lost on me that this is about them (finally) being prevented.
Last week was the second time I'd covered Apple's "Intelligence" collating news stories from other sources into incorrect summaries, sometimes completely contradicting the original report.
Apple had been ignoring calls to take this function offline until they fixed the issue, but have now suspended it for News and Entertainment summaries. It will italicize text on the lock screen to make it easier to separate summaries from notifications, and will warn users in the Settings about potential errors and make it clearer the function is still in beta (as per The Register).
It's a start but I'm not sure this is sufficient, and will be watching carefully when this is rereleased.
progress_report
As anticipated, my day job is encroaching on my time and will to write in the evenings at the moment, but I did make some progress. The chapters I'm working on for part 3 are particularly interesting and fun to write, and quite different from those in part 2.
I'm pleased that, despite all three parts in the volume sharing the same theme, they all have a different feel. It's made writing it more engaging, and I hope will make it more entertaining to read.
status.vol2
The Spike Volume 2 will contain three separate books from the perspective of seven characters.
Part 1 - draft 2 complete; further chapters to add.
Part 2 - draft 2 complete!
Part 3 - draft 2 written up to chapter 20; forty-six chapters to go.
The intention is to complete draft 2 of part 3 by the end of February.
Part 1 is currently much shorter than the others, and I want them to be closer in length, so I will need to decide how to tighten parts 2 and 3 slightly, and add more to part 1 - I have some exciting ideas to expand it.
Then a readthrough of all parts will determine how much revision is required.
The ultimate aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
Nvidia: fully autonomous cars 'not close' to production reality
China wants to build massive solar station in space — it’s like a ‘Three Gorges dam’ in orbit
Meta’s MAGA Metamorphosis: Project 2025’s Digital Revolution Takes Shape
The Shadow of Spyware: UN Security Council Grapples with a Global Threat
Safer, Stronger, Smarter: Scientists Develop Game-Changing Quasi-Solid Battery
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that's inspired my creativity.
This week, I let the TV show New Amsterdam heal me and put my anger of the previous week aside.
if you don't know, New Amsterdam is an American drama series set in a public hospital. Whilst there are of course sad moments (inevitable and necessary when dealing with mortality and humanity), the general theme is of hope and of trying to make things better for everyone.
Much popular entertainment nowadays tries to be cool or gritty, presumably due to negativity bias, and that may be why I haven't heard many people talking about New Amsterdam. I'm a cynic myself (in case you hadn't noticed) so this isn't the kind of thing I would normally watch, but it's so well done, it's hard not to enjoy it.
The writing in particular is excellent, with subplots that feed into the greater arc of each episode, sharp dialogue, and some genuinely emotional moments.
It's good to remember it is possible to write positively without it sounding cheesy or schmaltzy.
Seasons 1-4 are available to stream on Amazon Prime in the UK.
New Amsterdam on IMDB
What's inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
ai_is_a_lie
This week, the UK government presented a new plan to make the most of AI's "vast potential".
As the fifth government to state their aim of becoming a "world leader" in AI, it's concerning they don't seem to understand it may already be close to its limit. And it is definitely not "intelligent".
intelligence (noun)
the ability to learn, understand, and make judgments or have opinions that are based on reason
The Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT that are becoming so prevalent may be capable of learning, kind of, but they do not understand, nor can they have an opinion of their own. And they are entirely reliant on the quality of data used for training.
Defenders of AI will point out that humans are no different, but of course, we are. We can choose what data we decide is most relevant, what information may seem small but be inversely significant, what moral reasonings are applicable, and what conclusions to reach. Our results may vary between ourselves, but we are capable of explaining how we came to them.
This piece in Nature explains how LLMs lack essential metacognition for reliable reasoning.
Models consistently failed to recognize their knowledge limitations and provided confident answers even when correct options were absent.
Basically, an LLM can't recognise when it doesn't know something, will present an answer that cannot be correct as fact, and cannot explain how it came to that conclusion. The idea this could be used in any area, but particularly in medicine and treating patients, is scary.
The LLMs are like that kid at school who just repeated back everything you said to try to be amusing. There's no independent thought or creativity there. It's just a mimic.
I'm not going to rant now about the government's decision to allow AI companies to ignore copyright laws and scrape whatever writing, images, video or music they want to train their models. I could go on for pages. Many others have already laid out their criticisms, like here and here.
