It came from Jonathan Laidlow

Jonathan Laidlow’s story “The Astronaut Tier” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 26 October 2018. “The Astronaut Tier” began life as a story called “Flailing”, written for a challenge on the sffworld forums in 2015 with the theme of “surprises in desolate places”. I remember I immediately had the image of a blighted Britain, but it took a little longer to find the main theme of the story, which was the Mars One project – …

The Astronaut Tier – Jonathan Laidlow

Farren opened the door to the bailiffs and let them in. They pushed into the apartment wordlessly, and began to itemise her former life, ticking boxes on clipboards while they opened drawers and rifled shelves. The last to enter was a wiry middle-aged woman who, with a kind smile, invited Farren to sign, thus demonstrating her understanding that her possessions were now the property of Ares II’s creditors. She asked if the coffee in the …

A question for Jonathan Laidlow

Q: What’s a typical writing day like for you?

A: This is the dream of the typical writing day: I rise late and drink good strong coffee while looking back through the previous day’s draft. I then spend the day adding new words to my latest story and they’re all perfect.

The reality is somewhat different. I try to read the previous day’s draft either over a hurried coffee or on my commute to the office.

At lunch I find a quiet spot to sit with my laptop and write. Sometimes I’m working on a story, but a lot of the time I’m doodling with words. I keep the writers’ equivalent of a sketchbook and fill it with story fragments, ideas and scenes. You never know when you’ll find a nugget of gold in there that turns into a story or a novel.

Writing at lunch takes the pressure off, so by the evening I look at the current project. I usually revise the previous day’s words before I add new ones. Sometimes I have to go all the way to the beginning to seed new information and events, so I’m constantly revising as well as adding new material. I like to call this writing method “looping revisionary chaos”….


Jonathan Laidlow’s story “The Astronaut Tier” was
published on Friday, 26 October 2018.

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About Jonathan Laidlow

Jonathan Laidlow grew up in the northwest of England, near the Sellafield nuclear power plant, which regularly leaked. He has one good leg, one good eye, and one good ear … He lives in Birmingham, UK. He tweets @burtkenobi and blogs occasionally at jonlaidlow.com.


Jonathan Laidlow’s story “The Astronaut Tier” was
published on Friday, 26 October 2018.

Subscribe to our e-mail updates so you’ll know when new stories go live.