For a very long time, I've wanted to write. From when I was a child, in fact. I have always written. I continue to write. Sometimes it is terrible, sometimes it is good, sometimes it is engaging, other times it is boring.
But now, that I am finally starting to relax after thirteen years of working in a high stress, high anxiety environment (only just realising ten weeks after that stint of my life is over) - I am feeling like I have enough creative juice to share my writing, and to sit down and to do my writing.
Much like my declaration of intent about wanting to do an Art Exhibition in the future (I have a great deal of work already printed, and continue to work toward making new work!)
It is time to make another declaration, and show you what I have done so far toward my dream of being a writer.
While I may not get anything published formally (I have to try!) - It is the act of writing, collating, and bringing together a thematic link to all of the stories that I am going to try and tease out in this post.
Firstly, let me show you what I have done so far.
A story about a future where books are printed on paper stock from more exotic trees.
Half love story, half eulogy, half pining about the (potentially) cyclical nature of the universe.
For those that just want to read my fiction, it is being published on Substack as well, where it will be free to read for only two months before it becomes "paywalled".
It will always be free on HIVE, because.. well, I can't undo what I post on HIVE, and I like that! :) But, if you do like the work, I'd love to have comments and upvotes. Comments more so, because they provide me with feedback and encouragement to keep going.
I am also keen to read all of these stories "in my voice", so there's a paced audio version - and I commit to publishing those here, as well!
Here are a few titles:
A tale about a building, a computer scientist, AI, and the intersections of reality
A tale about a ruthless cabal of florists who organise terrorist attacks, accidents, disasters, and so on to drum up business.
As the title suggests, exploring what a world without the Yeast bacterium would look like
A scientist finds irrefutable proof that the universe is deterministic, and we have no free will - how does society react?
Somehow, humanity has survived long enough that they must evacuate the Earth, with the sun about to become a giant. A child, watching the chaos, makes the saddening notion that this must happen to all stars
Meditations on how much a life is worth based on the actions that took place. A funny twist, and something a little bit more absurd
A story about a bride. She's about to kiss her husband on the altar, then from her perspective, time flows backwards. For others, she's catatonic. She's locked in, a passenger and from her perspective, her life flowing backwards is horror, as she retains the consciousness of the present, expecting to the future
I will not necessarily be writing these stories in the order presented, and they may differ and evolve conceptually as I sit (or stand) to write them.
My vision is an anthology of a dozen or more stories, an ISBN, a digital file for people to purchase, or a "very self-published" version printed on my laser printer and hand stapled.
Or maybe, some publisher somewhere, may pick up my stories.
Perhaps I am delusional about their value, but like so many people who want to make an album before they die, I want to make an anthology of stories before I die.
And there's no time like the present.
Follow me to follow the stories. :)
A lot of these stories are going to be speculative fiction, or as the kids call it, "Sci-Fi", but it is my goal to make the stories that can make you "think". My main inspiration and aspiration is for the work of feel like that of Ted Chiang.