I'm still hoping the government will be convinced to change their mind, if they can look past the promise of vast sums from the tech giants. But I will say this:
The idea that creatives should need to opt out of having their work stolen is like a shop owner needing to tell everyone who walks in they are not allowed to shoplift, otherwise anyone can take whatever they like without punishment.
I've signed a statement against AI training, against the flagrant disregard of creatives and copyright rules, here. If you're a creative of any kind, please consider doing the same.
apple_finally_reacts
Having just written about the lie of AI, I return to the subject of AI making up and reporting lies, although the irony isn't lost on me that this is about them (finally) being prevented.
Last week was the second time I'd covered Apple's "Intelligence" collating news stories from other sources into incorrect summaries, sometimes completely contradicting the original report.
Apple had been ignoring calls to take this function offline until they fixed the issue, but have now suspended it for News and Entertainment summaries. It will italicize text on the lock screen to make it easier to separate summaries from notifications, and will warn users in the Settings about potential errors and make it clearer the function is still in beta (as per The Register).
It's a start but I'm not sure this is sufficient, and will be watching carefully when this is rereleased.
progress_report
As anticipated, my day job is encroaching on my time and will to write in the evenings at the moment, but I did make some progress. The chapters I'm working on for part 3 are particularly interesting and fun to write, and quite different from those in part 2.
I'm pleased that, despite all three parts in the volume sharing the same theme, they all have a different feel. It's made writing it more engaging, and I hope will make it more entertaining to read.
status.vol2
The Spike Volume 2 will contain three separate books from the perspective of seven characters.
Part 1 - draft 2 complete; further chapters to add.
Part 2 - draft 2 complete!
Part 3 - draft 2 written up to chapter 20; forty-six chapters to go.
The intention is to complete draft 2 of part 3 by the end of February.
Part 1 is currently much shorter than the others, and I want them to be closer in length, so I will need to decide how to tighten parts 2 and 3 slightly, and add more to part 1 - I have some exciting ideas to expand it.
Then a readthrough of all parts will determine how much revision is required.
The ultimate aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
Nvidia: fully autonomous cars 'not close' to production reality
China wants to build massive solar station in space — it’s like a ‘Three Gorges dam’ in orbit
Meta’s MAGA Metamorphosis: Project 2025’s Digital Revolution Takes Shape
The Shadow of Spyware: UN Security Council Grapples with a Global Threat
Safer, Stronger, Smarter: Scientists Develop Game-Changing Quasi-Solid Battery
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that's inspired my creativity.
This week, I let the TV show New Amsterdam heal me and put my anger of the previous week aside.
if you don't know, New Amsterdam is an American drama series set in a public hospital. Whilst there are of course sad moments (inevitable and necessary when dealing with mortality and humanity), the general theme is of hope and of trying to make things better for everyone.
Much popular entertainment nowadays tries to be cool or gritty, presumably due to negativity bias, and that may be why I haven't heard many people talking about New Amsterdam. I'm a cynic myself (in case you hadn't noticed) so this isn't the kind of thing I would normally watch, but it's so well done, it's hard not to enjoy it.
The writing in particular is excellent, with subplots that feed into the greater arc of each episode, sharp dialogue, and some genuinely emotional moments.
It's good to remember it is possible to write positively without it sounding cheesy or schmaltzy.
Seasons 1-4 are available to stream on Amazon Prime in the UK.
New Amsterdam on IMDB
What's inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
January 11, 2025
WeeklyWritingWrapup.20250111
This week: feeling sick at the elite telling employees to work harder; Apple's weak response to their fake headlines; an update on my writing; The Spike-related links; and learning a lesson from Rage Against The Machine.
slave_to_the_wage
By the time I'd had lunch on Monday 6th January, the average FTSE 100 CEO had already "earnt" more in 2025 than I will earn all year. That's just two and a half working days.
Their average is £4.2million per year. Nobody needs that much money. I don't know how anyone can see that figure and think it's fair that, to pick a genuine example, a teacher will go hungry so that his nurse wife and two kids can eat, unable to afford enough food for all of them.
Wealth inequality has long been out of control, but it's only getting worse.
By 2023, the richest 50 families in the UK held more wealth than half of the UK population.
For anyone answering "work harder", BZZZ. That is incorrect.
We do not live in a meritocratic society. Force of will cannot propel you into the upper echelons of society. Very few exceptions make that leap up from the working classes to the elite, and they are held up as some kind of shining example of how it's possible for anyone if you're super talented and/or work harder.
No. No it isn't. Social mobility is a myth they use to keep the poor under control.
