I’m on the train. On my way home, back to Manchester. Back to my beautiful fiancée and our little cat. I say little. He’s actually rather massive.
And I’m in a contemplative mood.
Actually ...
To put it bluntly, I'm feeling reflective as f*ck.
Me and the Hawk & Cleaver boys spent the day flogging our wares at Lincoln’s first ever comic-con.
The Linc-Con!
It was nice for a few reasons.
It was nice because it’s always nice to meet up with the boys in person. Even nicer to drink some beers and chat about our favourite bits and pieces of our work. Nicer still to have our products (ew!) all nicely laid out on a table and to talk to random people about the cool stuff we’ve made.
And now I’m on my way back, listening to the new Bon Iver album, and thinking about the weird and wonderful places my ventures have taken me over the years.
On stage accepting awards, flying to idyllic European towns, drinking beers and watching sunsets on the coast with friends, spending a month in Edinburgh wheezing myself through asthma attacks and physical breakdowns, driving broken cars through Slovenian hills, etc, etc.
I’ve spent so many hours on trains and buses, staring out windows and watching the country pass me by. I’ve lived on both ends of the country. I’ve found the love of my life, made friendships all over the globe, had conversations with amazing people working on amazing projects.
I’ve redefined my vision of who I am over and over again, shattered my identity and rebuilt myself like some sometime-self-aware-scrapheap-robot made from the bits and pieces of better-made models.
But sometimes I wonder if I’m living hard enough?
I’m well aware that I only get one chance at this and when you spend so long behind a keyboard imagining worlds and making up characters, it can sometimes feel like you’re wasting your time.
Like I should close the lid of the laptop, go outside and find a trampoline somewhere and have a lovely bounce in the sun.
But I love it.
I love what I do and what I’m working towards. I love my friends and my family. I love my home and my adventures that I’ll remember for years to come.
I love the hard times (in retrospect), because they always crack me open, show me more, give me a fresh perspective.
They make me a more complete person.
Am I living hard enough?
… sure as hell feels like it.
I failed!
I finished four out of the five stories.
I'm not too worried, though. I'll tell you about it tomorrow.
SCOREBOARD
Story 1 - 3051 words
Story 2 - 3048 words
Story 3 - 2087 words
Story 4 - 1523 words
Story 5 - 0
A new story idea every single day.
Check out the previous ideas here
IDEA 123: They Came From Chromosome X
A story told from the perspective of a young man who’s unable to relate to women. Original right?
Okay but hear me out. You spin the metaphor out. You make women an alien race.
Little John thought he understood the world. He was getting good grades at school and was on the football team. Oh … and he had a lot of friends. Easy. Life made sense. That was until a strange little spaceship landed in his school playground, full of creatures with long hair, flowery smells, and the unique ability to make him sad, joyful, and embarrassed all at the same time.
John is going to make it his mission to uncover the secret ways of this peculiar alien race. He’s going to unlock the secret of the women.
Profits made from this blog will go right into my ramen fund. Any more will go right into any future storytelling projects.
Oo oo ... go grab a free book!
