the written word...

in the beginning was the page... and the page was blank.

For the writer, the blank page is the most terrifying and inspiring thing... just like life... it sits there in front of you... you've no idea how you're going to fill it or what it's going to say when you get to the end... but you steel yourself... take a deep breath and begin to commit a series of characters to the canvas.

So, I figured I'd better get me arse in gear and write something. And lo, it came to pass that I did indeed write something... several somethings to be precise... I wrote short stories... I wrote a book on film financing and I wrote some screenplays which got made into movies.

Non-Fiction:

I was looking for a way to make some quick cash and while bugging one of the editors at 'Screen Finance' magazine, I got asked to submit an idea for a management report. I thought something about bridging the worlds of movie-making and finance might not be the worst idea in the world... and apparently neither did they - cos they commissioned me to write one. It's called 'A Practical Guide to UK Film Financing'.

I stopped selling the Report after a few years because times change and international finance systems change and there just wasn't enough time or money to keep updating things to make it accurate month to month.

It did lead to me writing articles for publications like 'Showreel' Magazine and such, so all in all it wasn't a bad little venture.

My Wasted Life:

It's probably the closest I'll ever get to writing a proper blog and possibly the closest you'll ever get to seeing inside my head. ask anyone who knows me... being up close and personal doesn't necessarily make things any clearer... so this is a good a place to try... Bits of mwl were/are reviews of gigs I've been to and some of these were deemed worthy enough to appear in places like totalrock.com. they've since dispensed with their gigs review page... but you might be able to find something in the archives or if you ask nicely enough.

Short Stories:

I've been writing stories ever since some kindly teacher showed me how to write. All the really early stuff I did at school is long since lost in the sands of time - which probably isn't a bad thing. The first 'serious' piece I ever wrote was for a creative writing class at college... fortunately that still survives... the piece, if not the class. It was called 'Another Perfect Day' and it can be found in the collection of short stories I self-published called 'Broken Bones'.
Over the years I've had my short stories published in a number of forums and publications; most notably New Voices of Horror, Darkened Horizons, Kristi's Crypt, Deadbolt Magazine, Charnel House, etc.

Screenplays:

There's probably not a lot of point spending much time here talking about screenplays as there's an entire section devoted to them. Look over yonder at the menu bar... see the bit that says 'movies' - try clicking on it... it'll tell you all you need to know.



P.S. I've no idea who made that little animated gif I'm using up there and I can't remember where I got it from... but whoever you are, you're a genius and hope you don't mind me using it - it just sums up things so well.