A writing project for 2026 (and 2027)
Over the last month or so, I’ve been thinking about which of my ideas I’d like to develop in 2026. At the beginning of 2025 I was writing a dystopian novella, but decided to leave it to one side and concentrate on something considerably lighter. So, some breezy vignettes followed for our group’s monthly email of members’ works. Nothing too laborious to produce, combining an interest in visiting picturesque spots with my interest in the diary genré. My first draft of last year’s book used as its centrepiece the protagonist’s pondering of an entry in his own diary, a dangerous act in a controlling and abusive system.
The diaries of Henry ‘Chips’ Channon, Klemperer, and those written by one of my favourite actors, Alec Guinness, are all examples of those I’ve enjoyed reading over the years. On the reading list are those of John Evelyn and Samuel Pepys. The latter stubbornly unread until I can find an unabridged version.
Closer to home, a great aunt transcribed the memoirs of my Great Grandma who lived her life in Annfield Plane near Consett, into a small booklet in the 1970s. When I told my parents that I was moving North, I was given a copy of these memoirs to add some familial backdrop to County Durham.
This interest in diaries had been bubbling away at the back of my mind and surfaced at the funeral of an uncle in the Cotswolds in November. A cousin had been provided (possibly in similar fashion to myself), with the original diaries of our Great Grandpa’s service with the Honourable Artillery Company during the first world war, whilst completing a short service commission. This ancestor, lived a very different life from my Great Grandma, growing up in suburban London and working in the City as a stockbroker. My cousin completed his time in the army and packed the diaries away and after a chat at the funeral, kindly agreed to lend them to me, with my promise of safely returning the originals once typed-up.
So, type-up the war diaries into something readable by the end of 2026. Raphael, who’s suitably collegiate-style house he kindly allows Teesdale Writers to meet in each month, commented that the length of time committed to each writing project, could be doubled to allow enough time. So, as it stands and as ever subject to change and whim, I would like to have this project completed by Christmas 2027.