Anyone who's worked for any length of time will have met people who were either really good at what they did, put in more hours than was sensible/healthy, or both. How many of them went on to become millionaires?
So, it's not plausible to move up the ladder. But that's also missing the point. The disparity between the high- and low-earners should not be so massive. The justification is "that's the way the free market works". Only because we let it. Only because the people in charge want the money from the rich, or are already rich, so won't legislate to even the balance.
As Placebo once sang in their song "Slave to the Wage":
"It's a race
A race for rats
A race for rats to die"
I can't see any solution, not as long as around 50% of voters believe the billionaires' lies that they're fighting for them. People like Trump and Musk have trodden on workers all their lives to get where they are. Why do you think they'd have a change of heart when it's giving them what they want?
apple_intelligence_still_lies
Three weeks ago, I wrote about Apple's so-called AI making up headlines and their ostrich-like response.
A brief catch-up: Apple uses an AI algorithm to take multiple news headlines and collate them into one message. Unfortunately, the AI is incorrectly adapting the headlines.
For examples, see the BBC story here.
There have been many calls for Apple to take the software offline until they can get it working properly.
After weeks of pressure, Apple have now responded. Kind of. Their solution is to flag when their software has collated headlines. This doesn't resolve the issue, it puts the onus on the user to factcheck, which they're unlikely to do because why would they expect it to be wrong?
Even this non-fix will take several weeks, and in the meantime, the system is still very much live and capable of spewing out complete nonsense.
progress_report
I'd expected this month to be tough on the writing front because of my day job, and already that's proving to be the case. It's not easy to get in the right frame of mind when struggling to shed the build-up of irritation upon frustration upon annoyance.
I've begun work on a new series of blogs I intend to post in addition to this weekly update. More on that at a later date.
Before I publish Volume 2 of The Spike, I'm going to publish a second edition of Volume 1 with a new cover. I've been bouncing ideas around for a long time, but am starting to narrow it down to a concept I like and am mocking up some layouts.
A bit of art can be a nice change of pace when words are a struggle.
status.vol2
The Spike Volume 2 will contain three separate books from the perspective of seven characters.
Part 1 - draft 2 complete; further chapters to add.
Part 2 - draft 2 complete!
Part 3 - draft 2 written up to chapter 18; forty-eight chapters to go.
The intention is to complete draft 2 for part 3 by the end of February.
Part 1 is currently much shorter than the others, and I want them to be closer in length, so I will need to decide how to tighten parts 2 and 3 slightly, and add more to part 1 - I have some exciting ideas to expand it.
Then a readthrough of all parts will determine how much revision is required.
The ultimate aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
'Smart' home devices used as weapons in website attack
Men Stall Waymo Driverless Car to Catcall Female Passenger Inside
US Treasury says Chinese hackers led a 'major cybersecurity' breach
More people in late 20s still living with parents
World’s richest use up their fair share of 2025 carbon budget in 10 days
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that's inspired my creativity.
This week, as is so often the case when I'm feeling angry, I turned to Rage Against The Machine.
Legend has it that Zack de la Rocha, the vocalist of the band, is every bit as vociferous in his delivery during practice as he is in concert.
It's a useful reminder there's no half-arsing creation.
It's all in, all the time.
Rage Against The Machine - Testify (from The Battle Of Mexico City)
What's inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
slave_to_the_wage
By the time I'd had lunch on Monday 6th January, the average FTSE 100 CEO had already "earnt" more in 2025 than I will earn all year. That's just two and a half working days.
Their average is £4.2million per year. Nobody needs that much money. I don't know how anyone can see that figure and think it's fair that, to pick a genuine example, a teacher will go hungry so that his nurse wife and two kids can eat, unable to afford enough food for all of them.
Wealth inequality has long been out of control, but it's only getting worse.
By 2023, the richest 50 families in the UK held more wealth than half of the UK population.
For anyone answering "work harder", BZZZ. That is incorrect.
We do not live in a meritocratic society. Force of will cannot propel you into the upper echelons of society. Very few exceptions make that leap up from the working classes to the elite, and they are held up as some kind of shining example of how it's possible for anyone if you're super talented and/or work harder.
No. No it isn't. Social mobility is a myth they use to keep the poor under control.
Anyone who's worked for any length of time will have met people who were either really good at what they did, put in more hours than was sensible/healthy, or both. How many of them went on to become millionaires?
