Dear Reader,
Every year I set out with the simplest of goals (resolutions). And the main one, the one that carries over year over year, is that I’ll send a monthly email reporting how my writing journey is going. And every year, without fail…well…I fail…I start strong. Sending monthly emails with skill and, most importantly, on time. But somewhere along the way, usually near the tail end of Summer, I stop. I seem to run out of steam. Nothing happening. Nothing to say. So I skip one month here, another month there. Then before I know it, it’s Winter and I just forget the whole thing. So, will I do the inevitable and proclaim, “this is the year where I will send a “First of the Month” email every month!” Meh…we’ll see…
For now, I have a few things to share about January, at least, and some of the upcoming months. So, let’s start there and see where we end up…
MY 100 WORD STORIES JOURNEY
For starters, this is the month where it all comes to an end. What started on May 1st, 2023 is now approaching its 1,000th consecutive day. It’s been quite a ride and I must admit that I’m glad to be closing this rather long chapter of my life. I am eager to see what’s coming next on my writing journey and I hope you are as well. I haven’t made any celebration plans as of yet. January 24th happens to be a Saturday, so it’s very likely I will be busy and thinking about celebrating such a milestone won’t be possible until Monday.
As you’re reading this I’m on the final leg with just 24 days left in my journey:
As for the 1,000 stories? The first 10 will be Free-to-Read for any newcomers who happen upon my newsletter. However, by mid-February stories #11 to #1000 will be put behind a paywall that can only be accessed by paid subscribers.
THE MURDER PEN SOCIETY
While I am looking forward to writing longer fiction, I am more excited about getting back into reading. This was a part of my life that simply stopped for no valid reason but after receiving The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne for Christmas from my wife, and spending the holiday vacation reading it, I realize I have no real excuse for why I can’t fit reading into my life. And that is exactly what I intend to do.
I’ll be happily participating in #ReadChristie this year which is put on by the Agatha Christie group. Each year they have a theme and release a list of books to read each month to coincide with the theme. January’s book of the month is The Body in the Library, a Miss Marple story. I’ve already purchased the book and I’m ready to go. A breakdown for how I intend to “slow read” the book and watch two versions that were filmed of this book will come later.
I WANT TO SELF-PUBLISH SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS
The next phase in my writing journey will most definitely be writing short stories. I enjoy doing it and I’ve missed it these last few years. Yes, I’ve written a handful here and there, but I want to really dedicate my time to writing short stories. To that end, I do have 4 collections in my “Scrivener Bible” which is where I often will start to put together the foundational pieces of a book.
I want to share them with you now, maybe as a tease, for the types of stories you can expect to receive from me this year. I was initially going to turn this into a poll and ask you which one you like best and let that influence which collection I should start with. But I think I’m just going to go where the wind takes me this year and try not to be as regimented with my writing as I was in 2025. So, without further ado, here are the collections I have planned along with some examples of the short stories I’ve either already written or outlined:
THIRTEEN BODIES
I love Arsenic and Old Lace. It’s a black and white movie from 1944 starring Cary Grant. A legendary comedic and dramatic actor. One thing that I love about this movie is the underlying storyline that keeps this story so interesting. The fact that there are “thirteen bodies buried in the cellar.” And the fact that two old women, with the help of their younger brother, not only killed these people, but had the foresight to bury them in their own cellar! Anyhow, it’s a movie I watch several times each year and every time I do I come closer to the grain of an idea.
I want to write a story where the ladies are caught and as each body is unearthed, the story of how they came to be victims and buried in the cellar presents itself. It’s still very much a seed of an idea but I’m slowly putting together the pieces that will make for thirteen rather interested and worldly characters.
ANATOMY OF TYPEWRITERS
This idea came to me from Tom Hanks. Point blank. And period. Why? Well, he has this typewriter app which I love AND he did that Shop Around the Corner remake, You’ve Got Mail. Surely, you see now where my idea comes in? No. Allow me to explain…
I’ve always been fascinated by typewriters and wanted to own my own typewriter. Unfortunately, they are expensive. The closest I’ll ever come to owning one these days is the LEGO one I got a few years ago. I do remember having a HUGE one when I was little, but it wasn’t mine, it belonged to my mother, and heaven only knows where it ended up all these decades later. Long gone.
Anyhow, from this passion for typewriters came this idea to take different brands and styles of typewriters, insert one into each short story, and have them play a key role in the story somehow. Sometimes a murderous role. But not all the time.
If you’ve been around here often then you may have read Killer Keys or Night Shift? Two stories that will be a part of this collection.
RETURN TO TWILIGHT
If the title doesn’t tell you what this collection is all about, I’ll just flat out say it: The Twilight Zone. Another great love of mine. And I want this collection to actually combine two great loves of mine. The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock. My intention is to take some of my favorite episodes and apply a twist to each one with a Hitchcock flare. I would say more but I think it would be revealing too much as it is.
WHAT BIG TEETH
The title also happens to be one of the stories included in the collection that I wrote quite some time ago. It’s taking the story of Little Red Riding Hood and giving it a bit more lore. Making it a bit more real and applying this legend to more than just one little girl in a cape.
But, even before I wrote this twist, there was another twist I wrote for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz where I simply asked myself one key question: What if Dorothy didn’t kill the Wicked Witch of the East, but instead killed the Good Witch Galinda? Answering this question gave me the idea a long time ago to apply a similar “what if” statement to other fairytales.
This isn’t some new concept. Other writers, some more talented than myself, have been doing this very exercise forever. Even Disney themselves have their own line of What If books. These stories will be a little longer than usual short stories. Some might even cross into the realm of being a novelette. But all of them will have, I hope, a sort of OMG twist you won’t ever see coming. Some fairytales I’m looking to twist besides the two I mentioned: Hansel & Gretel, Peter Pan, and The Pied Piper.
I WANT TO BE JUST LIKE AGATHA CHRISTIE
The one aspect of my writing I’ve never ever quite dared to try has been my desire to write a mystery series. I’ve always told myself I’m either not ready or there’s plenty of time to get to that. But reading and watching mystery series is my life’s blood. As much as I enjoy writing horror, I don’t actually watch horror. In fact, I steer clear of reading or watching horror if I can help it! So, what on earth am I waiting for?
Now, this is the long shot hail Mary that will likely not happen and if it does it’ll be done very much behind the scenes as I don’t intend on serializing anything this year. But, I have been tinkering. Character building. World building. Mystery building? Some ideas for my own Poirot/Marple/Holmes/Fletcher/Columbo type person to finally be my entry into writing my own mystery series. Will anything come of this planning? No idea. Am I motivated by those who motivate me the most? Hell yes! And I figured that was good enough reason to at least share this with you.
What are some of your plans for 2026? Notice I made no mention of resolutions or even goals (aside from my monthly emails thing). The time for setting myself up for failure is over. Let’s just see what the year brings for us, enjoy the ride, and be content with anything we are able to accomplish in 2026!
With the epic 100-word journey on its final lap, your writing (and reading) year sounds fascinating. I’m guessing the 100-worders are pretty instinctive - do you anticipate a lot more editing in the planned longer tales? I had a pretty quiet 2025 for writing but a handful of favourites emerged and they have tended to be longer. Perhaps readers are ready for longer ‘short’ stories. Have a brilliant year.