Today I have finally updated and expanded my Bio on this website. I decided to include the kind of things which have inspired me in my writing throughout my life. It also seemed a good subject for this blog...
Growing up, I revelled in great stories. I remember reading War Of The Worlds and marvelling at the imagination of a 19th Century author describing an alien invasion – before aeroplanes existed! I loved Star Trek and other shows that took me far beyond modern reality. The Conan stories, and other fantasy novels and films, took me away in another direction, into realms of dark adventure. Hammer movies and later horror films captured my imagination with tales of good and evil, monsters and heroes. And at the same time, I enjoyed more earth-based fiction, like the timeless Sherlock Holmes mysteries.
I can’t recall a time when I didn’t want to write stories myself. My first effort was a Fighting Fantasy Gamebook Adventure, and although it was rejected, I received a positive letter that made me determined to continue. My first proper novel was a violent sci-fi story, with a futuristic land-war, genetic mutation and betrayal. This too was rejected, but also garnered some positive feedback.
I carried on, honing my skills and telling more stories. For a while, I concentrated on submitting TV scripts, but novels were always what I was drawn to pursuing.
The next big inspiration I had was when I started to read Stephen King novels. I was surprised to discover that he didn’t really write Horror as I expected... he wrote about people. Yes, horrific things happened, but the core of every story was the wonderful characters. This, in turn, led me to begin developing my own characters more deeply... and, over time, my writing quality improved drastically.
I’ve also learned to take inspiration from all around me, mainly in terms of character traits. I’ve known an awful lot of really good, generous people in my family, in work and elsewhere. At work, I also experienced a share of stupidity, arrogance and meanness; this was balanced with good humour and camaraderie. I only have to look at five minutes of news to see political corruption, unfairness and suffering. I think understanding people is key to creating good characters.