Chronicles of Craddock: 2024 - Better Late Than Never
Welcome to the 2024 edition of the Chronicles of Craddock, a semi-yearly blog in which I look back at my writing year that was, and offer a glimpse into what I'll be working on in the new year. I’m calling this year’s edition “Better Late Than Never” since I usually write these in late December/early January, but last year and the beginning of this year got away from me, and you’ll soon understand why.
These blogs are as much a writing exercise for me as they are a detailed report for you, my readers, and a way to offer a glimpse into what goes into my writing behind the scenes. If you’re interested in what I was up to last year and the years before, click here to read past installments of Chronicles of Craddock. With that said, fix yourself a drink, sit back, and enjoy.
2023: Year in Review
Last year was extremely busy, but before we dig into that, I want to touch on mental health. I had a minor breakdown last year due to some medical issues I was going through, and overwork. I have bipolar disorder II, which means I have manic and depressive periods. During a manic period, I bit off way more than I could chew, and last year it caught up with me.
I’m doing much better now, but I needed a month off from all my freelance jobs and personal projects to get my head back on straight. I’m very fortunate and privileged that I was able to take a month for myself. All of this is to say that if you’re suffering from any sort of mental health issue, or if you seem down and can’t pinpoint why—don’t be afraid to ask for help.
The same goes for people you know: If you notice someone in your life seems off, reach out and offer help. They might only need an ear to bend, but they’ll appreciate you for it.
With that said, let’s talk about last year’s projects.
Shacknews
I wrote a long read last year, produced a video with my good friend and Shacknews video editor Greg Burke, and spearheaded the Shacknews Hall of Fame for the fourth year in a row.
First up, the long read—Perfect Run: The Quest to Master Resident Evil 2 and Make GDQ History. This ended up being one of my favorite books I’ve written. It’s a story about a professional Resident Evil player who takes on a personal quest: To finish 2019’s Resident Evil 2 remake without taking any damage, and to accomplish that in front of a live audience. I talked to him about his training, the event itself, and the aftermath. If you’re curious, you can read it here.
Next, Dreamcast: 25 Years of Thinking. I interviewed staff about Sega’s Dreamcast console to celebrate its 25th anniversary, and recorded lots of footage to use during the retrospective. Greg and I collaborated on this: I recorded footage, did the interviews, and wrote a script, and he brought it all together in one excellent package. I’m once again astounded by his talents as a video editor and creative, and know you’ll enjoy the final product. You can watch it here.
Lastly, Shacknews inducted its 2024 Hall of Fame class in December. You can peruse the Hall of Fame Class of 2024 here. Notable inductees include the Dreamcast, Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament (two of my favorite shooters), and lots of venerable designers and hardware devices. Greg also made a fantastic video segment to go along with it; you can watch it on the first page of the article, linked above.
“Chronicles of Craddock” StoryBundle
My career as a writer turned 20 last year! To celebrate, I rounded up most of my books, and wrote a few new ones, to include in a gotta-catch-em-all bundle on StoryBundle.com. It only ran for a month, but you’ll be able to get your hands on some of the new books I wrote for the bundle soon.
Id Software 33rd Anniversary Stream with Tom Hall, John Romero, and John Carmack
I was humbled and honored that the “two Johns” asked me back to moderate a stream between three of id’s four co-founders reflecting on the early days of the company. You can watch the entire interview here.
Vampire Novel
Last year I announced a horror novel about a vampire. Vague, I know, but it’s all I can share for now. I pitched it to several agents and publishers, heard back from a publisher who then ghosted me (it happens), and heard from an agent who wanted me to “R&R”—revise and resubmit. This is a good thing. It means your story has potential, but they want to see a little extra something from it.
I’ll be adding that little extra something this spring and resubmitting. Fingers crossed I can share more around this time next year.
FIGHT!
FIGHT!, my book about fighting games, made great progress last year. I finally landed on a concrete direction for it—a lot of these books start with me wandering around until I arrive at a thesis—and I’m in the process of finishing the first draft now. No ETA on a release date yet. As always, I’ll update here when I have more news to share. Lots of stories to tell about this one when I’m able.
But Can It Run Doom? (official title, finally)
Yes, it can. I finished the first draft of this book over the holiday break—while taking plenty of “me” time to make sure I don’t burn out again—and am thrilled with how it turned out. The next step is to revise the draft. I’ll be doing that after I put a bow on FIGHT!.
Ultimate Long Live Mortal Kombat
Amie admitted the project was overwhelming her, so we contracted a graphic designer to help finish the layout. The first draft is complete; the next step is for Amie to edit the layout, and for me to edit the text, in preparation for finally shipping this to our Kickstarter backers. If you’re one of those backers, we apologize again for this one taking so long! It’ll be worth the wait.
Unannounced Video Game Book Project
I made progress on this one, too; it’ll also be finished this year, though it won’t be out anytime soon. More on this when I’m able to share.
Secret Film Project
This one was slated to enter production around this time, but got delayed 12-18 months. As always, more when I can share.
2025: Looking Ahead
Most of the projects I worked on in 2024 are still on my plate for this year. Let’s go through them.
· FIGHT! will be finished and submitted to Bitmap Books, the publisher. Really excited about this one and looking forward to sharing more.
· But Can It Run Doom will also be finished and submitted to its publisher, Boss Fight Books.
· Unannounced Video Game Book Project: Will be finished and submitted to its publisher.
Wrapping Up
The Looking Ahead section seems short, but those three books have been on my plate in one form or another since 2023. My goal for this year is to bid them a fond farewell and move on to other projects. I’m getting antsy to work on Long Live Mortal Kombat and Stay Awhile and Listen again. I foresee beginning those books in 2026, assuming everything I need for them to happen (particularly LLMK 2) lines up.
Thank you, as always, for joining me on this journey. If you’re interested in any of my books, you can find them on Amazon and, in many cases, a bookstore near you. Happy new year (super late)!
David