Author: johnrsermon

I’m a writer from Stockport, Manchester, England, who mainly enjoys writing short stories in the soft sci-fi genre. I do like writing in other genres, fantasy in particular, but I’ve settled on soft sci-fi because I enjoy adding fantastic things that could exist right now or in the near future. I’ve been writing in my spare time since around 2001 with varying degrees of discipline. I’m always looking for ways to improve myself and my writing, and I use my blog to showcase my writing and discuss things on my mind. Every so often I’ll talk about other things in my personal life (Football – I support Manchester United, Holidays, Food, amongst others). I enjoy writing short stories, but I have also finished a few novels and completed NaNoWriMo a couple of times. Writing makes me happy, and thankfully, I can’t see that changing any time soon. My interest in writing began when I took a Film Studies Course at College in 2001. One of the assignments was to create a character and give him or her a back story. I did this and got some good feedback from my tutor, and I loved the feeling of creating a character from scratch. My other interests include running and listening to rock and metal music whenever I’m running. I enjoy watching a wide range of films and TV to relax. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly is my favourite film, and Arcane is my favourite TV show. My favourite authors are Giles Kristian, J.R.R Tolkien, JK Rowling, Bret Easton Ellis, Gareth L Powell, and Robert Lewis Stevenson. Thanks for reading. If you like the sound of the above, I’d be more than happy to discuss all manner of writing-related stuff. See my contact page for details.

The run is done and a plan is made!

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Good day to you all!

Following on from my post circa 07.05.15 (https://johnrsermon.com/2015/05/07/the-training-and-the-writing-combined/) I completed the Manchester 10k run in 49.09! I was just hoping to do it in less than 54 minutes, which would beat my time from the previous year. So I was overwhelmed, wait that’s a bit much, what else can I say? Well happy! That’ll do. With my time of 49.09. Although it does mean I’ll want to beat it next year. Can’t wait till next year now and the target I want to beat. Three cheers for targets! How I love/hate them so! For a few more details and a few pictures go to https://johnrsermon.com/2015/05/13/my-week-in-pictures-well-some-of-it-anyway/.

Okay. I have made a plan, which I have kept to so far, to do some writing or editing as soon as I get home while my work head is still on. This has worked wonders in the past and it’s seen my productivity increase and my overall mood rise. See, this way, when it gets to the evening and I’m relaxing and don’t really feel like writing, I’ll know and can smile about having written or edited when I got home.

The amount I write or edit has depended on what part of the story I’m editing or am about to write. I have completed the second edit for my story to enter into the http://www.britishfantasysociety.org/the-bfs-short-story-competition-2015/ short story competition. It is well on its way to being enterable (is that a word? I doubt it but the squiggly line hasn’t appeared underneath so I’m fine with it). I have also moved along my western yarn. Last time out our hero had just stood up to someone who the rest of the town would dare not stand up to. This has led the villain of the piece to confront him. Our hero has realised that this is the turning point in his stay in the latest town he has wandered into. Will he stay or will he go? Only time will tell.

I have mentioned before but I do pretty much have this story mapped out in my head but I’m now not sure if our hero will in fact be our hero. Could he live with himself he just left and doomed the town to further punishment on top of the punishment they are already having to deal with? I don’t know. I’m considering that he just might and this western of mine may jump to a different town. Initially I was unsure about writing a story without any real notes or preparation being made. Now however, I’m starting to think I might write all my stories this way.

Well, as always, thank you for reading and have a good week.

Bye

My week in pictures. Well, some of it anyway.

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Hello,

I just thought that I don’t share a lot of pictures via my blog so I’ve decided to change that. Here’s a few from the last week. Well, mostly Sunday when I did the Manchester 10k run.

Enjoy

Waiting for the warm-up to start for the Manchester 10k. Third year running.
Waiting for the warm-up to start for the Manchester 10k. Third year running.
Me after the Manchester 10k. My time...49.09. Well chuffed as the year before I did it in 54.00.
Me after the Manchester 10k. My time…49.09. Well chuffed as the year before I did it in 54.00.
Me and mate Ed after the race. We had a bet that whoever lost would buy the winner a trophy. I won. But I'm scared of what I'll end up with now.
Me and my mate Ed after the race. We had a bet that whoever lost would buy the winner a trophy. I won. But I’m scared of what I’ll end up with now.
A view of Old Trafford from Salford Quays in Greater Manchester.
A view of Old Trafford from Salford Quays in Greater Manchester.

The Training and the Writing combined.

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Hello again,

My training for the Manchester 10k run on Sunday 10th May (https://www.greatrun.org/great-manchester-run) is going very well. I’m quietly confident I can improve on my time from last year of 54mins. I also have the added incentive that if I don’t beat my friend then I have buy him a trophy. I think this has made me run just that little bit faster considering I know how he can pull these things out of the bag. I don’t think he’s done a lot of running recently but I bet his best run ever will be on Sunday. Here’s hoping my training will pay off.

