Making it up as we go along
I have no idea what I'm doing, and I am beginning to suspect I never will
“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts” Bertrand Russell
For months now, I’ve been trying to finish my short story, Archive of Stone.
It began back in April as something I thought I could wrap up neatly in 1,500 to 2,000 words.
It was meant to be a tidy, self-contained piece for Earth Day 20251. A small experiment to see whether I could write fiction, having never attempted it before. But the story refused to be tidy. It wriggled out of my hands and took on a life of it's own. It became two parts, with the second spilling past 2,000 words, stretching into weeks of writing, and still not finished.
Now it’s August. I’ve been writing part three — which I thought would be the final part — only to realise it may actually not be...
I have been starting to wonder what on earth I though I was doing trying to write fiction having never done it before and with no real idea how. Neglecting “important” things to work on a story that won’t make me famous (thank goodness) or rich (more’s the pity) — will probably only be published here, and likely only read by a small number of people. I’ve been feeling sheepish about my promises that the “final part” would be published “soon”, only for that “soon” to slip further and further away.
I’ve realised that writing fiction is hard and takes ages.
But I love it.
This morning, contemplating my progress on part three, I found myself thinking: I have no clue what I’m doing. I have no qualifications, no experience, I know none of the theory. What on earth possessed me to start this? Why on earth am I still trying to finish it? Then it occurred to me: I don’t know how to draw, either. But I can draw. And I do. Drawing takes me ages and it’s hard, and similarly, I have no expectations of fame or fortune from it.
And I love drawing too2.
Which makes me wonder: do any of us really know what we’re doing when it comes to creativity? There are plenty of “rules,” suggestions, and advice out there, but those are just tools we can choose to use or not. They’re starting points, not limits. And there’s something wonderfully freeing in realising that, in the end, we’re allowed to make it up as we go along.
I am incredibly proud of Archive of Stone. It matters deeply to me. I love it. I love Mira. I love the ending — because I know exactly what will happen, where the story is going, and how it will finish.
I would love you to step into my imagination and discover a world where the balance of life is not lost, only broken — it’s memory stored deep within the very bones of Earth. Where a child is drawn from her bed into a stormy night that will change everything. Beneath the roar of wind and the crashing thunder, something ancient stirs, and she begins to walk the path she was born to follow.
The first chapters have been lightly edited to smooth away some of the rough edges I spotted after publishing, and I’ve re-recorded the full audio so you can settle in and listen to the story so far in a single, uninterrupted telling, here:
Archive of Stone - Part 1
In the forming of the Earth, the solid-state memory of life and balance was encoded into stone. A bridge grew between memory and life, woven through the beings who lived on and within the rocks: lichen, moss, and tardigrades. But humans, with their gift for invention, broke the balance...
Archive of Stone - Part 2
After learning about the existence of water bears and feeling a strange new sensation pulsing inside her, Mira can’t sleep. Drawn by something she can’t explain, she slips out of bed in the middle of the night, and into a storm that will change everything. Memory stirs, ancient rhythms awaken, and Mira begins to uncover the role she was born to play...
I hope that you enjoy reading and listening as much as I have loved writing… and that you’ll join me for part three (and maybe part four…) when they are finished.
With wishes for endless inspiration,
P.S. we are going on holiday on Wednesday for a couple of weeks, so it may be that While I Was Drawing is a little quiet until September (unless I do actually manage to schedule two guest posts from the wonderful
and before we go….)I started Archive of Stone as part of the Future of Nature community writing project for fiction writers to explore the human-nature relationship in a short story or poem. It was organised by and and supported with brilliant advice from scientists and . Links to all the stories can be found in a special Top In Fiction Disruption edition, with thanks to publisher .
well, actually, anything creative…
“And there’s something wonderfully freeing in realising that, in the end, we’re allowed to make it up as we go along.” Love this, and thank you, look forward to listening (after the interruption of work). 😊🙏🏼💜
One of my favorite parts about a creative life is the uncertainty, the not knowing where something is taking you but going for the ride anyway. It makes me feel like creativity is less like something generated from within and more an invisible collaboration and relationship with the beyond. It’s clear your creativity comes from this conversation, always so fresh and inventive and alive. I can’t wait for parts 3 & 4!