This page was written 02/06/1998 updated 03/12/2003
This is my writing web site.
Please click here for the root index with links to my personal site and web design site.
Yes, I'm a struggling writer. Struggling with what, I don't yet know... and
perhaps I won't be for much longer. This site was first written before I was
shortlisted for the BBC Talent Children's Fiction prize for my book
Isabelle Invisible. For more info on this, see my
Isabelle page.
I am in the second year of an MA in Writing with Manchester
Metropolitan Uni (an on-line course) for which I am writing an adult novel in literary fiction genre.
As of the beginning of December 2003 my wordcount is approximately 85,000 words and I am approximately half-way through. I was really motivated by nanowrimo (see below) during November and have now decided to continue with the motivational tactics by giving myself a target every month. My target for December is to produce 30,000 words. See my prinowrimo page for more details of current motivation and whether I am on target.
I write a weblog on xanga and update it almost daily. I've been interested in blogging for a while, but only began my own since joining nanowrimo and have found that there is a huge community of writers out there. I no longer need to feel alone in my ivory tower!
And for some of my other writing:
In 2002 I wrote an adult animation script Frog Dreaming
which was taken up by www.stink.tv
and developed into animation by Mike Overbeck
(www.mikeoverbeck.com/frogdream.mov
11 megs download Quicktime Movie)
Another animation script idea I wrote is being showcased by AdvanceFXA
(www.advancefxa.com)
and can be downloaded from their site as a 700k .wmv file (Showreel3D).
I am going to have a couple of poems published in a poetry magazine!
www.coffeehousepoetry.co.uk is a subscription paper magazine and also has a really good website. They are calling for submissions and they also run a competition. The poems to be printed are Blue in the January edition and Chippy in the March edition.
My current film project is a feature script, of which I am on the second draft. I have written
a few scripts for short films but this is my first foray into the sordid world of
feature film scriptwriting.
I am also proud to be a NaNoWriMo winner! November is National Novel Writing Month and I attempted to produce 50,000 words of unedited tosh barely resembling my current novel. For more on this, see my nanowrimo page.
Books I would recommend as writing manuals:
Stephen King's On Writing - part autobiography, part writing manual. A very interesting insight
into his writing techniques and his life.
William Goldman's Four Screenplays - taught me everything I know about scriptwriting.
Includes Butch Cassidy, Marathon Man, The Princess Bride and Misery.
At the end of the day, I'm a writer no matter what it is. I mostly work straight onto the
computer (having two desktops and two laptops in the house). But wherever I go, you can guarantee
that I'll have a pen and paper at the ready in case inspiration strikes! Here I am jotting down
notes for the sequel to Isabelle Invisible - on a beach in Benidorm, December 2001.
