The Novel World

Shop 'Til You Drop

2011-03-19T02:33:00.000-07:00

Just learnt that a short story of mine, 'Shop 'Til You Drop' is to be published in the Christmas Issue of Morpheus Tales - the issue will be available to download, free of charge, via their website nearer the season.

This will be followed by another of my short stories, 'End Times' appearing in an issue of the magazine itself in early 2012 - just in time for the end of the world!*

* Not going to happen.

Inspiration & Imagination

2011-03-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

Since finishing writing my children's book in January, I've spent a great deal of my time simply soaking up inspiration from wherever I can, readying myself for the next writing project.

I'm always searching for the next thing to fuel my imagination, but in the downtime between projects I seem to go on somewhat of a binge of stimulating the part of my mind where ideas are manufactured. And lately, my imagination has gone into overdrive.

I think it's maybe because I've finally discovered the perfect outlet for the kind of ideas my old noggin comes up with - and that is children's fiction.

February saw me working on the 2nd draft of my book, while outlining notes for two possible next projects. I also read, rather predictably, a great deal for children's fiction: some of the best I've read recently are Louis Sachar's wonderful novel Holes, which I pretty much devoured in a day. Also been reading a fair bit of Roald Dahl (well, if you're hoping to write children's fiction, then you might as well try and learn from one of the best!) - Danny The Champion of the World is possibly my favourite of the ones I've read of his of late. But by far the most incredible of the recent books I've read is Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, which I believe could be one of The great works of fiction (if they are children's books, then the medium is limitless!).

All these books have left an impression on my imagination, as does the music I listen to - dense thickets of words and great emotional pieces of music always set me in the frame of mind for writing, which is why the likes of Dylan and Neil Young are always a mainstay - rich, musical landscapes where words filled with visions are wrapped in riddles. Lately though its been Radiohead's new album The King of Limbs, the incredible work of Angelo Badalamenti, and the back catalogue of Black Sabbath that have been layering my imaginings.

People I know with drive and ambition also inspire me greatly. I've just spent the day re-recording my dialogue (ADR) for Slaughter is the Best Medicine, the forthcoming feature debut from Stickmen Pictures (yes, I have a part in it. Don't laugh!). Daniel Tee and Rishi Thaker, producer and director respectively, have made their film pretty much from pure drive and ambition alone, and little else! - from just an absolute desire to create a feature film. That kind of thing really inspires me. Having done it myself with A Reckoning, it makes me admire them immensely.

I've also been greatly encouraged and inspired by Curtis Jobling recently, author of Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf and my friend, horror author Simon Clark - plus Lynne Henderson, whose Blog I very much enjoy, and my good friends Adam Krajczynski and Matt Waldram. Michael Spiby also, who is directing our Christmas Portmanteau Project against all odds. These are people out there writing and creating, and it is a wonderful thing to surround yourself with folk such as these.

I hope to get my book sent out into the publishing world later this month - also, I shall begin work on the next one! I don't know what's going to happen (if anything!), but whatever pans out, I truly believe, or should I say feel, that this is the work I should be doing with my life.

I've done a lot of different things - I've been in rock bands (even got signed once!), co-written several screenplays, and directed a feature film, but nothing on this wayward journey of mine has ever felt so right as the projects I'm working on now.

Portmanteau Christmas Film

2011-01-31T11:14:00.000-08:00

* The picture is of Paul Hann as the character of Mr. Fredrick P. Fiddlewitz

Michael Spiby has been directing my short story The Curious Appearance of Mr. Fiddlewitz over weekends throughout the month of January, and he wraps in the next few weeks.

Mick's been keeping me up to date with the production, but I have yet to visit the set (I hope to join them on the last day of shooting) - but from what I hear, and from the pictures I have seen - not to mention the brilliant cast he's assembled - I'm confident he's going to make something quite special here.

Mick is one of those guys who can just get things done - the way you need to be when making any kind of film on this scale. Filmmaking is incredibly difficult and takes an enormous amount of drive and ambition to make it happen, particularly on a low-to-no budget. I tried to shoot Fiddlewitz myself around five years ago, but couldn't bring it together - whereas Mick has wrestled this into production through sheer force of will in an incredibly short space of time (I only gave him the script towards the end of last summer).

Once Fiddlewitz has been put to bed however, our collaboration will continue on in the form of a portmanteau film.

Three (maybe four) closely themed tales, including Fiddlewitz, will make up an entire feature film. And like Fiddlewitz, they will all be set on Christmas Eve and will involve low characters up to sinister deeds. Mick will move from one production to another - essentially making one short film at a time, until he has made up the running time of a feature film. I believe this is an interesting, and logical, way to actually make a feature film, especially on no-budget.

I've begun work on the script for the 2nd segment. It is entitled The Tale of Much Marcle and Emerald's Ghost, and contains many of the same themes, and much of the same old-fashioned whimsy, as Mr. Fiddlewitz.

In fact, old-fashioned is the key here. The stories come from my love of Dickens and the old Ealing comedies of the 50s (I see a link there in terms of villainous characters wrapped up in extraordinary capers which steadily unravel beyond their means). The template of a portmanteau film is out of step with the times as well I suppose, but then, I've always preferred things that way.

This project, coupled with re-writes on my Children's Book, will see me living with Christmas well into the spring I suppose. Its strange because I've been having to keep the festive spirit within me, which is fine, but I know that once my book and Much Marcle have been completed and sent out into the world, my next project will have to be set in the long, basking heat of the summer. I will certainly be ready to shake off winter (and Christmas!) by then.

Currently reading Peter Ackroyd's vivid biography of London, and listening over and over again to the Dirty Three.

Book Completed!

2011-01-18T04:05:00.000-08:00

Today I finished the 1st draft of, well, my first completed book. And between you and me, it feels very good indeed.

Since September last year I have been Blogging on here about my progress on a novel, but for those who know me and the project I've been working on, I've got to confess something - the book I've finished isn't the one I started last summer.

What happened was this: I realised towards the end of November that I'd taken a wrong road with my novel, and around the same time something else occurred to me about my writing. I realised that the way my imagination works - the fantastical ideas I come up with, really should be being driven towards children's fiction.

This may sound simple, but to me it was a revelation. The answer had been staring me in the face all along. In fact, I've even written stories that could indeed be for children without actually knowing I was writing children's fiction. The only project I've worked on where I knew I was writing for children was the screenplay, Monstershire, which I wrote with Matthew Waldram. But many of the short stories I've written could be for children, and a majority of my ideas also have the same range.

By range, I mean I feel children's fiction is wide open for an imagination like mine - hence me taking a wrong direction with my novel last year by turning a very fantastical idea into something with some very adult content. I'm not saying that adult's can't, or won't, read fantasy, I'm just saying I was doing an injustice to a story that could very possibly be enjoyed by readers of all ages.

So at the end of November I called a hiatus to that particular novel and immediately began work on another project.

The idea came to me late on the 28th November, and I wrote a few notes down that night. By December 2nd I started writing in earnest on what, of course, you've guessed to be a children's story. Fittingly for the season, it is a Christmas tale and is for younger readers - the publishing world targets these types of books at the 9-12 year olds. It is magical and unashamedly sentimental (something I personally never have much of a problem with).

I wrote furiously throughout December (I was even writing Christmas Eve- and New Year's Eve for that matter), and have been writing almost everyday since the New Year, and today I finished. At present, it comes in at 22,000 words. I told no one I was working on the book - not even my girlfriend until last week! - as I didn't want to jinx the speed in which I was writing by having someone have any expectations on me.

I feel a new found purpose and, dare I say, more of a confidence than I've ever had in my own work before. There is, of course, subsequent drafts to work on, and then comes the difficult prospect of submitting to publishers and agents (which does daunt me greatly), but I am very proud of this new work and admit, I do have high hopes for it.

I will return to the novel I started last summer in the spring, but it will be different animal now to the one I originally planned.

There is also something else to this new direction. There is a lot of darkness in these times, and I feel, for me, it is far better to be contributing good things to the world.

Only rich, wondrous and positive things for me now.

Mr. Fiddlewitz e-book

2011-01-02T13:37:00.000-08:00

The Curious Appearance of Mr. Fiddlewitz is a short story I wrote around five years ago (ironically, for such an English story, it was begun in Ohio of all places). I've decided to experiment with the world of ebooks - which I've been thinking about doing for some time - and so I've uploaded the tale onto the Smashwords website for FREE download.

I confess to scratching my head a bit when trying to upload it, so if any of you out there do download it in whichever format and its a bit skewiff, please let me know.

Another reason for releasing this particular story is because shooting begins this month on the film adaptation, directed by Michael J. Spiby, which I'm very excited about.

I did consider tweaking this story, but I resisted, so it is pretty much how it was when I wrote it five years ago. The film - which will make up one of the tales in a planned portmanteau film - will be slightly different - for one thing, the film version will be set on Christmas Eve and includes several 'new' scenes not in the short story.

