The Future

of this Substack at least

It has been far too long since I last posted here. It’s not for lack of inspiration—I have more article ideas than I know what to do with—nor even really the lack of time, though I have been laser-focused on finishing a short story. Perhaps the main thing preventing me from keeping up a regular schedule of posting has been uncertainty about where I should go with this platform and even if I should dedicate time here at all. That, and a bout of writer’s block of the kind that had me thinking it was impossible to write anything at all (wurdz harrd).

So, here I am, with my first post back (of many more, I hope), and I feel like I ought to address that uncertainty head on.

Where do I go with this platform? How do I provide a space that is interesting to readers (that’s you!) as much as it is to me? What’s the best use of my time and effort here? If I turn on a subscription level, what treasures could I distribute to those who send me tribute?

I still not sure about any of it, but here are my thoughts anyway. Please tell me what you think in the comments!

Updates

First things first, what I’ve been up to in the past few months!

It has been a busy, stressful, honestly very difficult first half of the year. Personal life has been less than ideal—and yeah, the passive voice is doing some heavy lifting there. There’s a lot I can’t get into. I’m still committed to writing and releasing books and stories and all of that, even though right now it feels like I’m actively fighting to make any progress at all. …and now I’m wondering if I should edit this part down, because does the world really need to hear me kvetching? But yes, actually, I think it’s important to share the rough parts sometimes too, as well as the successes. So, here you go, and please read this with grace!

I have had successes in the last few months. I continue to write short stories and flash fiction. And several of them have been released through Havok Publishing, including the most recent, which is an attempt at the old-fashioned and much neglected pastoral genre, but with a dragon! You can read it here (it’s behind a paywall, which is absolutely worth it).

And I finished writing a short story about a modern young guy who finds himself suffering under the effects of an ancient curse. It was a challenge to write, not least because it’s a Horror but kept on veering into the humorous despite my best efforts, and now I find that it is 14,000 words long instead of the 8000 words I was shooting for! Which means massive edits (or that it’s actually a novelette). Fun times!

Now that this epic story is out of the way, I’m feeling a little at a loss for what to do next. A gazillion novels/stories are jostling for my attention, which makes it difficult to figure out what to prioritize. But one thing is for sure—Whitstead Summertide, the next installment in our anthology series about a Victorian British village with all sorts of magical things happening in it—is coming out this year and I have a lot of work to do to get it in shape. Crunch time is on. It’s time to focus on all the Whitstead-y things!

Stay tuned for more of my chaotic writing life. But now, back to the purpose of this post. Let’s look into the future.

Photo by Anna Hunko on Unsplash

Muddled Thoughts about the Future

Where might I go with this Substack space? A few possibilities:

The Newsletter (a failed experiment)

Last year-ish, I attempted to release a monthly newsletter updating my subscribers on all my writerly doings. It was an interesting experiment, but what it proved to me more than anything was that it wouldn’t work long-term. The posts were so long that I bored even myself, the readership was low, and (perhaps worst of all) the newsletters took up all my writing time and attention so that I often ended up writing nothing else for my Substack for the rest of the month.

This is simply not a sustainable model. Updates are important. Newsletters are essential for authors. But Substack simply isn’t the right place for me to do that kind of thing!

I’m not sure where to go with the newsletter side of this. Maybe I could transition it into a quick monthly updates-and-news-only post? Keep it short and brief? That might work.

Reviews of Old Books, Movies, TV, etc.

Would anyone be interested in (yet another) review-focused account? Probably not.

But I have a theory that what we commonly call reviews nowadays are actually opinion pieces, and that has potential. I’m not a professional, trained reviewer (a rare breed these days), but I love to talk about books, movies, and TV. Just talking is worthwhile! I could have a regular feature around here covering the media I’ve been enjoying—perhaps several reviews/opinion pieces all at the same time, especially if they share themes.

What do you think? Would you want to hear my opinions on stuff?

In addition, occasionally, I could do…

Deeper Dives

In which I examine some piece in more depth from a particular angle (for instance, the Miss Marple book The Moving Finger and its discussion of the benefits of boredom, or the movie Sneakers and how it’s actually about isolation and connection in a world becoming more dominated by technology, etc.). I honestly think this, as an open-ended series of posts, holds the most promise of any of my ideas here—at least as far as sustainability goes.

Writing Updates and Writing-Related Subjects

This is what I should be doing around here. As an author trying to actually write consistently and get books out, my primary focus should be on that latest novel-in-development and I ought to be talking about it obsessively everywhere I go. And then when it’s finished and getting ready for release, I should be sharing about its themes and inspiration and everything.

But that never happens and when I make it happen, I feel awkward and dissatisfied.

In practice, I hate talking about my works-in-progress as I’m working on them. Even when my mind is most teeming with ideas, I prefer to keep everything safely private. After all, seeds don’t germinate and root in the bright sun—they are hidden away, secret and allowed to be as messy and chaotic as needed.

So, keeping in mind that I should still be sharing about all this… I’m not sure how.

Do you have any ideas? What kinds of things would you like to see your favorite author (a purely hypothetical figure) talk about?

Fiction

Another thing I ought to be doing is sharing actual fiction for you to read more often.

But how often? What do I share? I have quite a library of short stories and flash fiction now, but do I really want to be posting those here alone?

And what about serials? Because I’d love to do that, but I’m not a fast writer.

Ranting about Fantasy and Science Fiction

Or what if I do in-depth rants about the way fantasy and science fiction works? Talk about my favorites? Dig into the heart of theme, philosophy, metaphysics, worldbuilding, why science doesn’t need to be confirmed to be part of sci-fi?

There are random topics I want to talk about. I have deep thoughts about various things that often have to do with my own writing and stories more generally. Honestly, this will probably happen somehow, so I might as well lean into it. But how? Should these be monthly deep and long articles, perhaps?

The Conclusion

Well, my Substack isn’t going anywhere, and I am recommitting to maintaining and building it. Now that I’ve been at this a while, my expectations of my own capabilities are a bit more realistic (though I still get carried away dreaming about what I could be capable of if only I were an amazingly fast writer and had all the time in the world to write!), so with that in mind, and having listed out all my possible directions, here is what I think I’ll do around here in the future:

- Have a monthly schedule of posts to cycle through. This has helped me on other platforms in the past, so I have hopes of it working here as well. So, week one might be for quick updates, week two for reviews/opinions/commentary, week three a deep dive, etc.

- Increased focus on my own writing and projects. This is part of my overall goal of building my own “ecosystem” ¹

- Regular short stories and so on

- A goal of posting weekly, but flexibility and breaks built in

And… I think this could work?

I’m still hesitant and feeling unsure of myself (though that could be just because I’m feeling rather glum in general at the moment), but this could work!

Official schedules and stuff with have to wait until I’ve had time to think this all over. But for now, I’ve talked myself into a little more enthusiasm.

What about you? I’d love to hear what you would like to see from me in the future!

1. I don’t like that term. Too business-world-y! Must brainstorm something cooler.