Along with my training, I’ve been moving along with my writing and editing.

I’ve taken up walking to work to help pay for a holiday to New York, which is at the end of June. This ends up leaving me, after walking to and from work at a total of 100 minutes, with the overwhelming sense of ‘can’t be arsed’ mode when I get home. I’m moving myself, albeit at a slow pace, away from this and have been editing and writing whilst tired. I was worried that my tiredness would make me write and/or edit below my own standard and I’d have to do it all over again. Meaning I’ve wasted my time. But my editing is coming along well. I’ve got till the end of June but I’m hoping to get it done by the end of May and get my story entered into the http://www.britishfantasysociety.org/the-bfs-short-story-competition-2015/.

My current story that I’m writing has also been moving along nicely and I’ve written my first action scene. Now, you must understand that as I huge fan of westerns I am almost always dreaming up of shoot outs and action sequences based in that genre. But somehow, when I came to write my first ever shoot out, it’s was something completely new. Something I have never thought of before. And something I am now quite proud of. I have always thought the way a cowboy would introduce himself in a film or book would be in his first shoot out. Showing the world, or in this case the small town, exactly what he is made of when it came down to defending himself. In my hero’s first gun fight he’s defending the honour of a horse and in turn standing up for the whole town, who have wanted to do such a thing for years. A henchman to the main villain, named Bronco, is scaring a horse by shooting at its legs. Cue our hero to save the day by showing him exactly how good of a shot he is. This is first act that will set up the rest of the story. I’m looking to push the pace faster and faster from here and build up to an almighty showdown involving everyone who is able to fire a gun in the town. I may even include the women. It could turn into the western equivalent of a Royal Rumble or a Battle Royal. Or possibly Battle Royale? I’m not sure. But as always I’ll keep you informed.

Right, all this talk of progress is making me hungry. To write and eat. So…

Good bye!

Just a little progress and schedule to keep.

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Hello

So, I have continued to edit my short story for the latest competition I’m entering and have yet to use the notes I have found or relocated (as mentioned in https://johnrsermon.com/2015/04/09/from-the-lost-to-found/) This is solely down to my new found like of writing my stories without many or indeed any notes. Although, it is slightly comforting to know that I do have notes available if they are required. You know, when I start to cry because instead of editing my story I end up rewriting to whole thing, not knowing what the main points of the story are of the top of my head, and missing the deadline!

I do not however, have this problem with my latest story.

Again, as mentioned in my last original post linked above, I have started to write a Western without any notes to start off with. I’ve had this story swimming around in my head for years and it’s pretty much fully formed. And as Westerns are my favourite genre of film I thought, why not now to get it all down in story form? I’ve moved this story along slightly and have now started to focus on the villains of the piece. I have decided, as I write this post, that this story is only going to be taking place over the course of two weeks (probably, maybe) and I’m enjoying having that time scale to mind. I only usually have a time scale as I go along and it can vary throughout. This time I’m hoping I stick to it.

But I need to get in a routine. I’m not making much in the way of progress.

I have signed up to take part in my third successive Manchester 10k run. A run which takes place 10th May and my running pack with my number and such has just arrived. I haven’t run 10k in ages and I haven’t really got that much time to work my way up to it. Yesterday I ran 8.5k and it took me 50 minutes. I’m hoping to do the Manchester 10k in 53 minutes so I’ve got some way to go. I’m feeling good about it though, but I’m not liking how it’s affecting my writing. I think this is more down to my own attitude as opposed to my running. I have been more tired, tireder, tired more, tiredish? But this should not push me away from writing. I might even write down a schedule and stick to it.

With that in mind, I’m going to make my first attempt at it. Or not, depends how tirederised I am.

Thanks for reading. Bye

From lost to found.

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Hello

In my last post I had lost my notes to go along with the story I’m editing for the 5000 word story competition www.britishfantasysociety.co.uk are holding. Now, I had given up all hope of finding the elusive note book/pad/chunk of paper that had all the notes I had made for said story. But, as I got home from work one day, satchel rubbing against my shoulder as it had done for the whole 50 minute walk, I threw it off myself and onto the kitchen side and proceeded to go through my usual routine. I took everything out that I needed for the remainder of the evening, wallet, iPod, lip balm and keys, before chucking the bag under the stairs. My evening carried on well enough but then, as I was walking to the bin of all places in my kitchen, I remembered. I have one more note pad! Oh satchel, how I like thee quite a lot. Turns out the notes I needed had been coming with me to and from work since for ages ago.

Though I’m not sure I’m happy I found them.

The notes have been useful. My story is about a group of immortal men and women who have struggled, one since the dawn of time, to comprehend their existence. The notes I had made cleared up exactly why, initially anyway before rewrites, the immortals are around and when and how they were born. Now that I know this, I don’t think I want to use my notes any more. Though they scream at me from one floor down, under the stairs, like Harry Potter having a nightmare, I’m useful! I am not to be ignored! Well, he may have screamed that at some point. You never know. I’m going to leave them where they are until I need them. I have finished my first edit and I now know that I’ll need to shuffle the story and add more things in. I’ll end up making a whole new set of notes I can smell it.

