25 things I’ve learnt in 2015

Me gardenAs we approach the end of the year it is natural to look back.  For me it’s not just about what has happened in the last year, it is about providing inspiration for the future.  So here we go – some of the, at times, rather random, things I’ve learnt in 2015:

1)  Writing is still the easy bit – it’s the marketing that’s the chore.  Having a good book (so I’m told) and getting people to read it are two very different things.

2)  My characters are having lives that I find out about later – which is worrying.

3)  Some people think £2.00 ($3.00) is too much to pay for an e-published book.  It’s less than a coffee on the high street for goodness sake!!

4)  A tin of Tomato soup counts as one of your five a day – who would have thought it?

5)  A pint of beer counts as one of your… no wait… I think that was a dream.

6)  There are lots of people / groups out there who offer to promote your book for a price.  Why do I suspect most of those are the ones making money.  Find one you trust like BGS!

7)  I’m as excited about seeing the new Star Wars film as I was in 1977 at seeing first (big kid).  But not as excited as a friend who booked for the opening day months in advance.

8)  I still love Dr Who.  Sorry but I do.

9)  Fortitude is not word in vogue.  After a weekend on a narrow boat I blogged about the canal builders and (the better) Victorian attitudes towards life, and ‘fortitude’ was the word that came to mind – something I think we need more of these days.

10)  Nature has a mischievous side to it – turn your back on one part of the garden for a while and all hell breaks loose

11)  The more beer you drink during a live gig the more you miss (or at least I do)

12)  There’s a gas cloud in the constellation of Aquila that contains enough alcohol to make 400 trillion trillion pints of beer.  Why??

13)  We’re off to the stars, again – or at least Voyager 2 is.  It has now joined Voyager 1 in Interstellar space.

14)  Reading out of your genre / comfort zone is rewarding in so many ways.  So go on, take a chance, and read something different.

15)  Social media is still addictive…

16)  … And there are still people on social media who follow you, get the follow back, then unfollow you – why bother?

17)  The CaPS KEY IS STILL too close to the  ‘a’ key!

18)  Technology can save us so much time.  However, the time we save we then fill using that same technology.

19)  On-line shopping:  On the plus side you can do it all from the comfort of your favourite chair, you have access to all retailers, there’s lots of reviews and advice, all that choice.  On the minus side there’s too much choice!  Too many options, too many reviews, then you still take a punt because you like the look of it.

20)  The world seems to have become a scarier place in the last year, sad but true I think

21)  No matter how much time I have I still need more

22)  World leaders meet, talk, shake hands in front of cameras, sign agreements – but taking action…?  Witness the climate change talks.  I live in hope, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

23)  Cats are taking over the world, or at least the internet.  I’m still convinced they’re an alien species conducting psychological experiments on us (Dr Who plot?)

24)  No matter how much you check and proof read, as soon as you’ve pressed the publish button you’ll spot a typo.

santa-reindeer-225)  Finally, I’ll leave you with crucial facts that Professor Brian Cox on a radio interview said were some of the things that everyone should know.  For me it helps put, life and our world into perspective – ‘We all share a common ancestor.  That the universe is 13.82 billion years old.  The earth is 4.54 billion years old and life began about 4 billion years ago.’

Hope you enjoyed my random selection.  As always comments are welcome and if you have key learnings from the year, let me know.

Oh – and have a great Christmas everyone.

Ian Martyn

Author: Ian Martyn

Science Fiction Writer

2 thoughts on “25 things I’ve learnt in 2015”

  1. Happy Christmas, Ian and thank you for another wonderful blog. Item seventeen gave me a giggle! Thank you so much for noticing what’s been giving me trouble for decades. Fortitude may not be a word in vogue (note the article….giggle) but you must have it in buckets to write decent books. I so wish I could find a publisher to trust but it is as you said in the first line and all else is selling. May the Force….

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