Life as an Author

When Writing Becomes More Than a Hobby

/ Author Simon Phillips / Leave a comment

You know what I’ve realised lately?

Writing, not just novels but short stories, flash fiction, even blog posts, has become more enjoyable to me than watching TV. More than movies. Sometimes, even more than reading.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love a good story in any form. But there’s something different about sitting down with a blank page. Something alive. It’s not passive, it’s creation. Every sentence, every scene, is something I get to build. To breathe life into.

It’s strange, isn’t it? We spend so much of our lives consuming stories, but when you start creating them, time shifts. You stop watching from the outside and begin shaping the inside, the heartbeat of the world you’re building.

And it’s not just about finishing something. It’s about the act itself, the quiet joy of shaping a world from nothing, of following a character you didn’t plan to meet, of reaching a line and thinking, Ah. That one was honest.

Writing has become my pause in the noise, a place where time disappears, yet I feel more present than anywhere else. It’s where I find myself again.

So I wonder, does anyone else feel this? Has writing ever felt more fulfilling than bingeing a series? More grounding than scrolling through a feed?

If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Because for me, writing isn’t just a pastime anymore. It’s where life slows down just enough for meaning to take shape.

Watch the video here: Why Writing Feels Better Than Watching TV | Life as an Author

The Quiet Victory of Persistence in Creativity

/ Author Simon Phillips / Leave a comment

A short moment from the life of an author.

There’s a quiet kind of victory that never shows up in stats or milestones. It doesn’t come with applause, a viral short, or a nicely rounded word count. It just arrives with a sigh, a stretch of the fingers, and a whispered, “Alright then… carry on.”

Today was one of those days.

I stared at the draft. Again. I knew what needed rewriting, but every sentence felt heavier than it should. The edits weren’t flowing, the coffee wasn’t helping, and the background noise of daily life, bills, work, sleep I didn’t get, was louder than usual.

And yet… I didn’t close the document. I didn’t shelve the idea. I didn’t let the doubt win.

I wrote a sentence. Then another. Then reworded the first one and deleted the second but stayed with it. And that, strangely enough, felt like something.

I didn’t give up.

Not for the first time. Not for the last. But this was today’s win, and I think it’s one worth sharing.

If you’re working on something creative, whether it’s a novel, a painting, a video, or just the courage to start, know this: continuing is often the bravest thing we do.

So if today you didn’t give up either… I’m glad you’re still here.

Let’s keep going.

Simon

When a Short Hits 1K Views and You’re Still in Your Dressing Gown

/ Author Simon Phillips / Leave a comment

I didn’t expect much when I first uploaded my fantasy Shorts.

Just a voiceover, a few images, thirty to sixty seconds of lore. No ad spend. No magic keywords. Just a story that had been sitting in my head for far too long, finally pushed out into the world.

The first one hit 90 views. Then 110. I refreshed. Twice.

The second barely passed 70. Still, I kept going.

And then, one evening, after a long day juggling work, family, and dinner with a toddler clinging to my leg, I checked YouTube and saw it:
1,037 views.

A thousand strangers had watched a slice of the world I’m building. A kingdom I drew in the dark. A name I’d whispered into existence over five rewrites.

It’s easy to dismiss it. “It’s just a number,” I told myself. “People scroll past everything.”

But the truth is, for authors like me, especially those of us self-building from scratch, every view is a flicker of proof. That the story matters. That someone, somewhere, paused to listen.

There were no fireworks. No subscriber spike. Just a moment. One I’ll quietly remember as the night I sat in my dressing gown, tea in hand, and realised…

This is working.

I’m still writing. Still shaping this novel. Still creating. And slowly, view by view, line by line, I’m getting it out there.