Massive shout-out to The Outcasts Creative, The Critical Drinker and Mauler for an amazing interview with actor Jason Flemyng on YouTube, hosted by my good friends Lance Nielsen, Dickon Tolson and Suzette Pluck. Very inspiring! Highly recommend hitting that subscribe button! Had the pleasure of working with the Outcasts online on Youtube productions over the course of 2021, and fantastic to hear they’ve re-opened up industry workshops in London and Birmingham too!

• Blog written on 5th, 6th and 7th of October 2021 in the restaurant bar at the gym

• Posted on Monday 11th of October 2021

I didn’t know where to start with blogging. I just knew at this point in my life, I wanted to do it. A form of online diary; one that I could share for anyone who might want to read my thoughts on the weird, wide world. I tried video blogging, but that involves a lot of talking (and I want to save my voice for when I’m on a Film, TV set or the stage). So where better to start than…

Writing

Since we’re talking about writing, let’s just start with writing about anything, and follow where it leads. As I blog away, I’m going to highlight a few words within the semantic field of ‘writing’ so that we stay on track. I learnt those two words in high school English lessons – ‘semantic field’, but I’m not in high school anymore, so it’s time to put words like that to great use!

Acting has always been my main one thing – I wholeheartedly admit that I’m like a steamroller when it comes to it. When I’m having my downtime, I’m chill, and I guess I don’t like to be organised when I’m chilled. But when I’m acting, for every audition and job, I know there’s one goal, one primary ‘intention’, and I head towards it. It’s a bit like a dart heading towards a massive board on the wall, and I know exactly where I want it to go. How I get there in the end is the fun & challenging part. Some people see it as flapping about in life? I see having such a passionate intention as pure, adrenaline fuelled motivation for dedicated work.

HOLD ON A SECOND… AM I TALKING ABOUT WRITING HERE, OR IS IT ACTING?

So yes; I suppose we’ve just talked about acting, and in a way, the same applies to my adventures in writing. Even now as I’m ploughing through this, like a snake sizzling up a ladder, I know there’s a goal in mind. Although I suppose this is what they call ‘free writing’ – just going with the flow.  That’s what it’s like when I’m writing my novel.

‘ONE GOAL; ONE VISION’.

Hey… look at that! I just quoted Queen.

I spent a lot of time just experimenting with my writing whilst I was training as an actor. After that, it took a while for me to settle being back at home, and during and after the events of 2020, I had that constant urge to get moving again. I knew I had to soon establish the fact that I wanted to be in London and beyond on a frequent basis. Once again, developing a story helped settle my mind during those times, and over the last two years (approx.) I was just figuring out where I was at. Like everybody, I’ve lost people over the years & then worked through some crazy stuff (including a worldwide pandemic), but I think I’m heading towards a home note now. I’m rambling… but my point is, being in my early 20’s, I actually feel I can just sit and watch the world a bit more. I’m not just referring to hiking up a hill & watching the jaw dropping view from the top of a mountain (like I do with my dad often) – I mean observing and seeing everything a bit more clearly.  Ok… so…

MY NOVEL

In any spare time I get when I’m not focused on my work as an actor, I’m a Novelist. I’m not a screenwriter & I’m definitely not a playwright (I mean never say never), but I am 100 (struggles to find the percent button on laptop) percent, an aspiring Author. I can feel it. I know that I talk about this to friends and family (as well as tweeting/posting about it with rather vague details), but I can confirm the book is coming (eventually). It’s an epic adventure of the Underworld, and I’m half way through it. I dictated a good few of my favourite pages of the middle section of the first book in my fantasy saga to a close friend earlier this year, whilst underscoring it with music from Bethesda’s ‘Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’, and he definitely enjoyed it.

