Back to Work

A look at the year ahead and some changes in this space.

via Work Projects Administration Poster Collection, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Hello again.

I hope I wasn’t gone too long. The winter break was much-needed; I was able to complete some of those pesky non-writing projects (like cleaning out our basement, finally). Still—I’ve been itching to get back to writing.

Since I’ve been away, there’s been a big change in my day job that will affect my output on here. Last year I was freelancing for a few hours a week, and had plenty of time to write. This year—at least for the foreseeable future—I’ve got something closer to a full-time job. We’ll see what the rest of the year brings; for now, I’m shifting my focus to that work, making hay while the sun shines.

Changes for this year

• I’ll be trying to post a couple times a month. But I can’t make any promises. Spare time and brain power will be at a premium, and as much as want to keep writing on here, I have to be realistic about my limitations. Please feel free to adjust your paid subscriptions accordingly.

• I probably won’t be writing much fiction. I doubt there are too many people on here who are clamoring for my weird little stories. If you happen to be one of them—I’m sorry to let you down. I’ve still got That One Story rattling around in my head, which I plan on getting back to eventually. Hopefully some weird little essays will suffice in the meantime.

Upcoming Projects and Topics

Here’s a quick rundown of stuff I hope to write about this year, time permitting:

• I’m working on another collaborative essay series with another author—something like a companion piece to my ‘Imagining Utopia’ series with

  Elle Griffin
  . The conversation will nominally be about solarpunk¹ and its potential for imagining an optimistic version of a realistic future; I think we’ll probably end up exploring some of utopian fiction’s missed opportunities along the way. More details to come.

• Looking back at my essays from last year, I realized that one of the persistent themes I was aiming at (in a scattershot way) is the contemporary dilemma of alienation. Sounds grim, but don’t worry—I won’t spend too much time dwelling on the negative with this. I believe that having a working theory of alienation is vital for understanding where we are now and where we might go next (which ties in with the solarpunk topic).

• Some ideas about parageographies, which include both artistic and real-world explorations (psychogeography) of imaginal spaces.

• Always continuing to work with phasmatopia as a placeholder for the world beyond the artificial habitat of modernity, including:

  • The weird paradox of trying to write about something inherently undefinable.

  • The fractalization of a Big Mystery into equally-unknowable phenomena, intersecting with our reality in unpredictable (and occasionally intentional) ways.

  • The hazards of living with a limited perception of reality, via Ian McGilchrist and Colin Wilson.

• I’ve been wanting to write about Weird Christianity for a long time now, but haven’t had a good place to put it. Since this topic might not be to everyone’s taste, I’m creating a separate list for all my (hopefully respectful) raving about how the world’s largest religion is both an absolutely wild quasi-Lovecraftian cult—born out of hallucinogenic shamanism, a metaphysical arms race, spirit possession, and straight-up necromancy—and also a valuable human interface with the Big Mystery that should be preserved. Should be fun, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Big dreams, as always. Hopefully I’ll find the time to pull it off. Thanks for reading, as always, and watch this space for more deranged rambling Original Content™, coming soon.

1. For those not familiar, here’s a very limited definition of solarpunk, courtesy of ChatGPT: “Solarpunk is a speculative fiction and cultural movement that envisions a future world where renewable energy sources, sustainable practices, and eco-friendly technologies are prevalent. It is often characterized by optimistic and utopian visions of a society that embraces nature, community, and green technology. Solarpunk contrasts with the dystopian themes often found in other speculative fiction genres and emphasizes the importance of environmental stewardship, social justice, and the integration of sustainable solutions into everyday life. The term ‘solarpunk’ is a portmanteau of ‘solar,’ representing renewable energy, and ‘punk,’ suggesting a rebellious or countercultural ethos.” (And yes, I’m occasionally collaborating with The Enemy, when I need a quick and unimaginative summary of something. It’s like having a dull-but-chirpy unpaid intern.)