As much as this blog is a
place to show case some of my work and to write about the things that
I might be watching or playing, I guess it can also be a place for
some readers to get to know me. I'd rather my personality shine through my writing but from time to time a post like this can't hurt right? Right? Is it hurting you yet?
I'm not going to go for
an obvious list of facts about me, if you follow me on Twitter you
might see some fun facts from time to time (Fun Fact: There are fun facts in this post). Rather I wanted to keep
things writing focused and maybe answer a question people often
wonder when they get to know me or what I studied.
Maybe it's an Indian
thing, but people often look at me with a weird quizzical look on
their face when I tell them I studied English Language and
Literature with Creative Writing. Today the shop keeper next door
looked at me like I’d said the wrong subject and asked “are you
sure it wasn't Chemistry?”
No, Mrs. Hayre, it wasn't
Chemistry. I enjoyed Chemistry in school and before dropping out of
college, it was one of my chosen A-Levels, but I never really loved
it. I love writing and there's been a few influences in my life to
bring that along. Here are a few of them:
#5: Goosebumps
In, I guess I want to
say, 1994 my parents began to buy me Goosebumps books and they blew
me away. I had been a casual reader before Goosebumps but once I got
started on R.L Stine's mega series of horror stories I was hooked. I
devoured these. I distinctly remember one week
over the summer holidays where I convinced my mum to buy me three. I
just ploughed through them.
“Welcome to Dead House”, “Return
of the Mummy”, “The Cuckoo Clock of Doom” and “Say Cheese and
Die – Again!” were just some
of the titles that defined my childhood. I remember one day when I
was trapped on a coach going down to a wedding and at the services I
convinced my dad to buy me a Goosebumps book. I destroyed
“It
Came From Beneath the Sink” in
a matter of hours, before we'd even reached the venue. I was hungry
for more, my imagination began to run wild.
(Fun
Fact: When I was younger I wrote a short story where Jack the
Ripper's brother stalked someone and was ultimately stabbed in a
corner shop by the clerk. Maybe i'll post it one day)
#4:
Max Payne
Along
with reading, gaming was one of the key staples of my childhood.
These started with games like Sonic and Alex the Kidd or Sensible
Soccer and Sim City on my cousin's PC (when she let me on!). It
wasn't I was introduced to Max Payne that I started to pay attention
to the medium as a way to tell stories. The story in Max Payne is
nothing to scream and shout about but the combination of
interactivity and quality voice acting really pulled me in. Here was
a bad ass character who was out for revenge, who narrated the entire
game with a grisly film noire performance and could slow down time
before the Matrix came out. I was in.
Max
Payne really opened my eyes to the different forms of story telling
and how powerful an emotional connection and interactivity were to a
narrative experience.
(Fun
Fact: As a child I wanted to be a wrestler when I grew up!)
#3:
Wrestling
Wrestling
was big in my family growing up. I was a Hulk-a-maniac and loved Macho Man. I moved on to Bret “The Hitman” Hart and then started chanting for
Stone Cold Steve Austin. Yes, they have story lines in wrestling but
it wasn't the cheesy plots that caught my eye.
 |
| Whatcha gonna do!? |
It
was more the match psychology and the art of wrestling itself. The
more I paid attention to it the more I realised that the actual match
had a story and it was told through mannerisms, moves and holds.
Often they were typical under dog stories where the bad guy beats up
the good guy before he ultimately comes back to win. But ever now and
then there was something special. Like Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels
in an Iron Man Match. The match went on for over an hour and the
story they told was something that I had never seen before. Neither
one wanted to give up and it was just compelling. Utterly compelling.
And
yes, I know it's “fake”.
(Fun
Fact: My favourite scent/smell is Vanilla)
#2:
Ridley Scott
Being
a big film nut, I watch my fair share of them. Ridley Scott is one
particular director that I just have an affinity for. His work always
enthrals me and captures my imagination. While I know he doesn't
write the films himself, the way he cobbles them together never
fails to inspire me.
It
could be a simple shot of Russell Crowe riding into battle. Shot from
a distance and static it would be bland and uninspiring but shot from
a shaking steady cam, close up on his face and it becomes something
else entirely. The amount of depth and reality he puts into his
worlds just make me want to do this all the more. I want to do this
for other people. I want to give other people an experience so
tangible that they're lost for however long it is.
(Fun
Fact: If I won the lottery I would make sure key members of my family
and I were settled and secure. Then I would use the rest to make a
school in an underprivileged area of the world so that children there
could learn to read and write. Who knows they might write stories of
their own)
#1:
Lost
It's
an odd one to put on the list but it's honestly the truth. Lost, the
TV show, is one of the biggest components of why I decided to really
start writing. Up until then I just had an interest in it. This show made me act on it. I can hear you
saying it's just an underwhelming TV show but Lost is, I guess,
special to me.
It
came on during a period in my life where a lot was changing but no
matter what went wrong or suddenly became different, I had Lost.
Every week I would sit down to a new episode and some of the themes
applied to me somewhat. Yes it had it's ups and downs but I became
wholly invested in a set of characters and I was on the ride from
start to finish. I loved every second of it.
Sawyer's
mantra of “what's done is done (Freckles)”
allowed me to move on from whatever it was that was getting me down
and dragging me away from life. Normally I don't become so invested
in a TV show. I enjoy many TV shows these days but I don't take life
advice from Walter White (that you know of at least...).
It
was just the perfect storm of personal problems and escapism really. Escapism
is one of the big reasons why we consume any form of entertainment isn't it? I hope to do the same for someone else.
(Fun
Fact: People often told me i'd never amount to anything)
So there you go, Mrs. Hayre. Now you know why.
Hope
you enjoyed it.
T
