May The Force Write This For Me

I’m back! It’s been 60+ days since my last article. Did you miss me? That almost feels rhetorical.

This month I’ve decided to be even more self-indulgent in my choice of writing subject, and there won’t be any Norfolk related aspect, with one minor exception; The main image above. To commemorate the rediscovery of the the pilot episode of Thomas & Friends, here’s a picture of Thomas the Tank Engine arriving at Sheringham in 2006. My eldest son (with his back to us on the left of the photo) loved trains, and as my kids grew up we frequently visited place like Sheringham, Bure Valley and Bressingham on Thomas Days, and in-between too, so he could enjoy the choo-choos!

And the award for most hopeful title goes to…

The title of this post holds a not so subtle clue to one of my subjects for this month. A few days ago I finished watching Andor season 2 on Disney+ and I was, like many Star Wars fans, blown away. The scripting, acting, pacing, the scenery, the “easter-eggs” for fans, the way it ties in with Rogue One. In my view it’s up there with the best things made for telly. The fact that my wife, who has little interest in Star Wars (or anything in the Sci-Fi/Space Fantasy genre), was absolutely hooked says a lot about Andor. Of course, she didn’t quite get how it ties in with other Star Wars stuff, but the good news for her is we’re re-watching Rogue One tonight so she can at least see how the series leads in to that story. However, she did ask “Which film number is Rogue One?”, and I think that’s as good a reason as any to also watch the original trilogy again over the next few evenings!

As is par for the course on my regular column, I like to tie-in the craft of writing where possible, so I’m just going to blurt it out. Star Wars was the main reason why I started writing. There. I said it. How? You may ask. Well, to pick this apart we have to go back to the early 1990s when I started spending the occasional Sunday morning traipsing around car-boots to rebuild my Star Wars collection (the Empire made me sell them in the mid-80s to afford Transformers toys). I’m not sure what triggered it. Possibly a need for a hobby to fill the void, probably a yearning to recapture happier times.

Around this time I also bought the original Star Wars trilogy on VHS from HMV in Norwich (when it used to be above Top Man/Top Shop and accessed via Rampant Horse Street) and then I bought the Widescreen VHS too, plus all the “Making of” videos. A young man with disposable income – there’s worse ways to spend your money on that building your own video library.

It wasn’t just Star Wars films I bought and watched. It’s funny how you can start recounting a story thinking it’s one thing, then it leads to something else. So, I’m adjusting my answer as to why I started getting in to Star Wars again in the early 1990s. I was working at the time but had aspirations to go to University to study Film Studies. So, I started watching a lot of films, and to aid my application process I left work and enrolled on a year-long “University Access” course at college to bridge a perceived academic gap. It felt like I watched one Star Wars film every week in a cycle for perhaps a year – it’s probably not quite that but I did watch them a lot. Okay, watching Star Wars movies repeatedly was a tad obsessive, but it was because I wanted to know them inside out so that maybe I could make films like Star Wars (or ideally, the sequels!)

I cast my net wide in an attempt to take in the film-making craft, and would try to watch at least one movie a day when I got home from work/college, plus frequent trips to the cinema to watch current movies or cult classics. To give you a taste of some of the films I watched to immerse myself in a world of film at that time, here’s a few I can remember off the top of my head:- Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, A Street Car Named Desire (I’ve never seen the play though), David Lynch movies (such as Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man), The Last Picture Show, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Francis Ford Coppola movies (Apocalypse Now, Rumble Fish, the Godfather movies, The Outsiders), Orson Wells movies (including Citizen Kane and The Third Man), David Lean films (Blythe Spirit, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago), Hellcats of the Navy, Midnight Cowboy, Mona Lisa, Wim Wenders movies like (King of the Road, and Paris, Texas), 80s brat pack movies (for example, The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, Less than Zero), Hitchcock movies (Rear Window, Pyscho, The Birds), Ealing comedies (The Ladykillers, The Lavender Hill Mob), John Wayne movies (such as The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Searchers), some early Steve Martin films (The Jerk, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, The Man with Two Brains), and a good dose of Sci-Fi/Horror/B-movies (including Barbarella, the Quatermass movies, The Queen of Outer Space, Plan 9 From Outer Space, Forbidden Planet, It Came from Outer Space, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Slipstream, 2000: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters, Scanners, The Time Guardian), everything by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas… That’s a brain dump and a half, and the list would go on if I could remember more! But I’d still find time for my regular Star Wars fix. It helped that my mates were film junkies too, so we would rent movies, go to the cinema, so we could hang out and I’d still get to watch movies. But if I’m honest with myself, Star Wars probably drove my interest in film-making – perhaps I was trying to find a way to be involved in that incredible universe.

