About
Old Nick is a 17th-century name for the Devil. The name has, at times, been associated with Nicor, a sea monster from the Beowulf saga. I chose it because my name is Nick, because I am old, and because a schism within me has long believed he is the Devil. We are working through this delusion together… slowly. Adopting Old Nick as an author-name is part of the cathartic process.
I write poetry, short stories and novels, and I dabble in art and photography. The image above is one I made after hiking into a bothy on Skye, setting up a tripod and using a Nikon D5600 on a timer. My mentor said you make photos, not take them. A lesson that also applies to writing.
There is no one genre I specialise in, though I do have a penchant for utilising fantasy and science fiction to shape dystopian realities. I write with a quill, never a spoon, so my work will not appeal to those who like being spoon-fed plots and character arcs. Best to show, never tell. Perhaps you will find that I show well.
The images on this Substack are AI-generated. The writings are not. AI writing leans too far towards telling rather than showing, and often produces inconsistent story arcs derived from popular fiction. AI can probably write better than I can—at least when it comes to appealing to a mass audience. But my works are for individuals, including the neurodivergent among us.
So enter my realm and enjoy. Subscribe and share with friends if you care to. But whatever you do, be well, be wise, be happy.