I’ve always been a book worm even as a kid. I loved creative writing at school. Language is such a powerful thing and I enjoy the way it can take you places and evoke feelings at the swish of a pen. Why I never went into journalism is something I don’t know to this day.
I’ve been writing ever since I was 14. I started on a book about a pilot who is shot down in the middle of England in a super-secret jet and his struggles to save it from public eye and at the same time get the Royal Air Force to pick it up. Somewhere along the line I lost that manuscript.
I attempted another book in 1992 when I was working for the Department of Justice. This unfinished story, about the events in a law court, was written in Afrikaans (a local language of Dutch origin) and is still on disk somewhere. I wrote it in Word Perfect 2 no less. At that stage I did my compulsory military training and that’s where that book ended. I also tried my hand at writing shorts for magazines but met with no success. I still had a lot to learn from Life and it was 12 years later that I started writing seriously.
In December 2004 a very good friend of mine, and my competitive dance partner, passed away suddenly after a 3-day fight with viral meningitis. She affected me profoundly. She was a hard worker and a merciless taskmaster on the practice floor; she had to be- she was working with me and all I brought to the partnership was a willingness to work hard. I still do; and she worked me over good.
Anyway, I decided to write the what-if story of the career we never had. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it, only that it had to be done. I considered a novel, poetry and screenwriting and chose screenwriting because I thought (ha ha!) it was the easiest way to achieve my goal. I never thought that so many years later I’d still be at it. As things go, that first screenplay has never seen the light of day. Actually it did, and I even entered it into a competition, but now, 18 screenplays later, I still haven’t settled on a final draft for it. For some reason I can’t “get it” even after 8 different story lines and countless rewrites.
Writing is a solitary business: I’m always thinking about my work and spend hours in front of the computer working at it. Sometimes I’ll crank out 20 pages in a day and sometimes none. That’s basically how it goes for all writers, I think. You write some brilliant stuff today only to delete it as crap tomorrow because it doesn’t sound right. Even so, with every page I write I get better and I believe that my turn will come when I can stand outside a movie house and know that the people inside are watching one of my creations. That must be the ultimate thrill- it’s not about the money, it’s about writing a good story in a time when there are some really crappy movies out there. My family has been kind of supportive of me, but they have no idea how much it means to me.
My writing has a decidedly “English” flavor to it, which makes it a hard read sometimes. I don’t seem to crack the “American” voice that would no doubt go down well on that side of the pond. There is a depth to my work that is still a bit rough, something that I’m continuously working on.
Most of the lead characters I write about are emotionally wounded in some way or another and the stories tell of their interaction with society and how they get back onto the road to emotional healing.
I write about whatever comes into mind. Those stories that I don’t write now, I make notes of and keep in a file. You never know when you run out of fresh ideas and need something. I tend to like to write Chick Flicks (with a dash of drama thrown in for good measure), but there is a thriller, 3 Westerns and a WWII story on my computer as well. Most of these screenplays aren’t ready to be up here yet. When they are, you’ll get to see them.
MY SCREENPLAYS
Below is a list of screenplays that I have written, or which are presently on this site. The hyperlink will take you to a page for that screenplay that has the file to download as well as a synopsis of the story.
Quarterstaff: the legend of “Little” John Naylor
COMING SOON TO A WEBPAGE NEAR YOU:
The screenplays listed below have been written, but I have yet to finish their loglines and synopses. So until I can bring myself to do that, I'm leaving you with just a taste of what they're about.
That Undefinable Thing
He was in a loveless relationship; her innocence opened his eyes to a better world. She was afraid to let go and love him because everything she loved was taken from her. Would he be prepared to fall over the hurdles placed in his way if that’s what it took to win her?
The Paparazzo
A woman, a man, an affair and a paparazzo to capture it. He exposed her for what she was, but is it possible that the camera never told the whole truth about her?
VPXL