The wonderful cover is by the equally wonderful Amanda Marwood.

Anyway, if you do download this here story, I hope you enjoy. Here's to a bright and shiny 2011 everybody.

Pub Lunch

2010-12-14T10:25:00.000-08:00

It's strange how some projects come into being. Some come slowly, developed over long periods of time, chipped away at for months, maybe years- others come like a flash of lightning, and have to be jumped on and rode wildly into conception immediately*

This new project falls into the latter category. Quoting from the pitch- "PUB LUNCH will be a brand new series, providing a slight twist on the traditional 'chat show' format, in which the series' presenter will host a lunch-time meal in one of the UK's many and varied pubs with a revolving guest list of actors, writers, musicians, filmmakers and much more. In short, famous people with an interesting tale to tell."

The first episode, or should I say, Pilot episode, will include guests from different sides and levels of the world of filmmaking. We've chosen this angle simply because of the contacts we already have, and basically, its what we know. But if we can get this picked up, it wouldn't just be a show about filmmakers; it would comprise all of the arts.

Our dream is to also have, for want of a better word, reunion specials- the idea a lot of us on this project are excited about is a Young Ones episode. I myself would love to see Ade Edmondson, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer and Chris Ryan (and possibly Alexei Sayle, Ben Elton and Lise Mayer) all sitting around a table, talking about the old days over a pint or two. If not The Young Ones, then maybe The Comic Strip Presents..., which, of course, they were all involved, but was also masterminded by the extremely underrated Peter Richardson. These ideas may be hard to pull off, but hey, we'll give it a hell of a go!

But that's not all we can do with this premise- Artists, comedians, producers, musicians, and sportsmen and women, could all be brought together to talk freely about their work and their industry - or even politics, or the weather if they so wish - all over the informal environment of the friendly, cozy, warm glow of the local British pub!

Now in order to get this project off the ground we're going to have to do the quite undignified thing of internet begging. Unfortunately, its the only way to get the budget in place. It does make me uncomfortable - endlessly tweeting about your own projects makes my skin crawl slightly - but it seems to be the only way at this stage.

But anyway, rising above my own thoughts about that, we believe in this show and believe that, if we can at least get enough to shoot the pilot, then we're off and running. So, all dignity aside, if you can help in any way, it would be absolutely wonderful.

Matthew Waldram and myself are producing this project and hope to shoot in the new year, providing we can get the budget in place. And this is where you good people out there can help. Please take a look at the full pitch over at IndieGoGo and see if you can give us some true Christmas cheer and get this project up and running! Thank you!

*Sounds disgusting

Father Christmas - A Brief History

2010-12-09T07:29:00.000-08:00

Christmas is upon us again, so I thought I'd share this - my (very) Brief History of a certain fat, jolly icon of the season...

Santa Claus began his illustrious career as St Nicholas in the late 3^rd Century. He was a Bishop who dedicated his life to helping the poor and the underprivileged. According to the legend he loved children and often spent his evenings disguised in a hooded cloak and left gifts of clothing and food at the windows of unfortunate families.

By the time of his death in 343AD he had been declared a Saint and his legend grew far and wide. Warms the heart doesn’t it.

By the time the Saxons invaded Britain in 7^th Century the mythology of this Saintly gift-bringer had seeped into the folklore of elemental deities such as King Frost, Lord Snow and their main god, Odin; who in the guise of his December character would come to earth cloaked and hooded and sit listening to his people speak of their plight and problems. The mythology also said that he carried a satchel full of bounty which he gave to the needy and the hungry. He was portrayed as a wise old sage with a long white hair and beard.

The basic elements for Santa Claus were pretty much in place already, but this figure of peace and charity really began take hold in the 10^th and 11^th Centuries as word began to cross the world of the deeds St Nicholas, who had since become the Patron Saint of Russia. This growing folklore also became intertwined with the Germanic character, The Winterman, who was later to become known as Kris Kringle. He was said to come down from the snow capped mountains, dressed in furs and skins, heralding winter and bearing gifts.

After a brief period in the 17^th Century when Christmas was actually banned in Britain, the folklore of a gift bringer who visited those who were worthy to celebrate the birth of Christ really took hold in 1821 when Reverend Clement Moore wrote a poem for his children. Bringing together the elements from European lore, deities and folk-characters, Moore personified Father Christmas, as he had come to be know, in ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’ or its more famous title, ‘The Night Before Christmas’. Later in the 19^th Century political cartoonist Thomas Nast illustrated what he called Santa in ‘Santa in Camp’, and continued to draw him year after year, establishing the character as a stable of the festive season.

His imagery began to appear on cards and in the windows of shops throughout the Victorian era. But what really cemented Santa as an icon was Coca Cola when they began a major seasonal promotion in 1931. Their in-house artist Haddon Sundblom created the rotund, happy jolly fellow we all know and love today. He also changed the gift bringer’s clothing from green, to the red and white he is now famous for.

Santa’s Grottos began to appear in Department stores in Britain and the US throughout the war years, these began to include much of the iconography that has since become tradition; sleigh rides, Reindeer and of course, a few elves thrown in for good measure.

The image of the mythical gift-giver has seeped into our culture over hundreds of years; the jolly, white-bearded, portly man dressed in red and white may have been party created by the biggest drinks company in the world, but Coca Cola took from centuries of mythology, taking from the European folklore of Kris Kringle and Saint Nick, and Americanised him into what could almost be described as a product. So even though they took from ancient folklore, the Santa Claus icon, which is ingrained so deeply into the public consciousness - now impossible to think of the festivities without him - is arguably as American as Mickey Mouse or Superman. Many households today hold the image of Santa Claus as a bigger part of Christmas than, I suspect, the image of Christ himself.

Yet with all that said, there is still something comforting in the idea of a selfless soul who, for one night of the year, gives without question to the children of the world. The idealism is always relevant and much needed in these hard times.

Merry Christmas.

A.D. Barker (c) Copyright: 2010

Chapter Five

2010-12-01T10:06:00.000-08:00

Finished Chapter Five today, bringing me up to 26,878 words. It was a difficult chapter; the second in a row I had to wrestle with somewhat. That said though, it was very enjoyable to write, partly because I interweaved my own past into the story.

When I was a boy I watched a lightning storm from my bedroom window - fork lightning struck a large tree that stood over the rows of gardens that surrounded my own and felled it, smashing everything in its path (luckily there was no one out in the gardens at the time!). Seeing this sparked something in my young self, and my imagination went into overdrive. Probably hasn't stopped since.

That memory is now shared by myself and my main character, Paul.

It has been frustrating of late, what with trying to sort out my somewhat turbulent life, and a few other projects that have suddenly appeared (or reappeared) on my plate, there hasn't been as much time for working on the novel as I would have liked. Still, that said, I am proud that I'm at this point after just three months, and all I can do is just continue to chip away at it. There's still a long way to go, but its no longer as daunting as it was at the very beginning.

Anyway, I read Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol over the weekend, while on a slow train to London. Of course, I know the story from the countless adaptations, but the novel (or novella) is so rich, and so wonderful it completely mesmerized me - 167 years after it was published! I believe it to be one of the most prefect stories ever written - it also inspired a new story idea, this time for a Children's Book - something I may outline over Christmas.

Anyway, as its Dec 1, I'll leave you with the best Christmas song ever!-
Who laughs this way... ho ho ho... must be Bob Dylan!!

Mr. Fiddlewitz Update!

2010-11-21T10:54:00.000-08:00

The Curious Appearance of Mr. Fiddlewitz begins shooting in January and will star Paul Hann as the eponymous character, and James McCabe and June Bladon as Mr. and Mrs. Halwood respectively.

Above is the first picture from the project, featuring McCabe and Bladon as the aforementioned Mr. and Mrs. Halwood on their wedding day.

Mr. Fiddlewitz is a nostalgic crime caper set on Christmas Eve and will be directed by Michael Spiby. I previously wrote about this project HERE

We've all worked together before, on either my own film A Reckoning or Stickmen Pictures' Slaughter is the Best Medicine (yes, filmmaking is very close-knit!), and I'm really looking forward to this project coming to life.

I wrote it about five years ago, so it'll be wonderful to see an idea that has essentially been in my draw for all that time finally make it to the screen.

Since beginning this project, a few other ideas have fell into place and we are now developing a portmanteau film which will feature the Mr. Fiddlewitz story along with two others tales (that I've yet to write!), all tied together by either a narrator or a fourth, interweaving story that wraps all the tales together. You know the score.

Nostalgia will be the main theme running through each of the three stories and they will all be set on Christmas Eve. The feel will be very old-fashioned, and yet saying that, hopefully a little different.

Hey, I'm into Christmas films, what can I say....

So what began as a short has now developed into a feature film project and now, suddenly, I have two more scripts to write! Fittingly, I plan to write these (or at least start writing them) over Christmas while I take a break from my novel.

