My First Serialized Story Is Complete! Now What?
Now that all four parts of "Masquerade" are out, it's time to make some changes around here.
Last week, I released the final part of my first serialized story, which is also my first proper work of fiction on Substack, which is also what I spent most of last year working on. In case you haven’t read it yet, it’s a sci-fi mystery story featuring a crime-solving couple and it’s called Masquerade: A Nevers and Moon Mystery. To be honest, when I first decided to start writing on Substack, I really had no idea what I was getting into. Now, nearly two months in, I think I finally do, and that means there are going to be some changes in how I approach this platform.
Change Number 1: I Want to Show You Everything
My self-confidence isn’t so high that I’d happily show you the numerous scribbled notes, OneNote pages, and Word docs that make up my “creative process”. Maybe we’ll get there at some point. When I say “everything”, what I’m talking about is the full breadth of what I do. Besides my fiction and personal writing, I also write about movies and shows for Collider.com, and going forward I’d like to share that part of my life with you more. Like this review I did for the Andrew Scott series Ripley, which I consider Netflix’s best show of 2024 so far:
'Ripley' Review: Andrew Scott Dazzles in Netflix's Gorgeous Noir Thriller
Of course, in order to “show you everything”, I’m going to need a lot more space, so that brings us to…
Change Number 2: We’re Going Bi-Weekly
Initially, I’d planned on this being a once-a-week newsletter but I now realize that’s a bit self-limiting. During the four weeks I was releasing Masquerade, I couldn’t publish anything else, and I’d like to change that. So, starting next week, I’ll be posting twice, on Thursdays and Saturdays. The current plan is to release non-fiction (articles, essays, general housekeeping) on Thursdays and new stories on Saturdays. However, that’s not going to be a strict rule because of…
Change C: Embracing Chaos
I’ve never been one for boxes, not even self-made ones. This is why I hate writing bios because they create the impression that a person is a well-defined construct with quantifiable qualities. Fun isn’t quantifiable. The universe is eternally oscillating between chaos and order and all systems work until they don’t. Definitions change. Just like how I found the one-a-week model to be limiting, chances are I’ll run into the limits of my new plan before long. And when I do, I want to be able to incorporate changes without having to restructure my entire approach like I’m doing with this post. That’s the main reason why I’d like to “embrace chaos” but there’s another one.
In the short time I’ve spent on Substack, I’ve come to value it as a social medium that’s far less soul-destroying than its counterparts. I enjoy the interactions with other writers, and of course with you, my dear subscribers. I’d like to have more of that. I’d like to do challenges, and cross-post, and make more recommendations, and generally talk to people about the Work. I have no intention of being another piece of clickbait in your inbox and the best way I can think of to do that is to be truly, authentically chaotic.
I hope you’ll enjoy what’s coming.
Can't wait to see what's coming next!