S.A. Stephenson's Blog

Writing goals for 2020

It’s hard to believe a new decade is beckoning in just a few days and it brings with it new hopes and goals for the year to come. This year has been hard writing wise, but I’m hoping to turn it back around for next year.

Fiction Writing

I want to get back into writing fiction, I’m not sure if I want to go back to writing sci-fi as I found my first two books a struggle, I’m interested in Urban Fantasy, but more so literary fiction and stories with heart. The problem is I like such a diverse range of books that it’s hard to narrow down what to write when it comes to my own projects. I do want to keep pushing my writing style and find depth to my work so it feels like it has some meaning.

Marketing

By day I am aiming to get back into the marketing field, I am building my own portfolio site which will showcase marketing knowledge and my content writing skills and I’d like to hone this and continue to develop expertise in this area.

Blogging

I’ve been into blogging for as long as I can remember, but never seem to have built up a solid platform, I want to keep going with this and see how it can help create a digital community.

There will no doubt be more, but writing is the biggest passion I’ve had and if I do anything in 2020, I want to put it back at the centre of my life and experience the positivity that comes from being part of the writing community.

What does writing bring you?

This was the question that I was asked this week and it’s one that I’ve not been asked before and I thought it was interesting. For as long as I can remember I’ve been a writer, I’ve been writing manuscript length books since a teenager and I don’t know how to not have this in my life.

I think when I was a teenager, writing offered an escape from the world. I hated high school and was often bullied and it wasn’t an environment I could thrive in, so when I wasn’t at school, I was writing and creating worlds that I could escape into. This probably saved me on more than one occasion as things got worse.

My teenage self tapping away on an old Windows computer (yes kids, this is what computers used to look like!)

Now as an adult, I write because it’s a passion. It’s the thing that makes me who I am and I love the creative process and disappearing into worlds that are mine until they are shared. I also write, because it’s my way of expressing myself. I’m not the best talker and writing helps me figure out the world. Writing allows for exploration and understanding and opens me up to new ideas and thoughts that I may not have otherwise had.

So, I will always be a writer, and in 2020 I want to dedicate more of my life back to this because it gives me joy in a way nothing else quite has.

If you’re a writer, why do you write?

Book Review: Flat Share by Beth O’Leary

What would you do if you desperately needed somewhere to rent in London? Would you consider a flat share, where you end up literally sharing the same bed as the person you’re flat sharing with?

Well, that’s the situation that Tiffy finds herself in when she needs to leave her ex-boyfriend. She finds a small flat to rent on Gumtree, the only catch is Leon, a dashing Irish man who she doesn’t meet, shares the flat (and bed) with her when she’s not there.

With Tiffy and Leon unable to meet due to Leon working nights at the hospital and Tiffy working during the day at a small publishing house, the pair write to each other through post-it notes that are left throughout the flat.

Slowly, life takes turns and the pair end up meeting and provide support for one another when life throws them curveballs. But with Tiffy’s jealous ex still on the scene, readers are left gripped, wanting to know if their relationship will truly flourish.

This contemporary romance is told through the points of view of Tiffy and Leon in alternating chapters. It’s charmingly British in its approach but tackles important issues such as controlling relationships, gaslighting and wrongful imprisonment. Such topics are important in contemporary literature as many find themselves experiencing similar situations.

What we find with the character of Tiffy, is she’s a clear representation of a woman trying to navigate her way through the 21st century millennial generation. Working at a low paying job because she’s managed to find something she’s passionate about, Tiffy strives to do her best where she can in the hopes of catching a break, all while dealing with a controlling ex who doesn’t seem to understand that stalking your former girlfriend isn’t the best move.

While Tiffy is navigating the world of ex’s and fledging careers, Leon, is a nurse who works at a hospital in London. While battling the sleep deprived night shifts, Leon is trying to get his brother out of jail and is dealing with a girlfriend who likes too much control. Leon shares his brother’s story with Tiffy and the pair begin their bond as they try and find a way to get him out of jail.

This story is magic in its own way as it focuses on how the current generation have multiple aspects of their lives that require juggling, all while trying to succeed at a career, find a partner and deal with unexpected life hurdles along the way. Through Tiffy and Leon, we’re shown how the current generation of adults handle the modern world and find affection and friendship even in challenging circumstances.

What this book highlights is how adults today are navigating the world around them and how friendship plays a vital role in people’s support systems. This book is a great read for anyone who enjoys light contemporary romance and wants to be swept up in a story filled with memorable characters.

