It’s been an unsettling few weeks for me. 2008 has become The Year Of Change in a lot of ways, and many of the people I’m closest to have changed careers or moved on in some way. I’m not immune to that process. I’ve been at risk of redundancy for the last couple of months. That’s fortunately no longer a problem, but my workplace and responsibilities have changed, and pretty rapidly. I can’t really discuss what I’ll be doing over the next 18 months or so. Let’s just say it’s a decent sized project for a very prestigious client, and it’s extremely flattering that my name was the first one discussed to spearhead it.
Nonetheless, the situation has got me thinking. With the changes at work, and being without a computer for a fat chunk of June, I’m reappraising my online and creative life. In short, I need to get some shit done, and the blog needs to reflect that. I was reading a post Warren Ellis put up recently regarding the way blogs need to be more than simple linkdumps if they’re to be of worth. I’m as guilty of this as anyone, although I try to avoid the obvious stuff and give a link a little context. The rapid spread of a meme online is of course a part of why the internet is so important. But as Warren says, there are plenty of places to find an instant web hit of funnitude. I’ve got an RSS reader full of that stuff, and The Ugly Truth does not need to be that place.
So, here’s what I’m thinking. I claim to be a writer of fiction, and TUT needs to be a place where I can showcase that. It’s entirely likely that I will completely retask the blog into a proper website over the next couple of months, featuring new and archive writing. In the meantime, I will attempt to throw up some flash fiction (under 1000 words) and, for your delight and delectation I will also begin serialising my first novel SATAN’S SCHOOLGIRLS. At the end of that run, I should be in a position to offer a paperback copy with original cover artwork at a knockdown price. My toedip into the waters of the new self-publishing business model.
All this starting on Monday, presuming that I’m done watching season 4 of The Wire of course…
EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS 