I must admit, I’m not a natural blogger. That’s perhaps a strange opening line for a blog. But it’s true. It’s not something I ever thought I would do. Then again, I never thought I’d be a winner of the Writers of the Future competition either. So, go figure.
And that’s what’s led me here. To this cliff edge, where I feel as though I’m about to leap off into the deep and choppy waters of the internet and find out if I can swim. Am I filling you with confidence?
No? Well, it makes sense then that I give myself a nice and easy opening blog post, right? And, given it is still January, what better time to reflect on the past year and how I found myself typing up this first post, somewhat stunned and shaking my head in disbelief as I do so.
Looking back at 2024
(To be read while humming “Over My Shoulder” by Mike + The Mechanics, obviously.)
To say 2024 was a big year for me as a writer would be somewhat of an understatement.
In May 2024, my story, “The Apotheosis Algorithm”, was physically published in Gwyllion Magazine. I could literally hold the magazine in my hands and see my name in print. It was, frankly, a dream come true. I’ve had a few stories published online, including to a “pro” market (this is considered a market that pays the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America rate of 8c per word). But, there’s something special about reading my own story in print. It felt as though I was a “real” writer.
Then, in August, I received a phone call from Los Angeles, telling me my story had placed third in the Writers of the Future competition. Out of thousands of entries from across the world, the competition’s coordinating judge, Jody Lynn Nye, had picked my story as one of the quarterly finalists and then, to top that off, Kevin J. Anderson and Tim Powers, no less, had not just read my story but had picked it as a winner.
Reeling from the news, my befuddled brain tried to process that I’d be flown out in April 2025 to Hollywood for a week long writing workshop taught by speculative fiction heavyweights such as Orson Scott Card. You may also have heard of some of the other judges, perhaps Brandon Sanderson , Nnedi Okorafor, or maybe Hugh Howey? (Honestly, the list of judges is incredible, check it out).
To think, my name will appear alongside a glittering alumni of past winners such as Patrick Rothfuss, David Farland, and too many others to list (so I’ll just link to the list instead!). My mind was blown. It still is, really.
The psychological effect of winning Writers of the Future has been enormous. Of course, there is the excitement of being a winner in such a prestigious competition, but, of perhaps greater significance, is the sense of validation that came with it. It made me realise that I can write good stories and that, yes, I can make my dream of becoming a writer come true.
Hello 2025!
The Hollywood workshop is designed to prepare you, both mentally and in broader skillset, from thinking of yourself as an “aspiring writer” and turning you into a working “writer”. I now realise the “aspiring” tag is a self-imposed limitation. If you write stories (published or not), you are a writer. There is no “aspiring” about it, not unless you simply sit at your desk and contemplate writing without doing so.
But, there is much work to be done ahead of Hollywood, and I need to get myself ready to take advantage of the opportunities and contacts I’ll make. I’ve been fortunate enough to receive excellent advice from past winners, which included getting yourself a website. After all, I need somewhere that readers can find me and my stories.
Getting a domain name, finding a hosting service, designing my website, publishing this blog, all of this is way out of my comfort zone. But, it is necessary if I am serious about being a writer. And I am. Becoming a winner of the Writers of the Future competition has made me realise that it is possible to one day have a novel published, but also that I need to put the hard work in. I need to get out of my comfort zone, I need to push myself, and I need to think and act like a writer. I need to lose the “aspiring” tag, and I need to be confident enough to tell the world. And, what better way than with a website?
So, aside from looking forward to Hollywood, I still have to actually knuckle down and write stories, after all. I am at the start of, not the end, of my writing journey. And that means I will keep writing, keep submitting, and (hopefully), keep getting published in 2025. And this website is the place to find out how I’m getting on!