So, it's not plausible to move up the ladder. But that's also missing the point. The disparity between the high- and low-earners should not be so massive. The justification is "that's the way the free market works". Only because we let it. Only because the people in charge want the money from the rich, or are already rich, so won't legislate to even the balance.
As Placebo once sang in their song "Slave to the Wage":
"It's a race
A race for rats
A race for rats to die"
I can't see any solution, not as long as around 50% of voters believe the billionaires' lies that they're fighting for them. People like Trump and Musk have trodden on workers all their lives to get where they are. Why do you think they'd have a change of heart when it's giving them what they want?
apple_intelligence_still_lies
Three weeks ago, I wrote about Apple's so-called AI making up headlines and their ostrich-like response.
A brief catch-up: Apple uses an AI algorithm to take multiple news headlines and collate them into one message. Unfortunately, the AI is incorrectly adapting the headlines.
For examples, see the BBC story here.
There have been many calls for Apple to take the software offline until they can get it working properly.
After weeks of pressure, Apple have now responded. Kind of. Their solution is to flag when their software has collated headlines. This doesn't resolve the issue, it puts the onus on the user to factcheck, which they're unlikely to do because why would they expect it to be wrong?
Even this non-fix will take several weeks, and in the meantime, the system is still very much live and capable of spewing out complete nonsense.
progress_report
I'd expected this month to be tough on the writing front because of my day job, and already that's proving to be the case. It's not easy to get in the right frame of mind when struggling to shed the build-up of irritation upon frustration upon annoyance.
I've begun work on a new series of blogs I intend to post in addition to this weekly update. More on that at a later date.
Before I publish Volume 2 of The Spike, I'm going to publish a second edition of Volume 1 with a new cover. I've been bouncing ideas around for a long time, but am starting to narrow it down to a concept I like and am mocking up some layouts.
A bit of art can be a nice change of pace when words are a struggle.
status.vol2
The Spike Volume 2 will contain three separate books from the perspective of seven characters.
Part 1 - draft 2 complete; further chapters to add.
Part 2 - draft 2 complete!
Part 3 - draft 2 written up to chapter 18; forty-eight chapters to go.
The intention is to complete draft 2 for part 3 by the end of February.
Part 1 is currently much shorter than the others, and I want them to be closer in length, so I will need to decide how to tighten parts 2 and 3 slightly, and add more to part 1 - I have some exciting ideas to expand it.
Then a readthrough of all parts will determine how much revision is required.
The ultimate aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
'Smart' home devices used as weapons in website attack
Men Stall Waymo Driverless Car to Catcall Female Passenger Inside
US Treasury says Chinese hackers led a 'major cybersecurity' breach
More people in late 20s still living with parents
World’s richest use up their fair share of 2025 carbon budget in 10 days
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that's inspired my creativity.
This week, as is so often the case when I'm feeling angry, I turned to Rage Against The Machine.
Legend has it that Zack de la Rocha, the vocalist of the band, is every bit as vociferous in his delivery during practice as he is in concert.
It's a useful reminder there's no half-arsing creation.
It's all in, all the time.
Rage Against The Machine - Testify (from The Battle Of Mexico City)
What's inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
January 4, 2025
WeeklyWritingWrapup.20250104
This week: do NOT Save The Cat and the importance of originality; an update on my writing; The Spike-related links; and the glory of Sigur Rós.
do_not_save_the_cat
Before I get trolled, I'm not suggesting you leave Tiddles stuck up that tree, even though he got himself up there and is probably evil like the lion's share of felines.
I'm referring to the writing guide Save The Cat by Blake Snyder. First published in 2005, it gave a formula for writing screenplays that has become wildly popular amongst writers, and like anything successful nowadays, has since spun-off into different versions for novels, TV, and movies despite the original author's passing.
I'm not going to claim Save The Cat isn't helpful when learning how to write a story. I certainly read several craft books as I was finding my way, and I picked up useful tips from each of them.
My issue is also not just with Save The Cat, but with any book, website, YouTube channel, podcast etc that espouses a proven method for creating anything, whether that be a book, movie, poem, song, painting...
I'm not going to go into what the Save The Cat method is, firstly because looking behind the curtain can ruin the magic, and secondly because if you want to know, you should buy the book and give the creator their dues.
My issue is this:
If everyone follows a formula, all the results are too similar.
There's a "rule" in songwriting that the vocals should begin as soon as possible. I've heard older musicians say it should be under 30 seconds; a search on Bing for "how long should a song intro be" returns a result of 8-12 seconds.