Book Review: A Man Called Ove

This book is hailed as a must read for those who loved Elinor Oliphant is completely fine. Now, as someone who has Elinor Oliphant as a favourite book, I thought this was a bold claim but I was hopeful as there’s nothing better than finding a gem of book that stays with you long after you’ve read the last page.

Sadly, A Man Called Ove, didn’t do this for me.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good book and has certain good moments throughout the story, but on a whole it certainly didn’t capture me in the same way as Elinor did. This is why it’s hard to compare one book to another because it clouds judgement before going in.

However, A Man Called Ove, is a charming story about an eccentric man who tries to navigate through the world with a perspective that makes him seem fairly odd to those who knows him.

At the heart, the book tells the story of Ove and his wife, how they met and fell in love and the tragedies they faced. It also shares how Ove navigates his life on his own, how he views things in a way that seem odd to most people but perfectly logical to him.

What is charming about this book is how it helps show the world through a different lens, we all know someone who’s a little odder than usual and we never quite know what to make of them. Books like A Man Called Ove and Elinor Oliphant shows that ‘normal’ isn’t the only way someone approaches life.

With mental health becoming more of a theme in contemporary fiction, novels like AMCO show that the quirky and oddballs that we often dismiss have fascinating stories to share about their lives.

A Man Called Ove is a good read if you’re looking for something a little different, and I guess in its own way it is memorable and has it’s own take away like any good novel should have.

Writing Again

We’re ten days into Nanowrimo, the month where writers around the world try and write 50,000 words in a month. I’ve participated before in this and won, but this year I just wanted to be writing again.

While I have a third book to write in the Genesis Project, my focus has shifted to contemporary fiction and I have started not one but two projects. One’s about gang crime and cultural exploration (and is a YA – whoop!), while the other is a LGBT+ love story set in the West End.

London has been influencing my writing lately, with its history and many possibilities for stories. I’m sure I’ll finish my sci-fi trilogy at some point, but the thought of finishing it was stopping me from writing completely and so now I’m just happy to be writing anything.

While I’ve finally been putting pen to paper, I’ve also been getting through a lot of books, I’m almost at twenty for the year, which is a good average for me. My reading has swerved through genres this year but I am enjoying what I’m picking up.

Plans for 2020 are well underway, and I’m trying to put my love for creativity and books into the centre of what I do. Here’s hoping for creativity and more fun going forward!

A Writer’s Life

It’s been a while…okay a long while. I published my second book earlier this year and then have just kind of…stalled. I guess life took over, I went on medication that changed how my brain works a little so now I create in a different way and it feels like it takes longer and I’m trying to work out what to do with this little writing life of mine.

A change in genre

I start writing sci-fi and when I first started I enjoyed it and loved what I was creating. I still have one book left in the Genesis Project to write but I can’t seem to get started on it. My first love has always been literary fiction, lyrical prose and telling stories with heart. What I’m writing just didn’t feel like that. I want to get better at my craft rather than publish for the sake of publishing. I want to tell stories that are deeper than just a genre story. But I also want to write entertaining stories, memorable characters and more. There ARE too many routes, and just like my life, it’s hard to pick just one!!

Content Creating

I’ve always loved content and this has increased lately. I’m wanting to double down on content and build brands that tell stories outside of fiction. This has led me to think that being a writer doesn’t just have to be confined to fiction writing, it can be any type of writing that is an expression of something. So while I’m not churning out books, I am still creating in other ways and that’s important.

Health and Life

My wellbeing has been much better this year than it has been previously, a combination of meds, personal development, spiritual exploration and good people in my life have all contributed. I’m still working a full-time day job in a different field to what I was originally in, but I have goals for 2020 that are exciting and I am feeling like I’m finally ready to start re-embracing life again.

When Change Comes

Change is an inevitable part of life. We like to think we have some control but really, there are so many other factors that influence our lives, that we don’t really realise it until they come to the forefront.

I had a dramatic change in my life when my father passed away suddenly, and it impacted my life hugely. Now eight years on, I’m finally feeling settled after going through the motions of that disruption. And I think it’s because of that feeling of change that a change is being felt in my writing and content production.

