Wow, my third end of year review here. Doesn’t time fly by…

On the writing front 2017 has seen a big shift I’m the way I write. Basically less writing, but what I have produced is more considered, with a lot more pre-planning involved. I bashed out the first draft of a new book at the beginning of the year and will be sitting on it well into 2018. The rest of this year was spent doing proper editing of another book. It’s really benefited from it. Ultimately, I need to remember I don’t have deadlines, and I don’t have a horde of readers to give me endless feedback. As tempting as it is to complete a book and start submitting it to agents, there isn’t a need for me to rush.

The blog’s focus is widening, which is good because that was always the intention. I banged on about OKRs this year and will probably do the same next year because, hey, it’s working for me. Ultimately I’d like to do a long-form article about it. At the beginning of this year I discussed getting my diet and fitness back on track, and I now have a nice little routine going on, which I will probably cover in more detail too.

This year saw me move towards audio books. I’ve noticed more and more people are doing the same, and because I’ve been struggling to read as much as I like, I thought I’d try it. So far so promising. I can listen to audiobooks when reading simply isn’t an option (like driving). My main highlight has been the Sally Lockhart mysteries. I’ve been a fan of Philip Pullman ever since reading the His Dark Materials books, so checking out more of his work was a no brainer. Also, it helps when they are narrated by someone like Anton Lesser.

My television viewing is also seeing an evolution and 2018 may finally be the year I ditch Sky. All the shows I really want to watch are on other networks now (Mr. Robot, American Gods, etc.). Having said that, Game Of Thrones. Final season. Nothing is getting in the way of that.

When it comes to movies, I’ve lost count of all the superhero films I’ve watched this year. I’m fine with that because they entertain me, and Marvel is building towards Infinity War, which will inevitably blow my mind. However, I’ve just watched The Last Jedi and that’s all I can think about. I was entertained while in the cinema, I wasn’t once bored despite the long runtime. But, but, but… Well, you’re no doubt aware of the feedback it’s received :)

Games. I’m currently playing Wolfenstein: New Order which on top of being fun in general is also a nice callback to classic first person shooters like Half-Life. I’ve also been playing some of the free PS+ games like MGS5 and Just Cause 3. Next year will probably be solely dedicated to Zelda.

As for music, I’m relying on Spotify’s year end review again. In summary, I spent over 11,000 minutes listening to music. My top artists were The One Hundred (again), Creeper (oddly), Quicksand (retro), Run The Jewels (yeah) and… Stormzy? The last one is strange because I didn’t particularly care for his album, but I obviously must have listened to his stuff lots for him to make the list. With that wizardry it’s no wonder he’s artist of the year.

My favourite genres continue to be dominated by rock and metal, of the modern and alternative varieties. Amusingly, I also enjoyed alt-indie rock and post-grunge, whatever that hell they are.

The end (until next year).