Seems this isn't the only project on the cards at the minute either - there's a few projects that may come to light in the coming months, but more on that when we get a little further down the line.

Seems 2011 could be very busy indeed, which is just what I need to pull me back from the malaise that has haunted me for the past few months. My last Blog In the Ditch probably saw me at my lowest, but a lot of people were very lovely and it really has kept my spirits up - so thank you to all those who got in touch. (There was a comment regarding our film by the parties we're having problems with, and for those interested in hearing the other side of this strange story then you can check out his comment on that particular Blog entry.)

Anyway, onwards and upwards - as they say.

The Lawnmower Man

2010-11-17T12:22:00.000-08:00

Here's a recent review I've written for Strange Things Are Happening -
Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the 1992 cyber-fest that is The Lawnmower Man

In the Ditch

2010-11-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

I sometimes wonder how far I am willing to go. Whatever it is that's in me seems to be absolutely relentless in its pursuit; my ambition is sometimes all consuming.

I've written before on this Blog about my wayward work record. I've never had a proper job, as it were, am always, always struggling for money, and am always consumed with some project or another.

I don't do this stuff to rebel against the system and all that bullshit. I do it because I simply cannot stop. Creating things - writing, filming, making music... is the only thing I've ever wanted to do. I just don't want to do anything else.

I know how that sounds. Everybody has to do things they don't like - how can I just say I don't want to do anything else and then expect people to be understanding when I say I never have any money? That's of my own making, right?

It is indeed of my own making, but that's not to say I haven't worked to keep myself afloat. In the pursuit of my ambitions, I've worked as a Window Fitter, Railtrack worker, Grounds workers, Labourer, Carpet Salesman, Driver, Car Valeter, Factory Worker.... ah man, the list goes on and on. I've done these things, and still do them, simply to get by, simply to see me through the next project.

In my 20s I was a guitar player in a rock band. We got signed, made a single, played up and down the country, went to parties and did photo shoots. We thought we'd made it; we thought we were rock stars. In doing it we got into major debt, lost houses and girlfriends, until finally we lost the band. We split in 2000 or 2001, can't really remember now. It had been a four year ride and when it was over I found myself back digging a ditch in the rain. I was right back where I started. (It took me a long while to get over that.)

So I drifted into making short films for a few years, but it wasn't until I hit 30 that I really started to work at this stuff properly. This stuff means making films and writing stories.

In 2009 I directed a feature film - the film came together beautifully, but the politics in post-production destroyed it. I finished the film and found myself digging the footings out for a wall in the rain. I was right back where I started!

What makes that one worse is that we're still just sitting on the film. We even have a distributor in Los Angeles who wants to pick up the rights for North America. Everyone involved wants to move forward with this, get it out there and move on. Everyone apart from those who funded the film: seems they'd sooner lose their money and pretend the film doesn't exist simply because of, what I believe to be, a personal vendetta against me. They'd sooner shout to all who'll listen that I stole the money from them. It is a real shame. People fall out in business everyday, it happens. It just didn't work out for us, that's all. Mistakes were made on both sides, but fuck it man, what does it matter? All that matters is the film itself, and getting it out there, for everyone involved. Many things have been said about me over this film, but really, I just want to get the film out there, give them the chance to make their money back and hopefully get our work seen. That has always been the plan, and will continue to be so. The longer it goes on though, the door will close on this film and no one will ever get anything out of it.

Still, I keep going. I have to. I've come too far down this beaten track. I'm 35 years old, all my friends are buying houses and making babies, my family probably think I'm insane, and I'm still here, penniless and struggling forward.

Oh boo-fucking-hoo you say. I know how this could sound. I am the son of a Bricklayer after all. Well maybe you're right. Maybe I am just feeling sorry for myself. But I am worried. I'm worried about how far my ambition will lead me. The location on my twitter page reads: In The Ditch. Is that where I'm heading? I've been trying for so long, I don't even know anymore. What pains me the most is the hurt and anxiety it gives those around me, particularly my girl, who has been supportive and just wonderful beyond measure. I don't want to lose her. I have to make this work.

So I forge on. My novel is really coming along, screenplays I co-authored with Matthew Waldram are still circling some major companies, and just this week, major steps have been taken to begin production on a new feature film.

After fighting for A Reckoning for over a year, I figure it is now time to move on; just go and make something else, and hope that A Reckoning will get seen further down the line. There are two possible projects on the table and both, we hope, will have American distribution before we even shoot a frame.

It has crossed my mind that I could be Ed Wood; the eternal optimist who never stopped trying and ended up drinking himself to death because he couldn't face the horror of his failure. I love Eddie, but I do hope I have something more to say. I live in eternal hope.

My ambition may kill me or it may elevate me. Either way, I don't think I can ever stop.

Horror of Party Beach

2010-10-28T16:23:00.001-07:00

My final Halloween review of the month. This 1964 monster mash ticks all my boxes: Rock n Roll, fast cars, even faster women and Monsters! What more do you want. A plot? Nah.

I actually want to remake this bad boy. I ain't kidding.

You'll find the review HERE! Enjoy the movie!

Trick Or Treat

2010-10-27T08:09:00.000-07:00

No Trick. This little treat is a 1986 cock rock, Halloween-themed, occult horror fest of the highest order!

I'm such a fan of this absolute nonsense that I've written a review praising its ridiculousness for Strange Things Are Happening

Check out the review in the new section From The Vault

I love this flick!

Myself and Matt Waldram actually met the director of this flick while we were in Cannes (trying fruitlessly to sell our screenplays).

I'd had one or two drinks, to say the least, and spotted Mr. Charles Martin Smith sitting quietly having a meal. Cue me stumbling over and babbling for a stupid amount of time about this here film.

He was very friendly and put up with me falling about all over him. We even managed to get a picture (where I think Mr. Martin Smith looks a little frightened).

Below is the picture in question in an extract from our adventures in Cannes. Check out the full article HERE

".....then in a perfect moment for two writers from a magazine which celebrates all things ‘cult’, after eating (and drinking…heavily) at Caffé Roma, a few of us were leaving when Andy noticed somebody he recognised drinking with a friend. With Matt grinning like a buffoon in the background, Andy approached the man and somewhat clumsily asked “Erm, are you Charles Martin Smith?”

The man (who showed a lot of patience for somebody whose dinner had just been interrupted by two drunk British oafs) responded with a friendly smile and a “Yup”.

Cue the world’s longest (about 5 minutes) sentence from Andy who rattled on, without so much as a pause for breath, about American Graffiti, The Untouchables, and Charles’ directorial debut Trick or Treat.

When Charles was actually able to get a word in, he mentioned that he and his friend had, bizarrely, been talking about Trick or Treat only moments before we had arrived..."

So there you go. I managed to scare the director of Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween!

Delete the Fat

2010-10-26T06:23:00.000-07:00

I've been working on the fourth chapter of my novel since coming back off holiday nearly two weeks ago. After speeding along with the first three chapters I suddenly hit a wall. It happens - but this one was really beginning to worry me.

I think it was partly due to the come-down: the excitement and passion of starting the project had finally leveled out and the realisation of how much work I had ahead set in. But mainly, it was because the chapter - of which I'd written around 2,000 words - was simply going nowhere.

I deliberated over it for several days, then yesterday morning I opened up my file entitled '2nd Draft' and simply copy and pasted the entire chapter into a document called 'Unused Stuff', and then deleted the lot from my main text.

I decided to start again.

I essentially cut out what I thought would be one of my main characters and in doing so, I believe I have saved myself around 30,000 words worth of work. But that really isn't the point - the point is that now the novel will be shorter, tighter, and hopefully pacier. As it should be. I just asked myself if I really needed to tell this character's story, and if by telling it, would it really enhance the overall narrative? The answer was no.

The answer was - as it always should be - Just get to the point.

It was a lesson learned. There was a lot of fat on my original outline, just from the very nature of discovering the story as I was writing. But now, all that fat needs to be stripped away, leaving only what is absolutely essential to keep the narrative moving.

I have since re-started the chapter and have taken it in a different direction entirely. Already it is flowing, and simply feels... right. The way it should do. I'm sure I'll take many more wrong turns before I'm finished, but I guess that's just the nature of the beast - all part of the joys of discovering the tale you are telling.

Anyway, Halloween this weekend - If you're looking for a fun flick for the night of Samhain, then I'd highly recommend Michael Dougherty's wonderful portmanteau Trick R Treat

I'll leave you with this - Granny's Song for Halloween!

Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone

2010-10-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

One of my absolute favorites when I was a kid. Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone was everything an eight-year old boy wanted from a film.

I saw this flick for the first time in about twenty years around two years back and it brought back some very happy memories from my childhood, or more specifically, of my local video shop. The place was like a treasure house of wonders to me when I was young, and was aptly named Video Magic. This was in Alvaston, Derby, where I grew up. It's no longer there. (The video shop I mean, not Alvaston!)

