Finding My Way To Writing

 I realised recently that I hadn’t really explained how writing came to take up so much of my time — or why I finally decided to share it.

For as long as I can remember, writing has been something I did quietly and privately. Stories were written, put away, revisited, rewritten, and then put away again. They existed without an audience, without deadlines, and without any real intention of being shared beyond the desk they were written at.

For a long time, that felt enough.

Somewhere along the way, though, writing stopped being an occasional diversion and became something more persistent. Ideas lingered. Characters stayed longer than expected. Moments from life, work, history, and imagination began to demand space on the page rather than being quietly filed away and forgotten.

What took much longer was the confidence to share any of it.

That shift came when I had to step away from work at 62. With a change of pace and more time than I’d had in years, writing moved from the margins more into the centre. What began as a way to fill quieter days gradually became something more focused — a place to explore ideas, revisit memories, and shape stories that had been quietly gathering for a long time. Perhaps perspective comes with time, or perhaps it was simply finally having the space to listen to those ideas properly.

Over the years, a catalogue of short stories had built up — pieces across different genres, moods, and styles. Some are reflective, some darker, some gentle, and some written simply because an idea refused to be ignored.

Some of the short stories were inspired by the simplest of observations. A smashed bottle on a tiled floor, a gate onto an overgrown lane, a mirror in a railway carriage.

Alongside those, I’m currently working on three longer projects, each very different in tone and subject, but all rooted in an interest in people — how they behave, what they hide, and how ordinary moments can quietly turn into something unexpected.

Only recently did it feel like the right time to let any of this out into the world.

This blog exists as a place to share that work as it continues to grow. There’s no fixed schedule and no grand plan — just stories, posted when they’re ready, and occasional reflections on where they came from and where they might be heading.

If you’d like to follow along, you’re very welcome. There’s plenty more to come.

— David Baxter