This section contains writing which effectively "stands alone". By that I mean it doesn't have new chapters/episodes/entries coming out, so you might find a short story or a play here, but not my poetry or "series". I like to think of this section as more passive; the writing here is likely to be updated in the future, but with revisions or small additions as opposed to all-new content.
PROSE
Frames
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
My second attempt at a short story, this time more interested in literary concerns regarding the composition and reliability of narrative, something that I have been immensely interested in since starting university. This needs a fair bit of work, however.
Knightmares
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
I wrote this for a competition running for an Extreme Horror anthology through CometPress. Unfortunately, it wasn't deemed extreme enough T_T However, I still am pretty happy with the idea, though the execution could have been handled better - I started writing it at 1 a.m. on the day of submission (deadline was supposedly 6 a.m.) and I think with the current version you can trace a steady decline in quality as I grew increasingly more tired! So, you can take a look, but be aware that I'll be improving upon it at some point in the future :)
ESSAYS AND CRITICISM
Neutral Narrators in Postmodern Writing
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
Officially the best thing I've written at University, this essay deals with the concerns of a narrator's capability to be considered "neutral"; can any narrator really tell a story honestly and objectively? Certain postmodern texts try to tackle this issue, and my essay aims to tackle these texts.
Leaves, Lives and Lighthouses
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
This was an essay that I wrote in the term I spent studying British and Irish literature of the 20th century; it is a study of Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse and the symbol of the leaf, tackling this from a Bergsonian critical perspective. I only picked to write on this book because I don't really like Woolf and thought I'd get an essay on her out of the way - but it actually turned out to be a really good essay!
Journeys in Pearl and Dante
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
Medieval texts often deal with questing and journeying; Pearl and Dante's Comedia are no exceptions. However, in this essay I argue, contrary to popular critical belief, that the dreamer in Pearl does not in fact progress, rather that it is the narrator, taking Dante as a point of comparison. I had a really great time writing this essay, so here it is if you're interested in that sort of thing!
PROSE
Frames
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
My second attempt at a short story, this time more interested in literary concerns regarding the composition and reliability of narrative, something that I have been immensely interested in since starting university. This needs a fair bit of work, however.
Knightmares
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
I wrote this for a competition running for an Extreme Horror anthology through CometPress. Unfortunately, it wasn't deemed extreme enough T_T However, I still am pretty happy with the idea, though the execution could have been handled better - I started writing it at 1 a.m. on the day of submission (deadline was supposedly 6 a.m.) and I think with the current version you can trace a steady decline in quality as I grew increasingly more tired! So, you can take a look, but be aware that I'll be improving upon it at some point in the future :)
"She's the One"
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
This was inspired by the Neil Gaiman collection of stories, Smoke and Mirrors; it reminded me of why I wanted to be a writer in the first place, and this little story was one of the first things that I've written since then. I rather like it. Ironically enough, as I was preparing to type this up (having written it mid-Japan on a notepad), the Robbie Williams song She's The One came on. The story was, at the time, title-less; but as I listened to the words of the song, I realised that it actually fits rather well!
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
This was inspired by the Neil Gaiman collection of stories, Smoke and Mirrors; it reminded me of why I wanted to be a writer in the first place, and this little story was one of the first things that I've written since then. I rather like it. Ironically enough, as I was preparing to type this up (having written it mid-Japan on a notepad), the Robbie Williams song She's The One came on. The story was, at the time, title-less; but as I listened to the words of the song, I realised that it actually fits rather well!
Microscope
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
This was written after I had been declared clinically insane due to a strict diet of postmodernism.
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
This was written after I had been declared clinically insane due to a strict diet of postmodernism.
Walk
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
I've always loved the rhythm of walking, and I especially pay attention to it at night when there are few other people around. This short piece pays tribute to that rhythm in a few different ways.
I've always loved the rhythm of walking, and I especially pay attention to it at night when there are few other people around. This short piece pays tribute to that rhythm in a few different ways.
Eighty Seven Benches
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Set the task to experiment with different sentence structures in a writing workshop run by Adam Foulds, I have embarked on a lengthy journey to do just that - this piece provides twenty examples of different considerations of benches. Not yet content, I want to expand that number to eighty seven. Why eighty seven? Because each section has eighty-seven words in!
Set the task to experiment with different sentence structures in a writing workshop run by Adam Foulds, I have embarked on a lengthy journey to do just that - this piece provides twenty examples of different considerations of benches. Not yet content, I want to expand that number to eighty seven. Why eighty seven? Because each section has eighty-seven words in!
Clear Chat History
Told to consider "dialogue" for the same writer's workshop, my first thought was of a telephone conversation. But prompted by my girlfriend, I realised that a phone call was the obvious thing to do; and so I shifted my attention to that modern social behemoth, Facebook. When we talk to people using Facebook, it's really very different to talking to them face to face - what if we didn't really know who (or what) it was who was on the other end?
Is that Venus?
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Another short piece of prose which is again concerned with the walk home in the early evening; reading my work, one would assume I do a lot of walking, but it's hardly the case. It's just that at those moments, with nothing else to distract me, I enjoy just looking at the road, the sky, the stars - and in this case, a little more.
Another short piece of prose which is again concerned with the walk home in the early evening; reading my work, one would assume I do a lot of walking, but it's hardly the case. It's just that at those moments, with nothing else to distract me, I enjoy just looking at the road, the sky, the stars - and in this case, a little more.
Pendulum
Writing small pieces of prose is something I have been rather enjoying recently, and this is part of that creative output. I wanted to experiment with how I could represent speed, and this is what I chose to represent that attempt.