In my review of Spacehunter I couldn't resist coming over all nostalgic about those wonderful early days of video.

Please check it out over at the excellent Live For Films site - just click this little word HERE!

Dry Bones

2010-10-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

Last week, while holidaying in Cornwall, I read several articles relating to this whole e-book revolution. I found them extremely interesting and ultimately, full of possibilities.

I already have an anthology in the works - comprising of many different writers which I will unveil at a later date - that I had already thought would be perfect for the e-book route. But after reading these articles, I am now convinced, weather I like it or not, that a huge shift in how the publishing world works is now in motion.

Books are the only medium in the arts which haven't really changed since people first started putting words down on paper. Now, all of a sudden (it seems), everything is about to change.

My friend Matthew Waldram has just beaten me to the punch, experimenting with this new medium by releasing his wonderful short story 'Dry Bones'.

Here's the pitch - "It is 572 BC and the resurrected man Dry Bones makes his way to Babylon seeking out the Prophet who might be able to help him to locate his soul. On his travels he encounters the scene of a vile crime, and decides to investigate…"

To download the story on all new (and old) formats, for FREE I might add - just follow this here link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/26894

It is increasingly looking like this is the future of how we read our books. I'm thinking I should catch the wave and maybe experiment with putting one of my own stories out there and see how all this works.

Maybe, just maybe, the world of giant publishing houses and agents that seems so unobtainable will become a thing of the past?

Fading Sun, Drawing Dark

2010-10-10T06:15:00.000-07:00

The date is 10.10.10, and as promised I've dug out a poem.

It's one of only three or four poems I've ever written in my life (strangely, another poem of mine was actually published about five years ago in an American anthology, rather amusingly entitled Twilight Musings!)

The poem below was written about six or seven years ago and has pretty much remained in the draw since. But, as I love this time of year, I thought I might as well dig it out and pin it up on this here Blog.

Reading it back now I feel I must have been reading a lot of Ray Bradbury at the time, but still, it does sum up my somewhat romantic view of this season. Anyway, for what its worth....

Fading Sun, Drawing Dark

By A.D. Barker

The dark season,

A time of mist and twilight and shadows

When the golden arc of a fading sun shimmers in rusty afterglow

And the silver moon throws spears of light across midnight fields

A time

When the hollow voices of prevailing winds drift over the valley

Whistling like a far off night train.

When the trees stand naked and shorn,

Their leaves falling gently to the breeze, cackling dark secrets

It is a time of endings and beginnings

When the world seems in a state of flux

And the air nips and bites like a playful puppy,

Only hinting at the long cold dark of the winter ahead

It is the land of lingering dusk and twilight,

Of pumpkins and candle fire,

Of memory and loss,

Of hope and future

It is the land of October

That strange month of malefic trickery and nostalgic wonderment.

The land of October

A time of endless midnight

Strange Things Are Happening!

2010-10-06T14:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a month today since I started work on my novel.

I'm now into Chapter Three and have written a little over 13,000 words. Still a long road ahead, but it does feel good to have gotten started.

I feel I'm almost using this Blog now as a sort of diary, documenting the dates and progress I've made as I go along, more for myself than anyone else really. I don't know who reads this outside my circle; but for me, this is now like setting down my markers.

I have piles of notebooks going back about ten years, in which I wrote down story ideas, titles, names for characters etc, and even, from time to time, some personal stuff. I re-read them every now and again and I always find them interesting. I just like to know where I was and what ideas I had at certain dates and times. Guess its just part of my nostalgic nature.

This Blog now seems to have become part of my obsession with documenting everything I do.

As a little aside, this kind of mentality has also lead me back onto Twitter, probably against my better judgement. Anyway, if you so wish you'll find me spouting nonsense @ADBarker

In other news, my friend David Flint has set up a cool new website called Strange Things Are Happening. The other day I wrote my personal Top Five books of author Richard Laymon, and plan to do some more writing for the site in the future.

As for the October Poem I mentioned a few Blogs ago (yes, I said poem, deal with it), I plan on posting that on here on 10.10.10, simply because I think the date is cool.

Oh, and one last thing, if you haven't seen The World's Fastest Indian with Anthony Hopkins, then I highly recommend it. No one saw it when it came out, which is a shame because I think it's one of the most beautiful and touching films I've seen in a long time.

See you later, alligators.

George A. Romero's 'Martin'

2010-10-04T23:42:00.000-07:00

I've written an article on Romero's uncompromising vampire flick Martin for the brilliant film site Live For Films.

To read the article please click on this highlighted little word Here!

10,000 Words In

2010-10-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

So the first months' work on my novel has passed. The first two chapters are pretty much done, and I'm 10,000 words in.

Only another 130,000 or so words to go!!

I write Monday to Thursday - at least two hours in the evenings if I'm working, more if I'm not - and Sunday afternoon. I always, always, have Friday night off. Friday's are for drinking, watching movies, and/or going out with my girl.

To sidetrack my mind from the immensity of this project, I simply tell myself that each new chapter is just another short story. That way I can just concern myself with that chapter alone, and try and not think about the long road ahead.

I do know however, in the back of my mind, that I could very well still be writing this monster come this time next year. But that's fine. I'm in love with this story and, without wanting to jinx it, think that love could deepen as I get further in.

My misadventures in film-making have led that career path into the ditch, and I've come to terms with that. Writing this novel satisfies me creatively, more than anything I've ever done in my life. Maybe it was all meant to work out this way?

October has come round again. My favourite month, my favourite season. The perfect season in fact to write, at least to my mind.

At the risk of sounding completely pretentious I've dug out a (cough) poem I wrote a few years ago about October that I may - at the risk of great ridicule I'm sure - post on here someday soon. It does sum up my love for this time of year anyhow.

Anyway, as it's Friday, and my night off, I'm off to the pub with me girl!

It's Good To Be Free

2010-09-20T05:30:00.000-07:00

I'm currently reading a book entitled How To Be Free by John Hodgkinson, and it is a revelation.

I borrowed it from author Joseph D'Lacey, who highly recommended it, and I can't thank him enough. You see, for years and years I've thought there was something wrong with me. I've never been able to settle into the "accepted" path of life.

I've never wanted the car and the job. I don't have a mortgage (It's interesting that the word Mortgage has the word Mort in it, which means a death). I don't have a career determined by somebody else - never wanted one - I've drifted from job to job simply to keep my head above water, all the while working on my own projects. The older I get, the more confused and disillusioned I get with the "system" - I often have to do the nine-to-five, but I've never understood it - I'm not run by the clock; I haven't had a TV for years (evil things), I've stopped reading Newpapers and Magazines, and I've never really bought into the idea of weekends being our "spare time", while weeks are for work

(A little aside - Producer Daniel Lanois has just been working with Neil Young. Daniel said to Neil at the beginning of their project that "... I've always been a little bit embarrassed that I paid no attention to holidays and weekends, I always just kept working through everything," and old Neil simply said, "Oh, I’m the same way. Don’t worry, those are only markers of time as determined by someone else." I thought that was wonderful.)

Quite simply, I try, at all times, to fill my life with positive things that inspire and enrich my life.

What do I do? I read, write (of course), play guitar, listen to music, spend time with my girl, and drink aplenty! Recently I've acted in a film (I use the word loosely), and this week I hope to be laying down a vocal on a track for an album a friend of mine is making. And, of course, I continue to work on my novel, but also I'm bringing together a short story collection (more on that soon), and simply enjoying hearing how the production of Mr. Fiddlewitz is coming along.

All of this is done for my own enjoyment. I don't make any money out of all this stuff: Not yet anyway! But that's not what motivates me anyway. I do these things in order to be stimulated creatively, and fill my mind and imagination with wonderful things.

Of course folk have always had something to say about my somewhat bohemian lifestyle - family, friends, acquaintances - and it has from time to time put a strain on my life and relationships around me, but I just can't live any other way. I've never wanted what everybody else seems to think I should have, I'm just not interested. I always try to have enough money to live on, which is never very much, and as long as things get paid, and I can continue on with creative things, then I'm a happy man.

A few years ago, my girl and I went to Whitby, we stayed in a little cottage - wonderfully called The Old Sweet Shop - overlooking the Gothic remains of the Cathedral, and simply spent the week pottering around the port, eating good food and drinking fine wines, reading and walking. It was October, my favourite month, and was one of the best times of my life, I kid you not. In the cottage I found a giant book of guitar tablature for old British Folk Songs, some going back hundreds of years, and having had the foresight to take a guitar along, we spent our evenings drinking wine by a log fire and singing those ancient songs, while the trees rustled and the sea raged outside our window. For me, life doesn't get any better than that. That's what its all about, drinking, being merry, singing, being creative, and enjoying life.

I've spent a long time being depressed about a number of things. The fate of my film, seemingly in the hands of lunatics, the fact that I've reached 35 and am still trying to find my way in the world, and ever-pressing money worries - the greatest destroyer of the soul there is. But no more. I'm casting the bullshitters, the negative, and the just plain stupid, out from my life, and my mind.

