A year ago today, I sat down in a converted coat closet with a second-hand screen and a New Year’s resolution: to write every day for one year. I didn’t know if I’d last a month.
🇳🇱 Lees hier de Nederlandse versie
366 days later, I’ve written seven books.
This still feels surreal to say out loud. Seven books? In a single year? But as I look back at the trail of short stories, novellas, full-length novels, and daily chapters I’ve posted to Substack, the evidence is all there. And more than the word count, it’s the transformation that amazes me most.
I became a writer.
Not just someone who dabbles with a nice idea now and then, but someone for whom writing has become the heartbeat of every day.
Let me take you along on the journey.
January: The Spark
It started with a question at a fantasy convention: “Have you ever thought of writing fiction?”
I laughed it off. I was too old. I was a media guy. But the question lingered. It dug into a childhood dream I’d buried under years of podcasting, live streams, documentaries and nonfiction writing. The dream of becoming a children’s book author. The kind who could write better books than the dull ones I was forced to read in school.
In Ireland, while exploring monastic ruins and misty hills, an idea stirred: what if monks could do magic—not with wands, but with storytelling itself?
That was the seed. I returned home, set up a writing station in my little “cloakroom office,” and committed to write every day for a year.
The Daily Habit (and Losing an Entire Chapter)
For the first stretch, I wrote in Apple Pages. Until one crash wiped out an entire chapter. Just gone. Hours of work lost. That was the moment I switched to cloud-based tools—Google Docs, Substack, and later, Reedsy. Anything with autosave.
I learned to love the simplicity of Substack’s editor. It felt close to the finished form, helping me write with the reader in mind. For December’s Advent of Dragons, I used Reedsy exclusively. It helped me track word count, organize chapters, and even prepare files for future publishing.
And crucially: it didn’t lose my work.
From Short Stories to Full Novels
In the beginning, I wrote tiny stories. Flash fiction. Animal tales in Rome. Fairy tales with gnomes and monks. Sometimes I’d just dictate them on walks, using my phone and MacWhisper to transcribe the text.
Eventually, these stories began to connect. Some fit together in the same world. Others needed their own space. I ended up with enough short stories for three full anthologies—each with a distinct tone: one light, one dark, and one playful (Inktober, with 30 illustrations and 30 tales).
But the real shift happened when I dared to write longer.
The Dragon Patrol & Writing Into the Dark
One short story, about a girl getting her dragon-riding license, wouldn’t leave me alone. It grew into Dragon Patrol—a fast-paced, urban fantasy procedural. Every chapter was a case file. I binge-wrote it in three weeks, modeling the story after the rhythm of Star Trek: The Next Generation and police dramas like The Rookie.
By then, I had learned to trust my instincts. I no longer needed a full outline before I began. I could start with a premise, a feeling, a character—and just walk, talk, and tell the story as it came.
That became my writing method: storytelling by walking.
The Ireland Retreat & Story Mages
In May, I returned to Ireland—the place where my first story idea was born. I hiked Glendalough every day. And I dictated entire chapters as I climbed, walked, and explored. In one magical week, I finished the first full draft of my Story Mages novel. It wasn’t perfect, but it existed. That was enough.
I shelved it. Let it rest. And got back to writing short stories. Always returning to the craft.
The Found Diary and the Advent Book
By fall, I had grown stronger. For November, I wrote a prequel to the Story Mages universe—a found diary from the protagonist’s father. It started as a novella. It became a 110,000-word novel.
Then came December.
Advent of Dragons was meant to be a cozy little project. A chapter a day, posted daily on Substack, to support a fellow fantasy author’s medical fundraiser. It grew into a full-blown, 25-chapter novel. Cozy, warm, wintry—but not without weight. Writing it during a month I also wrote and produced 20 episodes of a new podcast series about saints for public broadcasting company KRO-NCRV was... a little insane.
I finished the final chapter at 7:30 PM on December 31. Then jumped in the car for a board game night with friends. Mission accomplished.
We raised thousands of euros. And I had my seventh book.
What’s Next: The Year of Publishing
This year—2026—is all about editing, publishing, and sharing what I’ve written. I want to finish and release the Cozy Fantasy Quartet: Advent of Dragons and three more seasonal novellas. Spring comes next.
Meanwhile, I’ll be editing the Dragon Patrol books and the Story Mages saga. And if all goes well, releasing the anthologies of short stories too. That’s up to 10 books in total.
My goal? To become not just a writer—but a published storyteller. To build a small, cozy bookshelf filled with my own stories. Stories you can read by the fire. Or on the train. Or before bed. Stories that make the world just a little warmer.
If You’ve Read This Far...
...you’re probably one of those rare humans who enjoys long-form writing. Thank you.
If you want to help, I’ll be looking for beta readers and reviewers soon. Just stay subscribed to this Substack. Share it with a friend. Or sponsor a future story. Every little bit helps.
And if you’re dreaming of writing a book someday—don’t wait. One year ago, I had nothing but an idea and a blank screen.
Today, I have a library of worlds. And I’m just getting started.
– Fr. Roderick
