Write stories like a child

Posted on Feb 3, 2026 by The Beta Files

Today’s WordPress blogging prompt asks about losing interest in activities or hobbies over time.

I think this is one of the more confusing aspects of growing older. You can be so passionate about a hobby that you build your identity around it for years, and then … one day … you recognise that it’s not for you anymore.

When this happens, it makes you question how you spent your time. Was all that energy and enthusiasm wasted? Abandoning a hobby can be a very disappointing experience.

But there’s a bright side to it. You can’t pick something up again if you never put it down.

One of the nice things about growing older is rediscovering old hobbies. I’ve found that my experience and skills are still there, with the added bonus of the long hiatus giving me a fresh approach.

Some of my current hobbies began when I was still at primary school. Even though I put them down for many years at a time, it boggles my mind how persistent they’ve been in my life.

One childhood hobby hasn’t stuck. I wonder sometimes whether it’s overdue for a revival or whether I’ll abandon it completely.

I used to love creative writing. I’m currently on my second long hiatus. The last time I put a lot of energy into it, I listened to far too many creative writing experts. I learnt everything that I could about writing craft and ended up hobbling myself with perfectionism.

The other day, I saw an Instagram post by a novelist who wrote her first book with no planning whatsoever. She then struggled with her second book because she read a lot of writing advice and allowed it to shape her storytelling.

Since reading that post, I’ve been wondering about forgetting everything I learnt. Could I write stories like the child I used to be? I don’t know, but it sounds like it would be fun.

The WWW and one daft problem

Posted on Jan 28, 2026 by The Beta Files

Today’s WordPress writing prompt asks, “What’s the most important invention in your lifetime?”

There have been so many! I guess the obvious answer is the World Wide Web. It’s the foundation of so many other important innovations, such as indie fiction publishing, apps like Duolingo, online learning, Netflix, and webcam calls.

The World Wide Web has changed everything. For one thing, it’s introduced thousands of new problems!

Here’s a ridiculous issue that I think about sometimes.

Someone who shares my exact same name has an incomplete page on the internet. I’ve realised that some business clients could assume that she’s me.

She hasn’t said anything wrong or embarrassing, but she’s shared information about herself that could invite sexist discrimination. It’s like she can’t imagine the stereotypes she’s playing into.

My life isn’t like hers at all, but I’m not going to validate sexism by emphasising that. So, what is a woman to do? There’s nothing I can do.

It begs the question. Do internet users have a responsibility to all people who could be mistaken for them?

Of course, the World Wide Web didn’t invent mistaken identity. One time, my first month’s pay at a new company went to someone else with my name on the same payroll!

I think we all know about the other problems introduced by the WWW, so I won’t say more. Let’s think happy thoughts and focus on the good stuff – like blogs and vlogs and global communication!

Isaac from The Orville and characters like him

Posted on Jan 26, 2026 by The Beta Files

The Orville’s Isaac is one of my favourite TV characters. He’s an artificial lifeform from Kaylon, sent to observe and assess the behaviour of organic life on a Union spaceship.

He’s wonderful because he exists outside social norms. This adds a lot of flavour to the show, as the other characters adapt their lives around him.

Because he’s a logical creature and someone who takes things literally, he goes to extremes and can be rude. For example, in one episode, he offers to exterminate troublesome children. In another, he cuts someone’s leg off as a practical joke.

In a human character, this behaviour would be worrying indeed. But Isaac is not like us, so when we watch him, we can take a break from our usual social thinking. He is science fiction’s equivalent of a fairy prince.

You might have seen characters like Isaac in other TV shows. The Orville is a tribute to Star Trek, so Isaac can be read as the show’s Commander Data. (I suspect Data was at least a partial tribute to Mr Spock.)

I think Data, also an artificial lifeform, is a far gentler character than Isaac. Instead, Isaac reminds me of Harry in Resident Alien. He’s also like the artificial construct played by Alexander Skarsgård in Murderbot.

The latter three characters all share the traits of murderous potential, a scathing opinion of humankind, and an amusing social abruptness.

I love characters like this, whether they’re robot, alien, or something else. Introducing a non-human into a group of human characters always expands the range of storylines and character interactions. This character can be gentle and naive, like Data, or dangerous and haughtily superior, like Isaac.

Which image do you prefer?

Posted on Jan 23, 2026 by The Beta Files

I’m advertising continuity checking on the Contra platform. I needed a cover image, so I asked AI to generate one for me.

Yesterday, I thought a picture of a broken bridge would be a good idea. Broken continuity is like a bridge with a piece missing in the middle.

Today, I showed the image to someone. They said that the bridge concept was unsettling. It’s not my aim to spook potential customers, so I went back to AI.

I asked it to make an image of a row of yellow cars with one red one. As a continuity checker, I look for problems such as cars changing colour mid-story.

I think the car picture is much friendlier. I also like that the pub is called “The Continuity Arms.” I didn’t tell AI to do that.