This book, How To Be Free, has affirmed many things I've always felt, shown me that the way I live my life is not insane, as some would have it, and has also given me many more ideas for enriching my time spent on this earth.

If you yearn to step back from our increasingly Orwellian state, then it's well worth a look.

I'll leave you with the sonic landscape of Oasis.
Noel was right, as very often he is - It's Good To Be Free.

The Curious Appearance of Mr. Fiddlewitz

2010-09-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

The Curious Appearance of Mr. Fiddlewitz, a short story I wrote around five years ago, is to be made into an equally short film.

It is somewhat of Dickensian tale; but also influenced by the capers made by Ealing Studios back in the 50s, particularly The Ladykillers.

The eponymous character of the piece arrives back to the house he grew up in as a child, only to find a young couple now living there. He persuades them to let him in, simply to bask in nostalgia; but once inside, Mr. Fiddlewitz begins to search for the secrets that remain hidden inside.

I wrote the story in 2005, and shortly afterwards, adapted it into a screenplay. I tried to make it myself back then, but alas, it didn't come together. (It's just come back to me now that I started writing it while in Ohio of all places; strange for such an English story.)

Now the film is to be produced and directed by Michael Spiby. Mick worked on my own film and Stickmen Pictures' forthcoming feature Slaughter is the Best Medicine, among other things, and has already begun casting, and scouting for the perfect house for the film. It all seems to be coming together. The cast that he's putting together are wonderful, and can't wait to see how they all bring Mr. Fiddlewitz to the screen.

Film in the Dying Age

2010-09-05T06:04:00.000-07:00

There's something that's been bothering me about movies for sometime. Something I just couldn't quite put my finger on. Recently however, things have began to piece themselves together.

For what seems like years now I've been pretty much disappointed with, by and large, everything I've been to see. Nothing seems to satisfy me; everything just seems vacuous, devoid of story, character, emotion, resonance - all the qualities I search for in my fiction, be it on the page or on the screen.

I've loved movies since a very young age. I'm part of a generation that grew up in front of the TV, and that's where I found my escapism (going to the 'pictures', as it was called then, was a special treat that only happened once in a blue moon). And as I was born in 1975, I'm very much part of what I class as the Spielberg/Lucas generation. It was pretty much the big, spectacular American movies that I was brought up on (I probably didn't watch a British film until I left school, unless you count Norman Wisdom and Will Hay on a Sunday afternoon that is).

Once I left school however I really began to dig deep into the history of American movies and soon discovered the rich tapestry of hard 70s films, the wonder of 50s Sci-Fi flicks, and the razor shadows of 30s and 40s Noir. I've never stopped searching since my late teens. I'm the type of person who, once they discover say an actor or a director, has to find out everything about them, watch all their films, learn all their stories, before moving on. (I'm the same with music; a passion that never seems to diminish.)

But like I say, in recent years my love of films seems to have been seriously wavering. I started to question everything - was it really that they weren't making films as good as they used to, or was it simply that I was just growing out of them? And the films that I do truly love, are they really any better than modern movies, or am I just looking at them through nostalgic eyes?

There's probably a little truth in each of these questions, but really, I think there is a bigger issue here. Maybe movies just don't hold the same importance in our culture as they used to?

When I was kid a movie's release was seen by all as an event. There was one screen at our local ABC cinema in Derby, and say a film was released in July, a print might not make it up to our town until September, or even October. There were no film magazines like we have now - not in my paper shop anyway - and there was no internet. We didn't know what was in production, or what was coming out the following year, or even, what might be getting green-lit (we wouldn't have known what that meant anyway). Films just simply arrived.

So when a film did come to town, it was an event, seen and experienced by all. In the playground, a film reference could make or break a friendship. No, I ain't kidding. One of my closest friends, still to this day, is someone I met in the school canteen in 1984 when he told me about this amazing film he'd just seen called Ghostbusters. This may seem lame, but I believe there is weight in the idea that the importance of film has diminished immensely because it is no longer a cultural event.

And how can it be? Films are now on-tap, drip fed into our lives by any number of ways. Multiplexes, multichannels, multiple ways of viewing, ipads, iphones, iplayers, idon'tknowanymore. I know about films in pre-production that, if made, won't see release until 2014. I can see stills from the set of Spielberg's new film with a couple of clicks on my mouse, and I know about every film he has in development.

Now I'm as guilty of this as anyone, but really, isn't all this taking away the magic of cinema? By the time I see a film now, I pretty much know everything about the production (and probably the story itself) - how can there be any magic, or wonder, or sense of dis-belief left?

I have decided recently to stop reading film magazines (after almost twenty years I have stopped buying Empire Magazine) and I will try and stop catching information and pictures on the web - although I think that may be a hard one because this stuff is everywhere now.

The most powerful artistic medium of the last hundred years is now a secondary player - much like theater is looked upon in our age. In 2007 sales in video games surpassed those of movies. Most people I know nowadays download the movies they want to see - mainly because they can't afford the seven or eight pounds it is now to go to the cinema (or even ten pounds if you're watching in pointless 3-D), and also, because at that expense, you can't afford to be disappointed time and time again. Which is what has been happening with almost every major movie released in recent years.

Take this year's two 'Big' movies, Avatar and Inception. Both in my humble opinion, major disappointments. Avatar, which truth be told I wasn't that bothered about in the first place, was one of the most poorly scripted 'big' films I've seen in recent years, with a plot lifted straight from Dances with Wolves - although Cameron managed to leave out all depth and grace from Costner's fine western. If someone else says to me, "Well, it isn't about that, it's about the effects, they were amazing!", then I'm gonna have to shout, "I should think they were fucking amazing judging by how much Cameron spent on it, and I'm sorry, but if that's all he's offering me, then I'm afraid its just not good enough."

Inception I was excited about. I admire Nolan a great deal, and thought I'd be getting a serious, intelligent summer blockbuster for the first time in years. I was wrong. It just wasn't clever enough for me. I can't say it any better than author Will Self, who described Inception as "... a movie that far from being smart was, in fact, a stupid person's idea of what an intelligent movie should be like". Harsh maybe, but I'm afraid I have to agree with him.

As for 3-D, well let's not get started on that - let's just say I see it as Hollywood's last ditch attempt to get you back into the cinema. It's a fad. It was a fad in the 1950s, it definitely was in the 1980s, and it certainly is now, no matter what Mr. Cameron tells you.

I don't think its all bad of course. There are still great films being made, but, by and large, they are just not getting through. Apart from Pixar, who have the platform and appear effortless in making the year's best film, year in, year out. (I believe this is because they very simply concern themselves with story and character, first and foremost.) Most other filmmaker's work though just slips on through the cracks.

Tomorrow I start back to work on my novel: A novel that is about movies, about their power and influence over 20th Century culture - that, at least, is the story's backdrop anyhow. I think though this draft may see a lament creeping into the subtext.

I genuinely feel saddened by the shinning light of cinema dimming in this new Century. We will always have movies, and I'm sure there will be many more wondrous and spellbinding ones to come, but films having the power to become a cultural event shared by millions in unison has, I'm sorry to say, gone.

Slaughter is the Best Medicine (for my acting!)

2010-08-31T10:49:00.000-07:00

Slaughter is the Best Medicine is a feature film being made by my friends over at Stickmen Pictures. They are a small production company based in my hometown of Derby; this will mark their debut feature.

I have a small, but pivotal role as the mysterious Conway, who bookends the film.

Now let's get this straight - I'm no actor. The most I can handle is, well, goofing around really - which is pretty much all I've ever done, right from when me and my mates were making our epic productions on Saturday afternoons back when we were in school.

Since then, I haven't really progressed very much. My best performance - if I do say so myself - is in a short film I wrote and co-directed with Jon Walmsley back in 2006 entitled Primordial Entertainment (although I've been told that some folk have enjoyed my 'performance' in Stickmen Pictures' interactive short The Plumber!). But I'm afraid that's the best you'll get from me.

Slaughter is about a group of Renegade Commandos who travel deep into a dense woodland in search of a Mad Scientist who will not surrender easily. It's as low-budget as you can get, but there are some very talented folk involved so I hope they can bring it together and make it the fun ride the storyline deserves. I really wish them the best with it.

For me, I have retired from 'acting', for the time being anyway - it is now time to get back to my novel.

After two weeks away from writing (and nearly six months away from my novel!), I am now itching to start. I have the date marked and my desk clutter free; it sits waiting for me. This weekend I'm seeing my mates and hitting the dizzy heights of Leamington Spa, where we will most probably get very drunk and silly. But come Monday, I get back to work. And I cannot wait.

On-set still taken by Michael Spiby.

Monstershire

2010-08-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

The Wondrous Carnival Awaits...

Monstershire is a supernatural/comedy about what monsters get up to when they’re not monstering!