There are few bands as creative and willing to take risks as Radiohead. When they released an album, "OK Computer", that was lauded as one of the best of all time, they abandoned the sound that defined it and went a completely different direction, birthing another album that's rated one of the best, "Kid A".
Amongst the most popular songs from "Kid A" is "The National Anthem". It takes 90 seconds to introduce the vocals, but there's a build of instrumentation that maintains interest.
The creativity and rule-breaking don't stop there, though.
On the album version, about halfway through the track, jazz horns punch in unexpectedly to drive the song to a frantic finale.
When they play it live, the horns are absent; Jonny Greenwood punctuates the song with warped fragments of live radio from local stations he tuned in during the soundcheck. Every performance is unique.
Radiohead - The National Anthem (Live at Reading 2009)
Some of the most famous and well-regarded creations are rule-breakers too:
Pop songs must not be more than 4 minutes - Bohemian Rhapsody
Action blockbuster movies must not be complex - Inception
Characters in TV shows don't change - Walter White in Breaking Bad
Follow the three-act structure - Pulp Fiction
To clarify, I have no issue with the writers of most craft books, websites, YouTube channels, podcasts etc. Sure, some are just trying to make a quick buck but you get that in every industry. Many can be entertaining and motivational, and are genuinely trying to be helpful.
And you do need to know the rules before you can break them.
My message is to the creatives: please, please stop following formulas. You are turning off the audience and boring them to apathy.
We need artists who ignore "the way things must be done" and break the rules, who create interesting and emotive pieces that last beyond so much of the throwaway popular culture.
We need artists who find new ways to make us feel.
And with AI capable of churning out unoriginal "art" because it's been trained on so much formulaic content, it will be up to humans to advance us further.
It's up to all of us to create.
So maybe don't save the cat. Maybe let the cat die.
progress_report
Draft 2 of part 2 of Volume 2 of The Spike is complete!
I'd targeted the end of 2024 to finish it, and I typed the last sentence at 9:30PM on 30/12/24. A whole day to spare.
The thing about writing three books at once though, is there's always something else to write.
I've returned to draft 2 of part 3, picking it up from chapter 19. My intention was to finish it by the end of February - I'm still hoping to do that, but the next 5 weeks will be pressurised at my day job as I'm involved in a system migration. Whilst I want to continue my streak of working on my writing every day - currently at 211 days - I may need to be kind to myself and take a little break.
I fully intend to keep up with this blog, but the progress_report might not report much progress!
status.vol2
The Spike Volume 2 will contain three separate books from the perspective of seven characters.
Part 1 - draft 2 complete; further chapters to add.
Part 2 - draft 2 complete!
Part 3 - draft 2 written up to chapter 18; forty-eight chapters to go.
The intention is to complete draft 2 for part 3 by the end of February.
Part 1 is currently much shorter than the others, and I want them to be closer in length, so I will need to decide how to tighten parts 2 and 3 slightly, and add more to part 1 - I have some exciting ideas to expand it.
Then a readthrough of all parts will determine how much revision is required.
The ultimate aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
AI is stealing from Britain's creative industries – and Labour seems to believe that crime should be legal
Godfather of AI’ shortens odds of the technology wiping out humanity over next 30 years
The evolution of X: How Musk transformed the social media giant in 2024
‘We need dramatic social and technological changes’: is societal collapse inevitable?
Humanoid robot trends to watch in 2025
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that's inspired my creativity.
This week, another example of musical creativity and rule-breaking. Icelandic band Sigur Rós created a unique sound around playing an electric guitar with a bow, and it's glorious. Their track Viðrar vel til loftárása waits a full five minutes before it introduces vocals, and the uplifting and powerful finale wouldn't hit as hard without the gentle build-up. This live performance from Reykjavík in 2006 is special.
What's inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
Sigur Rós - Viðrar vel til loftárása live in Reykjavik 2006
See you next week.
do_not_save_the_cat
Before I get trolled, I'm not suggesting you leave Tiddles stuck up that tree, even though he got himself up there and is probably evil like the lion's share of felines.
I'm referring to the writing guide Save The Cat by Blake Snyder. First published in 2005, it gave a formula for writing screenplays that has become wildly popular amongst writers, and like anything successful nowadays, has since spun-off into different versions for novels, TV, and movies despite the original author's passing.
I'm not going to claim Save The Cat isn't helpful when learning how to write a story. I certainly read several craft books as I was finding my way, and I picked up useful tips from each of them.
