Where it began...
I daresay my own story isn’t terribly exciting, but let’s give it a bash.
I’ve been writing since my teens, inspired by a great English teacher. I distinctly recall the turning moment, when a single word essay title “Pyramids” was handed over with no further prompts. We were to go away and do whatever we basically wanted, and when I handed in a 20-page treatment instead of the expected page of twaddle, he wasn’t irritated, but seemed pleased and interested. Simply not being ignored was a serious event.
Most of my early writing was a little silly or towards the poetic – sometimes both, on purpose or otherwise. Fuelled by a love of comedy from sitcoms like Porridge, Red Dwarf, The Simpsons, and even Friends, I started to think more serious about comedy writing. In my late teens, I discovered Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams, both of whom who really brought home the idea that “funny” could certainly be clever and meaningful.
At university, I found kindred spirits. With one of whom I even briefly considered Clown College. What might’ve been, eh?
Then came the real world. It didn’t scar me. It didn’t scare me. It was simply reality. Love, life, laughter. Isn’t that what the wall-ornaments say?
I built and ran satirical news websites like Laughsend and The Spoof, both labours of love and with which I enjoyed a modicum of success.
Somehow, over the next fifteen years I also wrote several books. And, somehow, not one of them was a comedy.
I suspect I was scared.
But a good friend inspired me with his own relentless passion for projects. So here I am – finally embracing the comedy writing that scared me for so long. In real time, with an audience. And loving it.