This is feature film project written by myself and Matthew Waldram and is now moving forward, tentatively, towards production. At least we hope. We have been working on this project, off and on, for around three years, and it is - well there's no other word for it - our baby.

If there was one film project that I truly cherish - and I believe Matt feels the same - it is this one. It was born out of a lifelong love for Universal Monster Movies - Those utterly beautiful and mesmerizing pictures, featuring the likes of Karloff and Lugosi, instilled in me an eternal wonder for folklore and the Gothic sides to nature - I just love worlds filled with dark castles and thick mist rolling in off the moors. Always have, always will. I'm a sucker for it.

Monstershire features all the famous monsters of filmland - Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, The Wolf Man etc, and then some, and puts a new spin on them. Some of the most fulfilling, rewarding and downright vivid writing sessions I've ever had have been when working on this screenplay. I'm very proud of this one.

Matt and I have a long road ahead trying to get this monster (pun intended, cause I'm cheap) green lit. This script has already done the rounds, gaining interest with the likes of Film Four, Icon and Happy Madison Productions - but as with most dealings with the movers and shakers of Hollywood, I've found that no one likes to say yes, and yet, they don't like to say no either.... Just in case, you know.

Still, things are moving now - Matt, as producer, has been talking to agents and trying to get the script into the right hands. If you check out the IndieGoGo page, Matt regularly updates the film's on-going developments - The latest being that comedian Lucy Porter is now attached in principle, penciled in to play a witch called Lilith.

The bad experiences I had on my first feature A Reckoning have somewhat destroyed my drive and ambition to make movies (it's a long, long story - but the truth of what happened there will come out one day, believe me). I now pretty much just want to focus on my novel, but Monstershire has always been there. If I only make one more film in my lifetime, I'd want it to be this one.

By the way, the absolutely wonderful poster above was designed by the equally wonderful Amanda Marwood, a graphic designer who works for Artisan Creative.

The Kill Crew

2010-08-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

Joseph D'Lacey's The Kill Crew is one hell of a great read.

At little over seventy pages, this no-holds-barred post-apocalyptic roller-coaster ride fuses Matheson and Romero with shades of Aliens and Mad Max - anyone who knows me, pretty much knows that that equals = I loved this book.

The Kill Crew is set in a fortified city known as the Station, where each day a lottery decides who will get the night shift as part of the Kill Crew and head out into the wastelands to massacre whatever is out there.

Recommended muchly.

Babylonian Hollywood

2010-08-21T04:05:00.000-07:00

The immense set for D.W. Griffith's Intolerance towered over East Hollywood on what is now the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood Boulevard.

Griffith built Babylon on flat stretches of empty prairie land in 1915. The film was a colossal undertaking, interweaving several stories from a timeline covering around 2,500 years and featured more than 3,000 extras used to fill out the great Babylonian set.

Stories of the making of this production are utterly fascinating and this film, and the early days of Hollywood, have a major part to play in my novel. Research is a genuine joy at the moment, as I gear up to write the 2nd draft - the birth of the film industry is so rich with amazing stories and characters that it is almost hard to go wrong. It's all there - sex, murder, gangsters, starlets, rape, drugs, blackmail and utter excess (has anything changed in Hollywood, I hear you ask!). It is a fascinating little corner of history.

The Intolerance set stood for four years, soon falling into ruin while Hollywood was slowly built up around it. It was finally pulled down in 1919.

Back To The Novel

2010-08-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

I wrote a short story last week. That makes four since June. It will be my last for awhile.

There are other tales I would like to get down, but they will have to wait because next month I return to the novel I started last November. I wrote two huge outlines for two different novels at the beginning of this year and after taking the summer off to have a few flings with short pieces, I feel I am ready to get back to the serious work.

For the last month or so I have even been wondering about which novel I wanted to tackle. But I have now I have decided, and, of course, its the first one I started last autumn. There are so many stories I want to get down, and my weakness is that sometimes I do tend to jump from one thing to another, but I know now its time for me to finally sit down and write this novel. And this novel... I am in love with.

After finishing the short story last week, I have given myself the rest of August off in an attempt to recharge my batteries and prepare myself for the rather daunting task ahead.

Normally I get in from work, take a quick shower, try and eat something, then its straight to my desk to try and squeeze in about two hours before my eyes fail me - but this week has been wonderful: I get in and lounge on the sofa with my girl (we're watching Arrested Development, its the first time I've seen it and now know why Jason Bateman suddenly started appearing in pretty much every film I've been to see in recent years. Because the last time I saw him was in Teen Wolf Too!), and although I am very much enjoying it, my novel is already filling my thoughts. The pull has already started.

Confidence in myself - my drive, ambition and enthusiasm was given a huge boost recently (and believe me, it was much needed). I sent one of my recent short stories to horror author Simon Clark and he was kind enough to read it and give me some feedback and advice and say some very wonderful things about my work. I've admired and read Simon's novels for many years, and to have an established author say such incredible things about my writing is just one of those moments that I think I will always remember. If you haven't read any Clark I urge you to read Blood Crazy, its one hell of a book.

Listening to the incredible 'What Sin Replaces Love' by Ryan Adams and the Cardinals.

Summer of '89

2010-08-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

Tim Burton's version of Batman was released twenty-one years ago today - here in the UK anyway. Twenty-one years, man, that makes me feel old.

The date, August 11th, has since been forever etched into my mind because of that one film (in fact, it is a date that seems to pop up regularly in my early stories and screenplays).

You see, in the long ago summer of 1989, there was no film I had ever wanted to see more than Batman, it utterly captured my imagination. I don't remember ever being so excited to see a film before in my life, and I have certainly have never been as excited since. That feeling of being so wonderfully consumed and obsessed with some film (or band etc) unfortunately diminishes with age, but while it lasts, its like nothing else.

I was fourteen in the summer of '89 and there was just something about imagery, the colours, the darkness... the Joker... that simply clawed into my psyche. And this was just from seeing the trailer! Truth be told, when I look back now, that trailer, coupled with the anticipation I felt in the lead up to the film's release were greater than actually seeing the film itself.

But don't get me wrong, I was in no way disappointed when I finally saw the film. At the time, it was everything I wanted it to be - its just I remember the excitement of wanting to see it more than I actually remember first seeing the film. I haven't seen it for a couple of years, and while I know it certainly isn't the greatest film ever made (I do of course think Nolan's two films are far superior), it still holds a very special place for me.

Sometimes, when I really think hard about it, like I have done today, I can still feel a glimmer of how that fourteen year old boy felt. I think its important to remember these things from time to time, remember who we were and see the markers to who we became.

Nostalgia is very important to me, and I remembered today that in some small way, the summer of 1989, and Batman, played a part in me wanting to spend my life telling stories.

Morpheus Tales

2010-07-24T06:17:00.000-07:00

Today has been a good news day - just found out that Morpheus Tales Magazine have accepted a short story of mine. The story in question, 'End Times' will appear in the magazine in 2012.

I wrote 'End Times' about three years ago, but dug it out recently, tidied it up a little and sent it out to them a few weeks ago.

It will be my first published work - so I am very happy.
May treat myself to a few beers tonight!

Jigsaw Falling Into Place

2010-07-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

It's strange how ideas can sometimes fall into place so perfectly.

I've been working on a new short story this week - a little different from the last couple I've written - and while I was hard at work writing the other day, something suddenly hit me; a wonderful idea that just shot out of the blue, and hasn't let go since. It took elements from another novel I'd had in mind, along with this story I've been writing and presented me with an entirely new project.
Jigsaw falling into place.

So strong is this new project that simply arrived in my head I'm now thinking it may take me off in an unexpected direction. No bad thing.

It seems that you can work on one story (sometimes for a long time), while other ideas sit on the sidelines, jostling for attention - sometimes one of these ideas can shout louder than the others and suddenly, and without warning, that tale becomes the most pressing, the most engaging to write.

So for the past few days I've been scribbling notes down and working on the short story I began earlier this week - for that story will mark this new project's beginnings.

Dark Carnival

2010-07-14T04:35:00.000-07:00

I've just started reading David Skal & Elias Savada's fascinating biography on filmmaker Tod Browning. Dark Carnival is currently out of print and tracking down a copy proved a little difficult, but then I got lucky and somehow found a 1st edition hardback going for about $25.

Browning is most famous for directing the Bela Lugosi version of Dracula in 1931, and the notorious Freaks in 1932 for a horrified MGM - but in actuality he was at the height of his powers as a silent film director during the 1920s, particularity with his collaborations with Lon Chaney. (Like many I am fascinated by London After Midnight, the most famous lost film of all time.)

Browning's early years read like a Ray Bradbury novel - he supposedly ran away to join the circus at 15, and worked for carnivals across America during the turn of the 20th Century: he was a barker, a magician, a vaudeville comedian and eventually an actor, working for D.W Griffith in the burgeoning silent film industry.

