My Life as a writer

2005. I was in Year 10 and doing my English GCSE coursework, the assignment was to write a short story. Having been on holiday to Tunisia over the summer, which had been a unique experience, I decided to use that as my foundation and let my imagination do the rest. This decision worked to my advantage in more ways than securing a good grade; it proved the concept worked.

During the following years, I started turning it into a stage play, only I hit a wall at the same place in the story, so I added other crazy characters including a talking dog which ruined the story and overall concept. Therefore, I chose to listen to my characters, what do they want me to do?

The answer came in 2011 when I starred in my first short film, I had my Ah ah moment!

A SCREENPLAY!!! Only I didn’t know how to correctly write one, all I knew was how to format one. Off to University in 2012 to study International Business and Creative Writing, graduated in 2016.

Now I know how to really better my writing, I’ve identified my strengths and weaknesses. I know now I want to learn more, I want to specialise my creative writing as screenwriting. Time for a Master of Arts – which I am now taking my Final Major Project. Due to graduate, September 2022.

I will be an actor who writes.

I admire a number of writers both past and present for various reasons, making it difficult to identify one. However, had I never been an actor the writer I admire most would be Anne Rice for I love how she captured the characters of Louis and Lestat.

Except, bringing my background as an actor back into play it would be blasphemous to say I did not admire the work of our beloved William Shakespeare, whose many stories are still echoed in so many contemporary narratives today.

My first piece of performed work took place at the Guildhall Theatre in Derby in 2008 as part of my BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts. The character always appeared to be quiet and shy, on the inside she was confident and unafraid to restore order. In the story verse, her temper had a reputation yet the other characters in this instance didn’t know about it, although in an earlier scene they had been warned. The scene I had written contained a monologue that came at the beginning of Act Three, the character’s famous temper took no prisoners.

When I performed the monologue to my fellow students during rehearsals, they sat there stunned. Complimenting me on how what was written made them feel as though I was really telling them off. Their faces when I responded, “Oh thank you, I’ve bottled that up for two years!”

Deadly Passion is my passion project and I will always be proud of it, however I am most proud of my short film Earthbound, which is an extract of the feature film of the same name (currently being written).

I find inspiration to write from everything, everyone and everywhere. To be honest, the best inspiration for me comes from within, building a career I adore within an industry I love with an assistance dog by my side gives me such a unique perspective of the world, which I am excited to share on an international stage. Be that through screenplays for short films or features, maybe even novels.

If I’m not writing I am binging on YouTube, modelling, acting, networking, studying, researching my family history and genealogy, carrying out training exercises with my assistance dog, playing with my dog, walking my dog, reading or watching films.

Keep writing, keep practising and don’t ask your family for feedback unless they truly know what they’re talking about as they may make a good piece of writing worse.

I’m 32, at times I still ask my mum. She has now learnt to say, “It’s over my head”.

I am a Candidate Member of WGGB because I believe that when we join together and speak as one we are more powerful than when we scream loudly as individuals creating nothing but incoherent white noise!