And another thing that has happened since I last posted. Whilst writing my latest story, a western that was initially about a guy who wanders from town to town doing whatever he wants but in an anti-hero kind of a way without saying to many words (remind you anyone?) has changed a lot since I first came up with it. He’s speaking a lot more and has already been shocked to his core by the first person he meets in his latest town of call. I’m writing this story without notes and thankfully it hasn’t held me back. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.

Okay. Well, as much as I love writing this post and all that, my back hurts so I’m going to bed.

Night Night and thanks for reading.

The loss of notes for a finished story and the lack of notes for a new one.

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Hello

So, I’ve been working my way through the first edit for the story I’m going enter into the 5000 word competition at www.britishfantasysociety.co.uk. I got into the habit a few years ago of writing stories down instead of keeping them in my head and waiting for a competition to present itself so I could use it. What if such a thing never happened? Anyway, I wrote down one such idea and it will be my entry into the aforementioned comp. The story centres on a man with a special gift that he does not know and has yet to discover why it is in fact special and why he has the gift in the first place. He takes drastic measures to try and find answers when a random crime happens in front of him and gives him an idea. Will the idea help him or will it be his down fall?

I’m not sure yet to be honest. So far my hero is following along with a new friends plan for world domination in the quite literal sense. I’ve already spotted a few changes I’d like to make to my story so I’m sure that will be fun chopping and changing stuff to get them in (yawn) This story had been floating around in my skull for years until I committed it to paper and made plenty of notes to back it up with. But, after years of it just sitting on my laptop and waiting to be edited (sad face) it finally got its wish.

And now I cannot find the smeggin notes I made. None of the bloody things. Not one single chuffin word. I’ve checked my high number of note pads and books and nothing. Goose egg none. This does mean I’ll have to remember it all again but this may be a good thing. Possibly. I’ll let you know how I get on.

With this loss of notes I decided to try something different. I decided to write another story, this time a western, and only make notes as I went along. I can only makes notes as I write with any plot points and such being created along the way. I’m not sure how this will work out but so far I have given my hero, currently named Benedict, a back story involving his parents and possible the reason why he is going to do…whatever it is he is going to do. In truth, I have plenty of ideas knocking about but so I’ll either use them for something else or throw them all in at once for this new story. May god have mercy on my soul.

Well, thank you for reading and I’ll see next time.

Bye

…Authors… just a wee WURD about getting negative reviews…

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Hello

I thought I’d share this wonderful post I was put onto by Chris The Story Reading Ape (Thank you and http://thestoryreadingapeblog.com) by Seumas Gallacher. Who’s blog is cool by the way.

I’ve not been doing that much in the way writing except a little editing. I’m going to wait until next week when I’ve got more stuff and things to talk about and that.

So, enjoy!

…Authors… just a wee WURD about getting negative reviews….

That’s time travel done with. What’s next?

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Hello

I’ve finished my time travel story! I managed to answer all the questions I had rolling around in my head about it and then come up with two possible endings for it. And now I’ve moved onto another project.

Okay. Picture the scene. I’m typing furiously and marching my way to the end of my story. The hero and villain are engaged in a battle of wills for the fate of the country. As I was writing it I wasn’t really sure where the ending would come from. I had a vague idea but I always prefer it when the ending naturally presents itself. And then two endings did. Great. Another question to answer. Which ending to pick? The happy one, which in itself leaves the reader (or it should anyway) wondering whether our hero has made his decision for the right or wrong reasons, or the apocalyptic one, where everything goes to hell in a hand basket.

I have to say I’ve never been so worked up about the ending to one of my stories in my life. I felt like I was going to tear up when I thought about my apocalyptic ending, which is brought on by an unexpected event. Should I go down the sad route? I thought over and over again. But then I realised that I didn’t really like that ending. Hell, I really didn’t like it and I didn’t think it fitted well with the story. So, I went with the happy one, which leaves unanswered questions. I always prefer books and films that leave you to discuss its ending with others till the end of time rather than have it spoon fed to me. I did write the apocalyptic ending out as well and I’m even more convinced I picked the right one. If ever gets published I’m sure I’ll be proved wrong.

Anyway, once this was done I decided to enter a competition. I had found one but misread the deadline date and it was the end of May 2014. Not 2015. Well done eagle eye. Although it didn’t take me long to find another short story competition to enter. And I can use an already written story for it as well! So now I’m back to editing. Again. Like always. The competition is the British Fantasy Society Short Story comp at www.britishfantasysociety.co.uk. 5,000 words and for any type of fantasy. Wish me luck.

Okay. Have a good week and do good things and all that.

Bye!