His own films often dealt with the macabre; with twisted and deformed criminals planning sinister plots, usually played by Chaney under his own elaborate and uncanny make-up.

This rich imaginary of carnival sideshows, lowly underworld hoods, supernatural creatures and evil magicians has of course spun my imagination into a frenzy. It's making me inch to get back to work on my novel: I can feel an intense writing phase coming on.

In Search of Inspiration

2010-07-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

I've had a few weeks in the wilderness. Haven't really written a single word. Not fiction anyway.

I wrote two shorts stories in June, both of which I'm very satisfied with (the first one I'm particularly pleased with), and then spent the remainder of the month attending to other matters in my life - mainly the problems I'm having over my film. (Now that one is a story! One I will tell some day.)

Also, I've been talking to an upcoming online film magazine about doing some writing for them (more on that in the near future), and agreeing to 'act' in a feature film a couple of my friends are making over at Stickmen Pictures. I know, that one's hard to believe - still very much on the fence about my interest in acting, but I'm sure we'll have fun and I want to see them do well.

But really what I've been doing is taking a little break from writing. I've been going full steam ahead since last November, and after two major 1st drafts for two separate novels and now two new short stories, I just felt I should give myself a couple of weeks to rewire my mind.

The other thing I know I've been consciously doing is searching for inspiration. This can come to me in many different forms, but mainly it comes in what I call the big three: music, books and movies.

Rock n Roll is a huge part of my life; I'm not sure I could live without music. Dylan's words can often inspire me to write as much as a novelist or filmmaker can. Same goes for Neil Young, a musician I believe to be the ultimate Rock n Roll star. He can also hit that creative nerve ending that runs beneath my skin. The new songs from his recent Twisted Road tour of the US, which have been bootlegged across the internet, have really hit the spot with me - Particularly this utterly beautiful song entitled You Never Call - shaky camera, haunting music.

But mostly these past couple of weeks I've been consumed by Stephen King's wonderful novel Duma Key - one of the most sophisticated, eerie and lyrical books I've read by him (and I've read quite a few). It is a brilliant piece of work.

So have been recharging my batteries really and filling my mind with songs, images, feelings and words that will fuel me onto the next phase of my writing - the 2nd draft of my novel.

The Beast Beneath Us

2010-06-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

After a week of doing very little - at least creatively - I wrote like a madman today for most of the afternoon and completed another short story, which I started last week.

There is something wonderfully freeing about the short story form. It has been said - to the point of almost being a cliché I think - that short stories are like having a brief affair, or even a one night stand, whereas a novel is like a marriage: It can be rich, and full, and rewarding, but you gotta work hard at it to make it work.

This latest short story, which I've given the rather sensational title of 'The Beast Beneath Us', is the second story I've completed this month. I did plan on taking this month to do just that, write a few shorts that is, and then get back to work on my novel in July, but now I'm in two minds...

I have several ideas that I think would make fairly cool little stories and am now thinking I could take another month or so and get some of these down on paper. But is that copping out of the big job at hand; turning my back on the marriage to have a few brief flings?

A friend of mine really believes that the short story is the most effective and purest form of storytelling, and he and I often pass our stories to one another to read. He said some very nice things about the story I wrote the other week and believes I should take some time to develop my short story writing before going back to the novel. Maybe he's right...?

But then I guess it doesn't really matter what I'm working on at this stage, as long as I am just writing.

Listening to the genius that is Roger Waters

Procrastinating like Crazy

2010-06-14T03:22:00.000-07:00

Writing has been like removing a cyst from my mind this morning.

I've just been procrastinating - pacing the flat, watching movie trailers online, playing with that evil Spotify playlist again... simply doing everything I can to put off actually sitting down and writing.

When I have finally forced myself to sit down and write, the words have just refused to come. I end up staring at the screen for half an hour, before sighing and shuffling back into the front room to play on the internet once again.

And now I'm guilty of writing about how I'm not writing!!

Anyway, found this short article on the excellent Live For Films site while I've been playing around this morning - forgotten I'd even written it! - Blood Feast

Opening the Door

2010-06-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

In Stephen King's excellent memoir of a craft, On Writing, King talks about working on his 1st draft with the door firmly shut.

I take this to mean that this is when he is in the secret act of letting his imagination spill out onto the page, completely unrestrained, allowing himself to be free and wild with the world he is creating.

My door has been shut for nearly a year, until last week....

The short story I wrote in a fury a week ago has since been sent to a few of my most trusted friends. King talks about it in his book - about the moment you are finally comfortable with letting other folk in to read what you have been working on.

It's strange how its happened for me - for near-on a year I've been writing away and haven't shown a soul a single page, and then, I spend a day writing a short story and suddenly I want people to read it. It can't explain it, it just felt right...

The story felt right, solid, complete. It came out that way. I gave the story to five of my friends to read, including my girlfriend (who was a little freaked out by it!) and got back positive, constructive and encouraging feedback. I'm aware that these are my friends and that my true critics will be waiting for me in the outside world (if, of course, it ever see's the light of day), but I do feel that the friends I gave the story to have always been, and will always be, honest with me.

After a year of locking myself away writing, I think breaking away and writing something fast, short and intense was good for me, and to finally have people read it was the fuel I needed at this stage.

Playing Vanilla Fudge very loud!

Ed Gein's Ghoul Car

2010-06-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

The wonderful picture above is of a sideshow attraction displaying murderer and grave robber Ed Gein's 1949 Ford Sedan; the vehicle he used to transport corpses.

It was bought by enterprising carnival sideshow operator Bunny Gibbons and was displayed to much controversy in Gein's home state of Wisconsin in 1958, a year after Gein's arrest.

This fascinating and wonderfully bizarre story caught my imagination today and enabled me to fill a hole in a story idea I already had. It sometimes happens like that for me - many times I've joined different ideas together and created something richer.

So, having promised myself that I would write a short story in my break between drafts on my novel, and fueled by the tale of Ed Gein's Ghoul Car, I set about getting the story down early this afternoon. Seven hours later I'd finished.

It isn't wholly about The Ghoul Car, that's just part of the tale, something to enrich and colour the story. I'll take it through another draft tomorrow, then move on, happy that the story is down.

Yet that said, there is still something itching at my mind regarding Ed Gein's Ghoul Car; it's sparked something more in my imagination.
Another story maybe....

1st Draft Completed

2010-05-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

Finished the 1st draft today - writing the last part in a near frenzy.

I completed 4, 608 words today, bringing the entire draft up to 43, 242 words. Short for a novel I know, but I just concerned myself with getting the story down first and foremost. The 2nd draft will be what I term as the dialogue draft, which I think ultimately will double the word count.

Knowing I had the end in sight, I started last night, writing until late, then was up again at half eight this morning ready to power through to the end. I finished at three o' clock this afternoon.

This project was different for me because I really didn't know where it was going (turns out it was going to some very dark places!), and I've never written blind before. Some things I'm sure will change in draft two, but for the most part the story is down, and that does feel good.

I'm going to let this breathe for a few weeks (I plan to write a short story), then I'll print it out and see what I've got. You see all through writing this I've never really gone back and read any of it. I'm sure there's a lot of stuff that simply doesn't match up and I know of at least one name that changes halfway through the story, but for the most part I think it is fairly clear and makes sense structurally.

Anyway, think I might treat myself to a beer (or two) and lie on the sofa and watch a film.

Listening to Patti Smith's wonderful version of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'

And Cream Magazine

2010-05-19T04:50:00.000-07:00

I used to write for an online magazine called And Cream

I spent this morning rereading articles and interviews we did for the mag. I should have been writing, but I just got lost down memory lane. The mag was founded in July 2006 by Matthew Waldram and in that 1st issue I wrote a somewhat by-the-numbers bio on the actor Jeffrey Jones, my first piece for the mag.

Spurred on by the excitement of seeing the mag finally on the net, we soon started coming out with an issue every month, and in that we enlisted more writers to join us. Matt's older brother Ben Waldram began to write for the mag, along with Steve Watson - with his hilarious Steve's Unified Theory Of Everything series - and, early on anyway, Joe Taylor.

We were beginning to grow over the course of the year. I myself had a series entitled The DVD Graveyard where I would document the making and legacy of an obscure cult classic. I wrote a hell of a lot of those bad boys, which you'll find here.

Soon we were getting a fair few hits a month and new issues were being eagerly read around the globe. We began meeting and interviewing some wonderful artists and entertainers: Tony Hart, Bruce Campbell, and err, George Clooney (I kid you not!) among many others. (We did find ourselves in some very strange situations, check out this one!)

After about a year we had a few more writers, including Adam Krajczynski with his InvAsian series and Tony Planetos writing about weird and wonderful Music from around the world, and had contributions from author David Flint and Michael Adams. It was becoming a major thing in our lives.

We started to promote the mag by making adverts, the first being a celebration of us being 1 Year Old. That went down pretty well, so we started to get a little bolder, until we were pretty much making short films. The first major one being Zombies And Cream, followed by the not-quite as successful, yet still fun seasonal adventure Die Hard In Derby. You can find all our videos on the And Cream youtube page.