No one
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This was originally going to be my submission for the "unspoken" or "dialogue" week of the workshop, but considering that it straddled the boundary of the both, I opted to use the others. A problem with this (and the Facebook piece) is that it can be hard to understand what's going on when you rely solely on dialogue...
This was originally going to be my submission for the "unspoken" or "dialogue" week of the workshop, but considering that it straddled the boundary of the both, I opted to use the others. A problem with this (and the Facebook piece) is that it can be hard to understand what's going on when you rely solely on dialogue...
The Sentence Begins
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Another short experimental piece, this is similar to the poem "Something New" in terms of the crafting of sentences. I quite like it, but again, I feel that the crux of the piece is perhaps too ambiguous and understated (to a point at which it's entirely missable)
Another short experimental piece, this is similar to the poem "Something New" in terms of the crafting of sentences. I quite like it, but again, I feel that the crux of the piece is perhaps too ambiguous and understated (to a point at which it's entirely missable)
SCRIPTS AND SCREENPLAYS
Untitled
Downloadbale PDF || Online Viewing
This is the short film screenplay I submitted as part of my A-Level film studies coursework - and the title is intentional, not laziness! It was my first crack at screenplay writing, and I'm rather fond of it. I tried to tackle ideas of identity, pain and growing up, navigating the uncertainties of whether the latter is a good thing or not.
13 Blades
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
The concept of this film was found on SomethingAwful.com in their section 'Awful Movie Database' (AMDB). The AMDB basically consists of the owners of the website creating an IMDB-mockup for outrageous and/or parodic films (including Plot Synopsis, Goofs, Trivia and more) that would never be made - that is, until I decided to write up an entire 52-page script for my favourite. Most is my own material, though of course I am indebted to SA for giving me the bare bones and inspiration. The script was written in two parts; it originally stood at 27 pages. The rest was added in conjunction by myself and Ben. The inspiring article can be found here
Scene from a Dream
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
This fragment once formed part of a larger play that I have long since abandoned. On its own, it has quite an interesting looping nature, but is more geared towards being read than being performed. I have toyed with expanding it, but I rather like the self-contained-ness of it as it stands. We'll see...
Untitled
Downloadbale PDF || Online Viewing
This is the short film screenplay I submitted as part of my A-Level film studies coursework - and the title is intentional, not laziness! It was my first crack at screenplay writing, and I'm rather fond of it. I tried to tackle ideas of identity, pain and growing up, navigating the uncertainties of whether the latter is a good thing or not.
13 Blades
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
The concept of this film was found on SomethingAwful.com in their section 'Awful Movie Database' (AMDB). The AMDB basically consists of the owners of the website creating an IMDB-mockup for outrageous and/or parodic films (including Plot Synopsis, Goofs, Trivia and more) that would never be made - that is, until I decided to write up an entire 52-page script for my favourite. Most is my own material, though of course I am indebted to SA for giving me the bare bones and inspiration. The script was written in two parts; it originally stood at 27 pages. The rest was added in conjunction by myself and Ben. The inspiring article can be found here
Scene from a Dream
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
This fragment once formed part of a larger play that I have long since abandoned. On its own, it has quite an interesting looping nature, but is more geared towards being read than being performed. I have toyed with expanding it, but I rather like the self-contained-ness of it as it stands. We'll see...
ESSAYS AND CRITICISM
Neutral Narrators in Postmodern Writing
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
Officially the best thing I've written at University, this essay deals with the concerns of a narrator's capability to be considered "neutral"; can any narrator really tell a story honestly and objectively? Certain postmodern texts try to tackle this issue, and my essay aims to tackle these texts.
Leaves, Lives and Lighthouses
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
This was an essay that I wrote in the term I spent studying British and Irish literature of the 20th century; it is a study of Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse and the symbol of the leaf, tackling this from a Bergsonian critical perspective. I only picked to write on this book because I don't really like Woolf and thought I'd get an essay on her out of the way - but it actually turned out to be a really good essay!
Journeys in Pearl and Dante
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
Medieval texts often deal with questing and journeying; Pearl and Dante's Comedia are no exceptions. However, in this essay I argue, contrary to popular critical belief, that the dreamer in Pearl does not in fact progress, rather that it is the narrator, taking Dante as a point of comparison. I had a really great time writing this essay, so here it is if you're interested in that sort of thing!
Are Videogames Literature?
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
Something that I have become very passionate about is the idea of "literature"; why are some texts heralded as great examples of literary value, whilst others are dismissed as "bad" or "negligible" works? In this essay, I debate whether one of the supposedly "lowest" forms of entertainment - the humble videogame - can be considered as literature or not.
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
Something that I have become very passionate about is the idea of "literature"; why are some texts heralded as great examples of literary value, whilst others are dismissed as "bad" or "negligible" works? In this essay, I debate whether one of the supposedly "lowest" forms of entertainment - the humble videogame - can be considered as literature or not.
Peter Greenaway and Paratext
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
Paratext is another subject that I find extremely interesting. The material presence of a book that surrounds the more commonly studied textual elements contribute a great deal more to a reading than we might at first imagine. My essay looks at two Peter Greenaway films, The Pillow Book and Prospero's Books, and considers how these films deal with paratextual elements like paper and font.
Downloadable PDF || Online Viewing
Paratext is another subject that I find extremely interesting. The material presence of a book that surrounds the more commonly studied textual elements contribute a great deal more to a reading than we might at first imagine. My essay looks at two Peter Greenaway films, The Pillow Book and Prospero's Books, and considers how these films deal with paratextual elements like paper and font.