Defining a writer should be easy. A writer is someone who writes. However, most of us learn to string words into sentences in grade school, so we all can claim to be writers.
We could define a professional writer as someone paid to write. That narrows the field considerably. But within the entertainment industry, where I have spent the entirety of my professional life, there are many who write as a means to an end. They write to get their first directing gig, to secure their next producing job, or to make a boat-load of money. If you’ve sold a script or have been hired to write, you can be deemed professional. Writing stories as a means to an end does a disservice to all. You wouldn’t want to listen to a musician who only picked up the guitar in hopes of getting that lucrative sheet music publishing deal. Better to hear someone play because they love to make music. Thinking thus, I feel the need for a more refined definition of what makes a writer. Here is mine.
A writer is someone who can’t stop themselves from writing.
Just to be clear, I apply this standard to the other arts as well. A painter can’t stop painting. A dancer has to dance. A sculptor…well, you get the idea.
Part two of my story Nephilim, “A Bigger World” has just been released on the Scrollon app (available on the App Store). One night Will Oberon finds Avalon Lennox lying in an impact crater outside of his apartment. He learns the hard way that girls who fall out of the sky (and can rip apart a bio-mechanical monster with their bare hands) are not safe to bring home.
As All Hallows’ Eve draws nigh, I am thankful we have Ziggy to protect us from zombies, werewolves, vampires, space invaders and all manner of creatures that go bump in the night.
One of my favorite stories (currently on the back burner) is The Girl in the Moon. It started years ago, as a screenplay. In the early days of Scrollon I decided to draw it. But as the visual language of Scrollon developed I put this story aside until such time I could do it properly. When I eventually get back to it, I will certainly need to redraw everything done so far. A pity. But as Faulkner told us, sometimes we must kill all our darlings.
Last week I posted images of castles featured in projects I directed (or, in the case of Army of Darkness, 2nd Unit directed). Here’s some medieval backgrounds I’ve drawn. All of these are from the recent release of “The Curious Saga of No-One” pt 3 (now available on the Scrollon App for the iPhone and the iPad).
