I was lucky to sit down have a consultation with the man himself, Ben Settle.
Ben is like marmite as they say here in the UK.
You either love it or your hate it and the same goes for him.
His ways are deliberate and they all make sense.
So there’s no secret that I write short stories in a range of genres, across different pen names and it’s something I don’t usually talk about. Mainly because I was never sure where I wanted to take it.
The call I had with Ben today has straightened out where I need to be. Especially with the way the whole creative / writing industry is heading, especially with our A.I overlords…
And to sum up the call it was really like with a lot that he teaches…
You need to do more to build out your world and get the right people in while keeping the ones you don’t want at bay.
And with all the research I’ve done on my market/genre there’s a lot of lack in that industry for someone to step in and be a “guru” figure head.
So yeah. I’ve got the rest of 2025 mapped out and now I need to get to work.
I’d highly recommend checking out his stuff. Jump on his list and learn from him.
It doesn’t matter what you do. His ways make sense because they are rooted in old school principles.
Stephen Walker.