I aced the University Access course with top-mark distinction. But life doesn’t always work out how we hope. An administrative error at the University meant I didn’t get on the course, so I went back to work, got married, had kids and, as they say the rest is history. Except it isn’t. Saying it’s history suggests it’s over. Sorry, it ain’t. Yes, I couldn’t go to Uni on the course of my dreams that year – Well I could’ve waited another year, or gone elsewhere, but the pressure to work and be responsible was high. But I had the desire to make stories regardless. If I couldn’t get involved directly, perhaps I could write books that could be turned in to movies? Somewhat naïve idealistic thinking, I know. I started in the galaxy I knew the most, and I started writing straight off the bat a story based on the further adventures of the original trilogy characters. Now, I’m not the most grounded person, but after a few pages it dawned on me that as a complete unknown I had no chance of getting a Star Wars story published. Nope. I had to build a reputation first. Bang out a couple of prize-winning books first, and then approach my new friend George Lucas for permission. That’s how it works, right?

Except it’s not that easy to just bang out a novel or two. Unperturbed, I put pen to paper in the evenings and wrote what I considered a decent sci-fi book. Okay, the length was probably more of a novella, but the publishers would guide me on padding it out a bit, right? Nope. After a bit of research, I sent it to a publisher and waited. 3 months later a rejection letter arrived in the mail. Undaunted, I sent it elsewhere. Several rejection letters followed over a couple of years, during which time I was spending more time at work, doing overtime, and working hard, trying to progress in life, hoping that my story would find a home. I felt I was done. I didn’t have the time or the energy required for major rewrite, and perhaps I wasn’t skilled enough or mature enough to do so either.

Instead I parked it, and wrote small stories just for my own amusement for a while. Until Mr. Starfish and the world of writing for a younger audience came along. Indirectly, I have my childhood Star Wars interest to thank (or, from a certain point of view, to blame) for my output to date.

As I plot my way through the 2nd half of my 1st century, I’m drawing inspiration from the storytelling in the Andor television series. The gritty reality of the storyline and the correlation to our own history reminds me of where I was coming from when I wrote my first (unsuccessful) attempt at a novel. I’ve always planned to revisit this, and who knows what happens if I do. Maybe, just maybe… After all, “Rebellions are built on hope.”

Hope Jogs Eternal

Speaking of inspiration and hope, I watched the BBC broadcast of the London Marathon a couple of weeks ago, and that is always a great source of inspiration. Throughout the show there are brief stories of various characters running the marathon for an array of good causes, and also throughout the race the occasional runner gets pulled over by eager reporters for a quick chat.

Some of the stories you hear from participants and their family hit home. I know that’s the aim, but some do bring the proverbial lump to the throat. One such story was that of “Blind Dave Heeley”, who was running in aid of the Albion Foundation (West Bromwich Albion’s community foundation, similar in function to Norwich City’s Community Sport Foundation).

Dave was running his 17th and final London Marathon, and his three daughters had joined him. On the pre-recorded piece about his story, Dave said something along the lines of “if I can do it, anyone can” and for some reason I needed to hear those words at that moment in time. It’s not rocket-science, it’s not the words of a literary genius, or said by a professional motivational speaker. Just an ordinary bloke, saying something simple but profound about doing what most of us could do but we don’t. Now, I’m not going to be running marathons – That’s not what I’ve taken away. But whenever I feel myself slacking when I should be doing something, I’ll hear those words clearly, try to reset myself and get going once again. So, kudos to Blind Dave and everyone who sets out to do something like run a marathon and sticks with it. You are an inspiration.

Here’s a picture of one of my Dad’s London Marathon medals. I may not follow in his footsteps achieving this physical feat, but I am proud that he did this (twice in 1980s) and everything else he has achieved in life too.

That seems like a good place as any to conclude this article. Besides, I’m running out of days in May, so until next time, “May the Force be with you!” and take inspiration from those around you to keep aiming for your goals.