What I wrote in 2022
A year ago today, I vowed to finish at least one piece of writing every month in 2022. I failed. However, I still managed to write a hell of a lot more than I had managed in recent years. My writings varied from personal recollections to short stories via Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.
To commemorate, I have gathered everything I wrote last year in one place. I’ve grouped them in fiction and non-fiction, so, while you should obviously read everything, feel free to skip ahead to pieces that might interest you. So, to misquote Macbeth, read on Macduff…
FICTION
A not-very-SciFi-y SciFi short story told across 100 ever shortening chapters. It follows the life of an alien space-faring bus conductor over 100 days. I originally published this over 100 days (or attempted to), so readers could read it in real time, but it’s all published now so read as fast or as slow as you wish.
A dark tale about a Naval officer visiting a tropical island and the underground subculture he discovers. Landscape was inspired by my visit to Cape Verde; fortunately neither characters nor plot details were.
A re-imagining of a classic Greek myth, alternating to and from flashbacks. Inspired by a friend who challenged me to write a story set in Crete.
A mystical tale about dealing with loss. I sought to emulate the fairy tales of George MacDonald while incorporating the Somerset landscape I spent so much of my childhood in.
NON-FICTION
A reflection on my old boarding school and the effect it continues to have upon me. I hope it is of interest to both former pupils and those with no connection to this bizarre little world.
A retelling of the most unlikely event in my life. Regrettably, Snoops died earlier this year. No other cat made greater use of their nine lives and we all miss him terribly.
A guttural reaction to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, with a focus on the psychological impact on the Western alliance. Someone published a translated version of this in Russian; I am unsure how to feel about that.
An explanation of why werewolves are the best horror monsters going. I wrote this in part out of frustration as I find there are too few quality werewolf stories. Here’s hoping the novel I’m writing can prove a rare exception…
So what about next year? My main goal is to finish the aforementioned werewolf novel. I will, however, still be aiming to produce one piece of writing a month. These will be published here, so, if you’ve enjoyed any of these pieces, please do follow or subscribe to see any new works as soon as they’re published. Here’s to 2023!