Which image do you prefer?

Now for something somewhat unpleasant

Posted on Jan 22, 2026 by The Beta Files

I’m now advertising three services for indie authors on Contra. These are beta reading for romance, last-pass proofreading for any fiction genre, and continuity checks for any fiction genre.

Opening up to all fiction means that I could receive some very innovative works that push boundaries. I’ve added a note to my service page about the types of stories that I won’t accept.

It was a difficult note to write, so I feel that I should clarify exactly what I mean. There are certain stories that I don’t want to work on, either because I’m not a good fit, they pose a risk to society, or they are a risk to the author’s reputation.

If you’re not sure whether your story falls into the categories below, please get in touch. There’s a big difference between stories that focus on these topics and stories that involve a small aspect in a character’s backstory.

Non-consensual activities

The term “non-consensual activities” means physical contact that is not consented to by one or some of the people involved. This applies to people who do not want the contact and people who are unable to give informed consent due to age or capacity.

This very serious topic appears in many different kinds of stories. Some raise awareness and give representation to survivors. Others sensationalise this sensitive issue, turning it into entertainment.

If your fiction is in the first category, I wish you all the best with it. You may need to find service providers who specialise in this very delicate topic.

If your fiction is in the second category, I’m not a good fit – I’m not in your target readership.

Extreme violence

I’m not a good fit for stories that centre on one-on-one violence between humans. This mostly means stories about serial killers, anything like American Psycho, and people like Josef Fritzl.

I have no problem with battles in space, alien invasions, or bloodthirsty vampires. Make of that what you will.

Hate speech

Hate speech causes harm to society and poses a risk to anyone involved in its publication and distribution. It involves making negative generalisations about a group of people because of their gender, sexuality, skin colour, beliefs, ethnicity, national origin, abilities, or appearance.

Authors who publish hate speech endanger their future job prospects and relationships. By refusing to work with them, service providers protect both the author and society.

Harassment or shaming of living individuals

Sometimes, unpleasant characters in books are based on people known to the authors in real life. They can result in legal proceedings against the author and anyone involved in the book’s publication.

Well, that’s my list of topics that I’d rather not read about. To be honest, even writing this blog post was an uncomfortable experience!

If you aren’t sure whether I’d be happy to read your book or not, please get in touch.

Proofreading and beta reading services update

Posted on Jan 20, 2026 by The Beta Files

I have a profile on Contra, the escrow platform for freelancers. I’m offering two services:

beta reading for indie romances about couples in their mid-thirties or beyond
last-pass proofreading for indie fiction that’s ready to publish

Writing and publishing a book is a long journey. I’m happy that I’m able to offer help to indie authors at different stages of the process.

As a beta reader, I give feedback about the story itself. Hopefully, the author can then use my comments to help them decide whether to adjust their story. Authors bring in beta readers whenever they feel the need. That may be long before a manuscript has been finalised.

As a last-pass proofreader, I come in at the very end of the journey. You could say I’m the safety net. I look for the small errors that can sometimes remain even after all the rounds of editing, proofreading, and author amendments.

If you’d like to find out more, here’s a link to my page on Contra:

https://contra.com/thebetafiles

Star Trek’s newest captain is very cool

Posted on Jan 19, 2026 by The Beta Files

The latest Star Trek series, Starfleet Academy, has given us a new captain. Holly Hunter plays Nahla Ake, captain of the USS Athena and chancellor of Starfleet Academy. (The ship doubles up as a building when in San Francisco.)

Ake is over 400 years old because she’s part-human, part-Lathanite. The Lathanites are an incredibly long-lived species.

You might remember Carol Kane in her role as Pelia, the Lathanite engineer in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Pelia is thousands of years old.

Ake and Pelia share several key character traits.

They’re wise, resourceful, compassionate, intelligent, direct, and not afraid to challenge social conventions. In short, they are the people most of us would love to become someday.

They’re also great roles for two actresses who were born in the 1950s. It’s not so long ago that older women struggled to find acting parts that didn’t involve playing a main character’s mother or grandmother.

This had an impact on viewers because stories on screen are part of society’s messaging about what it means to be a certain kind of person. In the 1990s, English-language drama did little to counteract the idea that growing older meant invisibility for women. (At best, we could all hope to become Jessica Fletcher or Miss Marple.)

It’s good for everyone when older women are just as likely to be spaceship captains as they are to be the main character’s grandmother.

Being a Lathanite is pretty cool and gives both characters a certain perspective on life. But I do think it’s a pity that Ake and Pelia aren’t fully human. To be that amazing and a middle-aged earthling … now that would be something.

Lucy Worsley’s Victorian Murder Club

Posted on Jan 10, 2026 by The Beta Files

I love Lucy Worsley’s TV shows. Formerly a curator at the Historic Royal Palaces, she now presents history programmes that explore topics in depth. Her enthusiastic style has made her a popular TV favourite.

