A Foray into Screenwriting
In my early twenties, I took some drama courses because I had a mild interest in acting. One of the teachers was a film and television director. I asked him if he’d look at any screenplays I had. He said he would. I’d never written a screenplay, and had no idea how to do so. But I saw opportunity. Now I just needed to learn the format. The library didn’t have any instructional books about screenwriting, but they did have one about playwrighting. We were still three or four years away from the internet becoming a thing. I wrote two screenplays (using the playwrighting book as a guide) – both…
Then and Now
My book did the rounds of family (well, my brother, and a handful of cousins). One cousin gave it to his fantasy-loving friend who declared it one of the best fantasy books he’d ever read. I don’t know if he was humouring my cousin, if he was clueless, or if the praise was genuine (most writers I know often doubt praise), but it encouraged me to get back into writing. The other reason was I was just empty without it. And purposeless. After terrifying anxiety, the dread I might be losing my mind (thanks, Dr. Fuckwit), and a general feeling of inadequacy, the world was too scary to confront. But…