By the time we got into our second year, although the mag had become well read and somewhat successful, our time and commitment was really beginning to feel the strain. I was struggling to get my articles done and Matt, who as the editor and all round web maintenance dude, was really beginning to fight to stay on top of it all, especially since, by that time, he and I had really begun to take off with our scriptwriting. So, becoming harder and harder to commit to a monthly magazine (plus a fair few problems with our server, which is why the domain name has changed) And Cream suddenly, and without warning, simply stopped.

What And Cream give me was discipline; driven to sit down and write an article or two each month, every month, really fine-tuned my writing habits and the writing itself. From the magazine, we moved onto writing screenplays, and now of course, I'm attempting a novel, something I could never have done if it wasn't for those few years writing for And Cream Magazine.

Matt and I do talk every now and again about bringing the mag back to life, but neither of us really have the time anymore. Maybe it's best left as it is, existing in Cyberspace, floating in limbo.

It's still out there, waiting for someone to stumble across its many weird and wonderful curiosities.

Turning on the Tap

2010-05-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

Last night I woke up at around half two with a complete story in my head.

It was just there, sitting on the edge of my mind as my eyes suddenly opened. I lay there for maybe ten minutes going over the idea, looking at it from different angles, inspecting what I had. I got up and whispered the idea into the recorder on my phone and told myself it would make a pretty cool short story.

This seems to happening more and more. Since working on my novel it seems I've turned on the tap to my imagination. Ideas just seem to appear in my head, sometimes without warning, sometimes creeping up on me from a seemingly random collection of thoughts. It is a wonderful, and indeed puzzling, little miracle. I often find myself wondering, 'Where the hell did that come from!' I've never figured it out, and if I'm honest, I don't particularly want to know either. Maybe if I knew, the tap would turn off?

I guess though there isn't a writer in the world who knows where it comes from, or how and why these ideas arrive in our heads, sometimes shadowy, sometimes fat and full.

Once I've finished the 1st draft of the novel, I plan to let it rest for a few weeks and write a couple of short stories (one of which will be the one that arrived in my head last night). I have to put these stories down before they fade. Then I can return to the novel with a fresh pair of eyes. Lots to do!

Listening to the great new song, 'I Should Have Known It'
from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Writing Days

2010-05-13T07:51:00.000-07:00

I was inspired to start this Blog after reading author Conrad Williams' wonderful and insightful Blog. I also thought it would be a way for me to document the process of writing what is essentially my first novel (and keep me disciplined into seeing this project to the end!).

I do tend to be fairly disciplined mind. I usually try and write five days a week, usually giving myself Friday's and Saturday's off, but with juggling work, my life and the film stuff it can vary from week to week. I've got in a position now though where I've given myself two full writing days in the week, which I do feel very lucky to have, and also try and squeeze in a few hours at the weekend. It's a little chaotic, but it seems to be working at the moment.

Back to the day job tomorrow though, and a full weekend ahead, so probably won't get much of a chance to get back to the book until next week. It usually takes about an hour or so to get back into the rhythm after a few days off and I usually stare at the screen for ages, pace around for awhile, maybe do the washing up, play on that dastardly Spotify play-list, check the even more dastardly Facebook, until finally I think, 'Shit! I better get something done!'

Catch the Story

2010-05-13T05:49:00.000-07:00

Managed 1,450 words today, bringing me up to 32,011 in total.

It wasn't really flowing very well today; it's sometimes like that. Some days I'm completely 'in' the story and it just pours out, other days I just can't get a clear vision and it's like pulling teeth. One day last week I wrote 5,000 words, the most I've ever completed in a single day, but today has been one of the slower, more difficult days.

Still, one and a half thousand words is pretty good going, I don't expect to be doing that much on my 2nd draft, and certainly never anywhere near 5,000 words. The reason I'm getting such a high word count is simply because I'm just pouring it out onto the page, trying to catch the story while it's still fresh and exciting. I'm not even too concerned with dialogue at this stage. I mean, I write lines down if they come, but mainly I'm just outlining what kind of conversations my characters are going to have in a given scene.

My 2nd draft will be a much, much slower process, where I will be very concerned with dialogue and become far more meticulous with my prose.

Note to self: Stop playing around with your Spotify Play-list when you should be writing!

Currently reading the masterful American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

Houdini Bio

2010-05-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of this year I read The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush and Larry Sloman and it is still haunting my thoughts. It is a truly magnificent biography and fueled my imagination in a great many different ways. I've always had an interest in magicians, but this book may have stepped my interest up to obsession.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in this truly remarkable man, one of the great artists of the 20th Century.

First Attempts

2010-05-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

I wasn't much of a reader when I was young. I was a true child of the 80s; TV and films were my thing, and books were never really encouraged. So I'm ashamed to say that aside from the odd Roald Dahl and possibly Adrian Mole's Diaries, I never really read that much until I was about 16.

My friend Ben Waldram provided me with my first Sci-Fi Novel in the long ago summer of 1991 (the year I left school: Yes I'm well aware that was 19 years ago!). It was Clifford D. Simak's Out of Their Minds and at the time, it blew my err, mind. It probably wasn't a great novel, maybe not even a good one (I don't know, I haven't read it since), but it did spark something off in my imagination. Ben had always been interested in writing and we started to talk about the possibilities of writing something together.

By the autumn of 91 I had written an (extremely) rough outline for a fantasy/comedy type thing entitled Hello, probably influenced by Ben's love at the time of Terry Pratchett and Robert Rankin. Why it was called Hello I now have no idea, but at the time I think we both thought it was funny (I'll give you three guesses what the planned sequel was called!).

Anyhow, Ben and I started working on this novel, writing on and off for about the next two or three years (to be honest we probably wrote for about the next ten years on various projects and we still talk about doing something together to this day... and we will, when we get round to it). It went through a hell of a lot of changes.

The original story was pretty lame (and quite strange). It was about a kid named Tony who, walking home from school one day, gets run over and dies and goes up to Heaven only to find that God has been thrown out and replaced by, yes you guessed it, Elvis!

Clearly a masterpiece, we forged on, eventually mapping out an entire trilogy! I don't need to tell you that unfortunately Hello was never published, but although I joke, those years writing with Ben planned the seed and remained stuck under my skin, refusing the leave.

The novel I'm working on now, although essentially a thriller, is, in part, about my childhood, about those early years of wonder and discovery. It's set on the streets and in the school Ben and I past through. It is filled with nostalgia, a bittersweet place to live. I've found myself intertwining things that have actually happened to me in amidst events straight from my imagination. It is probably one of the most honest things I've ever written, true to myself and where I come from, and because of this I've found it spilling out.

I'd never really used to understand the term 'write what you know' and always wondered how that could apply to say, J.R.R Tolkien, but I've come to learn that just because his masterwork was placed in a fantasy setting, it doesn't mean he wasn't being true to himself. He didn't have to set his story in industrial Birmingham to write about what he knew. His honesty came through his characters, their motivations and their dignity. He knew those characters, he understood them. That's what writing what you know is, and that's something I've come to learn.

Listening to 'Truelove's Gutter' by Richard Hawley

Untitled Novel

2010-05-12T05:03:00.000-07:00

On the 6th April 2010 I began work on an as yet Untitled Novel.

To date I have written 29, 288 words on this new project, writing at every opportunity I can get, all the while juggling working three days a week, battling to get a feature film I have made out into the world (that saga is a novel in its self!), which you can find here, and attempting to set up a independent production company with David Flint called Psychomania Films (named after the wonderful early 70s British Zombie Biker Movie! http://tinyurl.com/2wrnq8q)

So all in all, very busy, and very uncertain times. Yet through all this I keep writing. For the past several years I have mainly been writing screenplays, mostly written with Matthew Waldram, but over the last year or so I have been thinking about trying my hand at a novel. Not a new idea to say the least, if I'm honest with myself, I've been thinking about writing a novel for most of my life, but it only really began to get serious in my mind after I shot my film last year.

Last November I started work on a huge novel, which I spent five months writing a 1st (and very rough) draft. This one is a monster. The draft came in at around 65,000 words, but it really is more of a outline than an actual draft. I know a 2nd draft will see me hit the 140, 000 mark. You see, like most writers, I'm obsessed with word count.

After I finished this first draft/outline back in March I originally planned to take a few weeks off, maybe write a short story and then come back to it with fresh eyes, but then this other idea took hold. So I thought if I was to try and complete a shorter work, it would give me the confidence to continue with the huge book. That's the plan anyway!

This Blog aims to chart my adventures in storytelling, document my progress, my up's and down's and hopefully see me through to the end of this particular journey. I also hope to use this as a sort of notebook, jotting down ideas, musings, and talk a little about things that may inspire me.

Off now to continue writing!

Listening to Leonard Cohen Live In London.