A couple of years ago, I started writing a St. George’s Day poem. I had this idea, see — well, more of an image, in my head. I’d seen a billboard with an England fan’s face on it. White greasepaint, red cross, as solemn as if his life depended on the match. Who knows, maybe it did. I don’t have much truck for football myself, but it did spark an idea in me. Rather than St. George a chivalrous knight, why not St. George a berserker, a raging, painted warrior fighting for his faith against his hellish opponent? I could write about that.
Read MoreCategory: Writing and Self-Publishing
2023 Writing Round-up
Wow, 2023 was a year, wasn’t it? I can’t pretend it was a great one for actual writing (well – more about that below) but it was hella eventful in other arenas. Factors distracting me from writing including (but were not limited to) the ever-growing Baby T (now a toddler – who knew that children grow?), completing my first year of full-time teaching (ah, so this is what they grow into) and drumming at various gigs. That said, writing books isn’t the only pie I’ve got my authory fingers in, and it’s been great to be part of the adventures of those who’ve made films, displayed paintings or written songs that relate to things that I’ve written. This is my 2023 writing round up and all the activities I’ve been part of.
Read More
New Atlantis: A Poem
I hang my head in shame. It has been more than six months since I’ve put finger to key and clacked a new blog post into being. More than six months since sharing a story, poem, or even a trademark thought or reflection. Well, it ends today. I’ve a new poem to share with you, and a little tale to go with it. Patient readers, I present for your pleasure: New Atlantis.
2022: Good for babies, disastrous for writing
You might recall my last blog post. I described the recent changes I’d made in life: I was immersed in teacher training and expecting a baby in January. Well, I’m now a teacher and, even more importantly, a father. Tristan Smith was born on 12th January 2022, and he’s as perfect a baby as we could hope for. Yes: even when he cries all day. I loved that crying when I was trying to complete my final assessment for my PGCE. Loved it. Hmm.
Read More
How to Write a Screenplay
This article may or may not contain instructions on how to write a screenplay. But it does contain the twisted tale of how one of my short stories was adapted into a(n equally short) film.
INT. PUB IN WORTHING
It started January 2021. No wait. Technically, it started before our lives were hit by 21st century black death and we all went into lockdown. My bandmate and I were plying our trade at an open mic in Worthing. Another guitarist asked if I could put some percussion behind his set. We got talking and, like any good self-publicising writer, I mentioned my books. I played cajon to We Are the Champions. A good night was had by all.
Back to January 2021. Chaz – for ‘twas Chaz Parvez who had conscripted me into his Queen tribute – shot me a message on Facebook. He was writing, producing and directing a short film. A horror. I wrote horror stories – would I mind giving the screenplay a critical read? I opened the attachment. “2-5-1 (WORKING TITLE)” by Chaz Parvez. You want the first lines?
FADE IN:
“the killing”
INT. CONCERT HALL, BACKSTAGE-EVENING
This was my kind of thing.
Read More
How to review a book
This year, I’ve been listing every book I read in this What I’ve Read diary. Each page invites you to scribble some notes about the book, as well as give it a star rating. Which begs the question: what makes a book good? Just how do you review a book?
There are lots of parts to a book, and not just pages either. Things like characters, settings, events. More nuanced things too, the things that exist between the lines and which we’ll be looking at today. Style. Theme. Even truth. They all add up to something more than the sum of their parts. Let’s ready our critical scalpels and look inside the anatomy of a novel. At the things which make a story good or bad. Let’s learn how to review a book.
Why review a book?
Reviewing a book isn’t about criticising it. It’s about thinking analytically about its composition, and the choices that went into it to making it. There are some brilliant novels out there in the world and it’s important to recognise the hard work, choices and sacrifices that went into them. Reviewing a book – even if only in your head for a day after finishing one – is part of experiencing and respecting it. And about understanding what makes it good – or bad – compared to the bazillions of other books out there.
As we learn how to review a book, with some simple questions, we’ll see the amount of crossover between them. If writing a book was as easy as working through this like a checklist, everyone would be doing it!
Read More