Let’s Write a Book! | Part I: Optimism

When I started this blog back in 2012 I had a single rule, this wasn’t going to turn into an online diary. 

Well, today this changed.

I’ve made the monumental decision to write a book and I am going to keep a running diary of my experiences so I can reminisce on when I had hope.

I’ll still be covering bits and pieces of popular culture that I find interesting, but I will maintain this diary to give myself a bit of accountability.

We’re going to turn this from a blog that nobody reads – into a diary that no one reads – in order to create a book that might become some sort of curiosity in the future.

You might be wondering, ‘Jack, why are you writing a book?’… we have to dig into this a little bit.

I used to write this blog very regularly, the high point was in 2018 when I wrote 72 posts. I was working in SEO and had a lot of dedication to my corner of the internet, but something shifted.

I started doing video content, which was in vogue at the time. I invested in equipment and recorded 100+ videos. I was never really proud of these videos and I tried to combine writing and doing videos but ended up doing neither well.

Those videos and the YouTube channel still exist, but I was always repelled whenever I saw the lives of popular YouTubers. I didn’t want to create super personal content about my life or end up on Celebrity Big Brother.

Or worse….. the YouTuber boxing circuit.

The schedule I created for myself was punishing; shooting content, editing, posting and writing the blog. I set a goal of reaching 100 subscribers but I stopped doing YouTube when I had around 93 – the channel still chugs along and belatedly reached 100 subscribers, but it’s dead to me.

My final video was posted in December 2019. Frankly, I was burned out creatively so I left everything dormant while I recharged my batteries. 

I was busy doing life stuff too.

First, there was the pandemic, then I had a mental breakdown, moved to South Korea for 3 years, got married came back and started working in London again. I posted sporadically while in Korea, but since coming back I feel creative again.

So there I was on Wednesday 19 February 2025, watching A Complete Unknown in the cinema and it suddenly struck me that I should write a book.

I’m under no illusions that first books are usually not very good, however, the magic is the attempt.

The idea of a book has been racing through my mind non-stop. While it’s early days here’s what I have so far:

Setting – London 2025

Synopsis – A man wakes up and takes the Tube to work at his regular job when something extraordinary happens. 

More stuff happens and we meet some fun characters along the way and then the plot gets resolved.

Of course, there are a lot of things missing from this, like plot, characters and fun, but it’s something! 

I’ve been writing all my life, mostly weird little blogs about Charli XCX; but I think I’m pretty interesting and I’ve been known to write a joke or too – so why not apply it in book form?

Book goals:

1. Keep it under 100 pages, but best-laid plans and all that.
2. Actually have an ending – who doesn’t know someone who wrote an unfinished book?
3. Get it published – it would be physically touch my words
4. Don’t get divorced – try not to be too unbearable

I’ll periodically keep this updated with my book progress, but for now, I am enthusiastic and ready to begin.

Maybe this blog will end up being better than the book itself – shout out to the people who think Hearts of Darkness [the film made about the troubled production of Apocalypse Now] was better than the film itself.

I’m sure the process won’t be fun and I hate reading what I write… so editing won’t be fun. Let’s just enjoy the fun stage while it lasts.

In summary: I have no idea what I’m doing.

Here’s part II of my writing journey.