WRITING HABITS

Whenever I write my novel, lots of colours and epic characters flow onto the page. I don’t really find starting off the beginning of a chapter or book a sticking point like some people may experience (and I know that’s a thing). Maybe at high school when free writing wasn’t really a thing, and we had to analyse newspaper articles & poetry, because I think it’s harder to start writing about somebody else’s work. I mean what do you say when commenting in written word about someone else? We have to think about it a bit more before we do. But again… with regards to writer’s block for an opening of a book… never say never… I don’t want to jynx it. It’s usually mid-way through a chapter that I might get stuck, but that’s typically if I have to backtrack and make sure I’m staying in line with what I wrote previously. It’s the early stages of the ‘proof reading’ process I guess, and with certain things, I’m a bit of a perfectionist (particularly when writing). If you’ve ever spent time Tweeting and all of a sudden realise that the auto correct button has utterly double crossed you, then you know what I’m talking about. The auto correct button has lent an unhelpful helping hand to my sense of perfectionism. If you have felt this too, believe me, I understand. Or say the picture layout isn’t quite what you want it to be & you keep altering it? Hey – it’s the 21st century. The amount of tweets I delete & reupload per week is insane. Because this is the way social media functions, this means that the vast majority of people in the world are overthinkers. Social media is a useful tool & it’s described on Google as a form of micro-blogging. And I’ve gotten to the point where I have now fully embraced socials, and I’m using them in ways I never thought I would! On the other hand, social media can be dangerous, and I hope there’s an alternative form of communication in the future that is more ‘social’. Perhaps establishing a virtual world that doesn’t require a phone would really help (let’s beg the DEVS to push on with this please). Laptops can stay though. I love my laptop, and it doesn’t make my neck hurt when I look at it.

WHAT STOPS ME FROM WRITING ALTOGETHER

Every time I sit down to write or even game, I usually come back to thinking ‘what could I be doing next to push ahead with my acting career now?’. I love the connectivity of the arts industry, so I usually think to myself, “let’s meet more cool people!” – and I love that about what I do. I think my love for writing came from acting in the beginning anyway. Watching those characters on Television & on Film that I wanted to be someday, and seeing the sort of people I wanted to work with in my life influenced my writing too, and I had to put it down on paper. The way the characters spoke & their mannerisms all hit me like an arrow to the head. Which brings me to the next section of this ‘WRITING’ blog –

MY FIRST EVER WRITING EXPERIENCE –

I was at my Grandma’s house (probably about six years old), and wrote what would most likely now be described as a fan fiction spinoff of Steven Moffat’s ‘Weeping Angel’ creations from Doctor Who. It was a short horror story about creepy statue monsters that moved on their own, and it starred a lot of my friends from school in it. I have a vivid memory of writing it. I found it years later in a drawer. It’s a very strong memory and I hope I still have the book I wrote it in.

(…I think I just teared up a bit.)

THE DESCRIPTIONS

Descriptions are self indulgent (I know), and I’ve heard of writers being told often to stick to dialogue, but, overall, they are a luxury. Tolkein’s ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Trilogy is basically a book of incredible descriptions, and I mean that in the epic sense. My favourite section of my novel is the most descriptive part of it. I can’t say what it is… for now. Maybe I’ll mention that section eventually on the blurb.  

So you can expect that when my novel is published there will be many vivid descriptions of environments. After all, I’ll want my novels to eventually be made into films, and descriptions always help with that. Maybe I’ll even produce the film and adapt the novels myself? Who knows.

THE END?

That’s my first #longblogmonday. If you’re a friend, you might have inspired me to write a blog in the first place. If you’re someone I haven’t met yet, welcome once again to my new website & first ever official #longblog on my website. Thanks a million for taking the time to read my thoughts. I’ve certainly written a lot here considering I didn’t know where I was going with it. But I’m happy with where I’m at. A writer friend recently suggested to me to dedicate four hours a week to consistently continue my novel, and I’m doing that (as well as writing blogs). With my writing, this is a good place to be for now.

Take care, stay wholesome, keep writing, and with regards to your journey, never stop… It’s yours for the taking.