The Research Funnel

I'm writing a novel set in Los Angeles in 1933. I've never been to Los Angeles. I've certainly never visited the year 1933. Clearly, research is required (rather more than I'd anticipated, actually, which just goes to show how blindly I plunged into the project). When you're writing a period piece, the details have to … Continue reading The Research Funnel

Revisiting Cinefex (24): Cocoon, The Goonies, Back to the Future

Both the front and back covers of Cinefex issue #24 feature one of the big hit movies of 1985: Ron Howard's Cocoon. On the front we see - in extreme close-up - actor Brian Dennehy pulling down his lower eyelid to reveal the glowing skin of his alien Anterean self. The super-stretchy eyelid was a … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (24): Cocoon, The Goonies, Back to the Future

Every Character Needs a Spine

Earlier this year, film-maker Andrew Stanton gave an inspirational Ted Talk on storytelling. One quote in particular stuck with me, and it's this: "I took a seminar this year with an acting teacher named Judith Weston and I learned a key insight to character. She believed that all well-drawn characters have a spine. And the … Continue reading Every Character Needs a Spine

Revisiting Cinefex (23): Explorers, Lifeforce, My Science Project

Cinefex issue #23 examines no less than three movies but, as far as the cover pictures go, the star of this particular show is Explorers, Joe Dante's 1985 slice of family-friendly science fiction. Up front is a hero shot of the rather funky-looking spaceship operated by whimsical aliens Wak and Neek. Look closely and you'll … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (23): Explorers, Lifeforce, My Science Project

Revisiting Cinefex (22): Return to Oz, Baby

In a scene from Walter Murch's 1985 film Return to Oz, the monstrous Nome King prepares to devour Dorothy Gale's new friend Jack Pumpkinhead. This perilous snapshot makes for a striking cover to Cinefex #22, but how many of you were actually able to name the movie? Not everyone, I'm guessing, which is a shame … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (22): Return to Oz, Baby

The Many Lives of a Writer – 5

Most people are like cats – they live not just one life, but many. Writers are no exception. Here's the introspective sprawl of my fifth writing life. Life 5 - Diversity So this is me, now, live and uncut, smack in the middle of my fifth writing life. In my past lives, I've written stories both short … Continue reading The Many Lives of a Writer – 5

“Prometheus”

Most people who like cinema have a movie that shines like a beacon in their memory, brighter than all the rest. Mine is Alien. I was there for its first release in 1979, sneaking past the warning signs in the theatre foyer even though I was too young for the movie's X-certificate. One sign screamed: … Continue reading “Prometheus”

Revisiting Cinefex (21): The Terminator, Dune

Emerging from a wall of fire on the front cover of Cinefex #21 is the extraordinarily detailed stop-motion cyborg endoskeleton built by Doug Beswick for James Cameron's seminal 1984 science fiction film The Terminator. There's more fictional futurism on the back cover, in the form of the spice harvester from David Lynch's 1984 adaptation of … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (21): The Terminator, Dune

The Many Lives of a Writer – 4

Most people are like cats – they live not just one life, but many. Writers are no exception. Here's what happened when my fourth writing life got underway. Life 4 - Phantom Fiction Sometime in the middle of 2007, my agent Dot Lumley asked me if I fancied writing a crime novel for a book packager. I … Continue reading The Many Lives of a Writer – 4

The Many Lives of a Writer – 3

Most people are like cats – they live not just one life, but many. Writers are no exception. Here's how my third writing life saw everything change. Life 3 - Size Isn't Everything After cutting the cord with Voyager Books, I wrote a dark fantasy novel called Panopticon. The title, inspired by an architectural concept for a … Continue reading The Many Lives of a Writer – 3