Her most recent show is the Victorian Murder Club, a three-part series investigating a serial killer contemporary to Jack the Ripper. The “Thames Torso Murderer” was active in London in the same decade and never caught.

I doubted I’d enjoy it, given the subject, but I gave it a chance because it was Worsley. The show turned out to be fascinating and I kind of miss it now that it’s over.

My favourite parts were when Worsley discussed the forensic reports and the killer’s activities with professional experts who assist the justice process today. They were able to give informed advice about how the Thames Torso Murderer compares to other modern serial killers.

Most notably, one specialist gave comment on the Victorian police’s forensic reports. Her thoughts were particularly useful and helped dispel one theory.

Consulting these experts helped to communicate that these events really happened and affected real people. It also shed an interesting light on how advanced police techniques already were at that time.

As I’m sure you’re aware, Jack the Ripper is so well known that he’s almost a cartoonish figure these days. In Worsley’s show there was no danger of the same thing happening to the Thames Torso Murderer.

I really liked the respectful attention that Worsley paid to the victims themselves. Where possible, she visited their burial sites and tried to learn about their lives.

The third episode provides a convincing theory about who the serial killer might have been. The man identified is known to have committed crimes against women on the Thames. The reports from survivors give a disturbing indication of what may have happened to the Thames Torso Murderer’s victims.

It’s okay if you don’t want to watch Lucy Worsley’s Victorian Murder Club. We’ve had decades of TV sensationalising the murders of women and glorifying serial killers. It’s quite understandable if you’d rather not watch anything about murder ever again.

However, I do think this show counterbalances the sins of earlier television trends. It’s an emotionally intelligent production that brings real history alive without lionising any of the criminals mentioned.

Idealised romantic heroes

Posted on Nov 21, 2025 by The Beta Files

Last night, I watched a Christmas comedy-romance about a medieval knight who travels from England to modern-day Ohio in America. He has a quest to fulfil to become “a true knight.” Along the way, he finds a friend in Brooke, a school teacher who no longer believes in love.

I’m talking, of course, about The Knight Before Christmas (2019), starring Vanessa Hudgens as Brooke and Josh Whitehouse as Sir Cole of Norwich.

If this movie were Christmas food, it’d be a gingerbread house. It’s innocent, cheerful, and almost entirely free from peril. The only dangerous moment is resolved quickly by Sir Cole.

All in all, The Knight Before Christmas is the perfect Christmas movie for people of all ages.

While watching the story unfold, I was puzzled by Sir Cole. He reminded me of another fictional character. But who?

It took me some time to realise that I was thinking of Damon Salvatore from Vampire Diaries (a TV series that is definitely not safe viewing for children).

Despite their significant differences, Sir Cole and the vampire Damon are romantic ideals. They’re steadfast in love, physically strong, and protective of those they care for.

Both knight and vampire also possess a kind of otherworldly wisdom that makes them very attractive. They’re literally from another time and place. So, we can believe they won’t behave like the people we meet in everyday life. This gives them a kind of escapist glamour.

Sir Cole is squeaky clean and as adorable as a Labrador puppy dog. He’s also not very deep. The movie tells us nothing about his flaws. This medieval knight isn’t a real human being; he’s a symbol of the true love that Brooke declares she no longer believes in.

Damon is Sir Cole’s exact opposite. He’s a dangerous predator who can turn off his morality like a switch, yet he still manages to be a romantic hero. Why? Because he isn’t human at all. We can’t judge him by the standards of our world.

Romantic heroes like Damon and Sir Cole work because they’re not real people. We can enjoy them without bringing in our lived experience. Believing in them gives us a chance to enjoy an ideal.

Importantly, they don’t remind us of anyone we know. And this gives the storytelling a chance to transport us away from daily life.

Renovation Romance (2024) movie review

Posted on Nov 20, 2025 by The Beta Files

It’s late November, so it’s time to watch as many Christmas movies as humanly possible. My favourite so far is Renovation Romance, directed by Robin Dunne and starring Jessica Lowndes.

I like it because it has an element of unpredictability. At the start, it’s not obvious which male character is going to be the main love interest. The viewers are left to watch the characters’ behaviour and make their own decisions based on each man’s loveableness.

I really appreciate having a sense of autonomy when watching or reading a romance. It’s lightly empowering and allows me to feel involved in the story.

Like all good Christmas movies, Renovation Romance builds the plot around a scenario. In this case, the characters are filming a TV show about home renovation and couples therapy. The week before Christmas, they go to New Hampshire to fix up a house and help its owners.

The making of the TV show introduces another essential element of storytelling: difficulty. When the production process becomes harder than expected, it helps shape the plot and the characters’ journey.

Overall, Renovation Romance is a thoughtfully made Christmas movie that delivers in almost all areas. My one criticism is that the house in New Hampshire looked very new and clearly didn’t need renovating!