My issue is also not just with Save The Cat, but with any book, website, YouTube channel, podcast etc that espouses a proven method for creating anything, whether that be a book, movie, poem, song, painting...
I'm not going to go into what the Save The Cat method is, firstly because looking behind the curtain can ruin the magic, and secondly because if you want to know, you should buy the book and give the creator their dues.
My issue is this:
If everyone follows a formula, all the results are too similar.
There's a "rule" in songwriting that the vocals should begin as soon as possible. I've heard older musicians say it should be under 30 seconds; a search on Bing for "how long should a song intro be" returns a result of 8-12 seconds.
There are few bands as creative and willing to take risks as Radiohead. When they released an album, "OK Computer", that was lauded as one of the best of all time, they abandoned the sound that defined it and went a completely different direction, birthing another album that's rated one of the best, "Kid A".
Amongst the most popular songs from "Kid A" is "The National Anthem". It takes 90 seconds to introduce the vocals, but there's a build of instrumentation that maintains interest.
The creativity and rule-breaking don't stop there, though.
On the album version, about halfway through the track, jazz horns punch in unexpectedly to drive the song to a frantic finale.
When they play it live, the horns are absent; Jonny Greenwood punctuates the song with warped fragments of live radio from local stations he tuned in during the soundcheck. Every performance is unique.
Radiohead - The National Anthem (Live at Reading 2009)
Some of the most famous and well-regarded creations are rule-breakers too:
Pop songs must not be more than 4 minutes - Bohemian Rhapsody
Action blockbuster movies must not be complex - Inception
Characters in TV shows don't change - Walter White in Breaking Bad
Follow the three-act structure - Pulp Fiction
To clarify, I have no issue with the writers of most craft books, websites, YouTube channels, podcasts etc. Sure, some are just trying to make a quick buck but you get that in every industry. Many can be entertaining and motivational, and are genuinely trying to be helpful.
And you do need to know the rules before you can break them.
My message is to the creatives: please, please stop following formulas. You are turning off the audience and boring them to apathy.
We need artists who ignore "the way things must be done" and break the rules, who create interesting and emotive pieces that last beyond so much of the throwaway popular culture.
We need artists who find new ways to make us feel.
And with AI capable of churning out unoriginal "art" because it's been trained on so much formulaic content, it will be up to humans to advance us further.
It's up to all of us to create.
So maybe don't save the cat. Maybe let the cat die.
progress_report
Draft 2 of part 2 of Volume 2 of The Spike is complete!
I'd targeted the end of 2024 to finish it, and I typed the last sentence at 9:30PM on 30/12/24. A whole day to spare.
The thing about writing three books at once though, is there's always something else to write.
I've returned to draft 2 of part 3, picking it up from chapter 19. My intention was to finish it by the end of February - I'm still hoping to do that, but the next 5 weeks will be pressurised at my day job as I'm involved in a system migration. Whilst I want to continue my streak of working on my writing every day - currently at 211 days - I may need to be kind to myself and take a little break.
I fully intend to keep up with this blog, but the progress_report might not report much progress!
status.vol2
The Spike Volume 2 will contain three separate books from the perspective of seven characters.
Part 1 - draft 2 complete; further chapters to add.
Part 2 - draft 2 complete!
Part 3 - draft 2 written up to chapter 18; forty-eight chapters to go.
The intention is to complete draft 2 for part 3 by the end of February.
Part 1 is currently much shorter than the others, and I want them to be closer in length, so I will need to decide how to tighten parts 2 and 3 slightly, and add more to part 1 - I have some exciting ideas to expand it.
Then a readthrough of all parts will determine how much revision is required.
The ultimate aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
AI is stealing from Britain's creative industries – and Labour seems to believe that crime should be legal
Godfather of AI’ shortens odds of the technology wiping out humanity over next 30 years
The evolution of X: How Musk transformed the social media giant in 2024
‘We need dramatic social and technological changes’: is societal collapse inevitable?
Humanoid robot trends to watch in 2025
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that's inspired my creativity.
This week, another example of musical creativity and rule-breaking. Icelandic band Sigur Rós created a unique sound around playing an electric guitar with a bow, and it's glorious. Their track Viðrar vel til loftárása waits a full five minutes before it introduces vocals, and the uplifting and powerful finale wouldn't hit as hard without the gentle build-up. This live performance from Reykjavík in 2006 is special.
What's inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
Sigur Rós - Viðrar vel til loftárása live in Reykjavik 2006
See you next week.
