Reading and Writing Challenges in 2021

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We all know what kind of a year 2021 has been. And while 2020 was a tough one, we all felt like 2021 would be the light after that dark night. For many, it was just as rough, but I’m proud of holding my head above water and for achieving what I did this year. Now that I’m done mixing metaphors, I’ll give you the lowdown. Some of it’s personal stuff, but I beg your indulgence. – here’s a bit about my new novel too. Reading and writing challenges in 2021.

New Careers

In January of this year, I decided I wanted a career change. Not just any change either – I wanted to become a teacher. And the first time I said it aloud, I wondered why it had taken me this long to work it out. It was inevitable. In all my jobs, I’ve loved mentoring my colleagues. I’ve loved being part of training. And I’d never really gotten to grips with not having six weeks off in the summer.

I have the most supportive family in the world, and with their help and support (emotional, professional and financial) I went through all the applications and interviews required to start my PGCE. I’m now three months deep into my placement at primary school, and loving every minute. It’s hard work but I think I might have found the vocation that has eluded me thus far in my professional life. And speaking of family…

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The Amazing Maurice: 20th Anniversary Review

Liam Smith 2 Comments

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents was published in 2001. It was Terry Pratchett’s first Discworld novel written for children, and also the first to receive a major award – the Carnegie medal. This year marks the book’s 20th anniversary, and it can’t have been many fewer than 20 years ago when I was first introduced to it as an audio cassette on the long drive to Tenby in my Nanna’s MG Rover. It must be no less than seventeen years since I last read it. How will an Amazing Maurice… review fare under the cynical gaze of an adult Liam?

Well. The book fares very well. But we’ll get to that. First, I need to describe what I remember about this book. We all know memory can play tricks. A recollection from childhood is as likely to be fictional as true. I remembered The Amazing Maurice… being a very dark book – full of shadows and flickering flames that can’t quite illuminate the impending twists and turns of the tail tale. Perhaps, as a tender pre-teen reader, I couldn’t quite grasp everything that was going on?

Chapter titles are accompanied by a snippet from Mr Bunnsy has an Adventure, a book the Rodents adopt as their bible
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How to Write a Screenplay

Liam Smith 2 Comments

This article may or may not contain instructions on how to write a screenplay. But it does contain the twisted tale of how one of my short stories was adapted into a(n equally short) film.

INT. PUB IN WORTHING

It started January 2021. No wait. Technically, it started before our lives were hit by 21st century black death and we all went into lockdown. My bandmate and I were plying our trade at an open mic in Worthing. Another guitarist asked if I could put some percussion behind his set. We got talking and, like any good self-publicising writer, I mentioned my books. I played cajon to We Are the Champions. A good night was had by all.

Back to January 2021. Chaz – for ‘twas Chaz Parvez who had conscripted me into his Queen tribute – shot me a message on Facebook. He was writing, producing and directing a short film. A horror. I wrote horror stories – would I mind giving the screenplay a critical read? I opened the attachment. “2-5-1 (WORKING TITLE)” by Chaz Parvez. You want the first lines?

FADE IN:

“the killing”

INT. CONCERT HALL, BACKSTAGE-EVENING

This was my kind of thing.

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New Reading Challenge: 2020

Liam Smith Leave a comment

What a horror story 2020 was eh? Who would have thought at this time last January we’d all end up living in a world of travel restrictions, infection apps and no pub. No pub! Inevitably, without my favourite writing spot, my prose turnout dropped a bit this year… But three weeks of furlough did give me time to read lots of books, and I achieved my new Reading Challenge for 2020: reading 52 books in the year.

Reading Challenge 2020

We know I like to record every book I read. It’s good to read widely and to treat reading as entertainment just as worthy of your time as gaming, scrolling and Netflix. As an author, you pick up tips and learn more about your own place in your genre (or out of it). A challenge helps to push you to read more and to try new books for new experiences.

You even got a preview of what’s been on my hit-list when I posted my mid-year reading roundup in the summer. I hope you’ll still enjoy scanning a half-interested eye down the full tally.

Challenges of 2021

I know a lot of creative people have struggled this year. In the all the upheaval and ever-changing rules, your mentality recalibrates from creative to survival mode. It’s nothing to beat yourself up about. Usually, I make resolutions for the new year. But this January all I’m resolving to do is take things as they come. I’ll roll with the punches and deal with things in a positive way that might inspire others to do the same.

Who knows, I might even squeeze some writing in. I’ve got a doozie of an idea about a Victorian séance, and it would suit chapter titles named after tarot cards…

Watch this space! And now, to our headline act, the Reading Challenge 2020.

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The Best Albums of 2020

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What makes an author qualified to present you with the best albums of 2020? A horror author perhaps; most of the following are culled from horror’s aural equivalents of rock and heavy metal. I write to music a lot but also listen to music to fire my imagination. Also I play drums, which is kind of musical. Depends who you ask.

Here’s my picks for the best albums of 2020. I’ve bought and listened to a lot of music this year but these records stood out from the rest and will be favourites of mines for years to come. Let’s explore the best albums of 2020!

Forlesen – Hierophant Violent

Firstly, what a record cover. We all know that we definitely should judge a book by its cover, and the sleeve of Hierophant Violent sets a high bar for what’s inside. And what is inside? A mere two tracks, each around the 18 minute mark. Each is the masterpiece in dynamics that post-metal needs to be in order to work; in ebbs and flows, highs and lows. Waves of synths crash and implode and rocky guitars and Nightbridge even contains a short black metal blast section. Let Forlesen take you on a journey.

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