I have been writing the Genesis Project now for nearly four years and produced two books, it’s been slow, it’s been mired with mental health, moving hemispheres and a whole bunch of change and while there’s one more book left in the story, I feel like I need a break from it. I need to write something new. That’s not to say I won’t deliver the final book, I definitely will, but I have new characters I want to explore and new stories to tell.

I’ve lately become intrigued by crime and thrillers. I think it’s a by-product of living in a binge-watching culture and some incredibly good drama currently being available on TV. I was also inspired by the last BAFTA’s and seeing all the great TV being celebrated and felt that excitement to write again.

Sci-fi I don’t think was ever really for me. I like the idea of dystopia, but only when it’s done smartly and can still be based in reality. I’ve recently been watching Years by Years on the BBC and this show does dystopia perfectly. If I write in this genre in the future, I want it to be less sci-fi, more realistic. I just need to develop my craft before I can achieve this.

As for crime and thrillers, I love spy dramas, MI5 stories and all that it encompasses. I have a new female lead that I can see quite clearly and I want to explore her story. It’s more grown-up writing as well, which feels like it brings some extra credibility to it.

So that’s where I’m at on this writing journey. In terms of content, I’m branching out into self-development and wellbeing, but that’s for another post.

Book Review: Midnight Riot, Rivers of London Series

The Rivers of London series is what would happen if Harry Potter was an adult in the police force. This book introduces the character of Peter Grant, a man who recently discovers that magic exists and that there’s a whole other side to London that he never knew.

This book cleverly weaves together a traditional crime novel with elements of fantasy. The characters are rich and a true voice of London. The author Ben Arronovitch doesn’t shy away from the realities of crime and what it’s like to fight crime. He also weaves in a new fantastical world that feels like it could be real.

Humour is used throughout the book as a way of dealing with the strange things that Peter finds himself facing. The tone is very British which makes it unique in this genre.

If you’re looking for a unique fantasy novel that utilises the crime genre as well, then this series could be for you. I read this book through Audible and the narration really added to the story, the accents and music helped set the scene and drew you in.

Hobby vs Hustle

I’ve just finished writing my second book, which took a year and a half to write. By indie standards, this is an incredibly long time between books, but by traditional publishing standards, this is more normal. The indie publishing community has a lot of methods on how to sell books and get known as an author and one of those is the rapid publishing model where a writer would write two, three or more books and then quickly release them all. I think this is a good approach, but something I know isn’t for me.

I tend to write mostly on the weekends, during the week I work full time and my energy is devoted to my traditional career. In past jobs, I focused more on writing because I wasn’t enjoying the work I was doing and it gave me a sense of purpose my work didn’t give me. Now that I’m in the right career, I think my opinions on being an author have changed. Yes I still want to publish books and write, but I don’t know if I want to do this full time. Writing fiction has always been a hobby, but with the invention of earning money online, it seems that if you have a hobby that can also generate an income, you’re immediately swept up in the notion of having a side hustle that turns your hobby into a profit. Now is it a bad thing if the thing you like also makes you an extra income? Of course not. But should you throw all your spare time and energy into it if you just want to enjoy it and have something on the side that’s for you? Not if you don’t want to. If you want to write as a hobby you shouldn’t feel shame for that, if you want to create an empire and a business then all the best. I’ve swayed between the two and for now I think I’m happy to settle on this being a hobby. It takes off the pressure and means I can do things a little more my own way.

With this site, I’m going back to traditional blogging because that’s what I know. I do want to start a podcast at some point to help enable build a community, but I don’t want to work myself into the ground and have nothing left over to enjoy. Writing is and always will be a part of who I am, it’s just about finding a balance that works going forward.

On Finishing a Book

It’s said there are various energies needed when it comes to writing. At the start of a project there’s a flurry of excitement that spurs the story on, then you get to the sticky middle where you try and work out what’s going on and when you get to the second act you’re rolling to the finish line. However, when it comes to editing, these stages vary. Now I’m not a fan of editing, it’s a very slow process for me and is a reason why it takes me longer than it should to finish projects. But maintaining enthusiasm is the necessary energy needed to get a project finished.

So, after going through all the different stages of writing, finishing my second book feels like an accomplishment that’s long overdue. As I was editing the last chapters, I was reading news about New Zealand, and so it’s hard to feel like celebrating when there’s tragedy unfolding but I am grateful that I have completed another project, that I’ll have another book out and I can start book three.

The third book will be the last in this series and I am looking forward to beginning a new project and going through the cycles of excitement that comes with writing fiction.