Creativity in Sharp Focus
High-Concept. Speculative. Grounded.
I specialise in 'high-concept' speculative - but grounded - dystopian literature. I write stories that ask an unsettling 'what-if' and follow the consequences into the deepest corners of the human psyche.
My work is built through the use of creativity - and the creative process - as a lens through which we view the workings of our own world.
Then - with gripping and meticulous plotting - we test it to destruction.
The Case for 'Colour'
My novel, Colour, serves as the blueprint for my narrative philosophy. It utilises the speculative device of the 'colour mushroom' to explore the ancient friction between enforced conformity and individual creativity.
By applying the 'chase' and 'conspiracy' mechanics of a thriller to a world governed by Attitudinal Science, I aim to create a reading experience that is as intellectually stimulating as it is visceral.
Multiple Perspectives on the Contemporary
Speculative fiction is most powerful when it acts as a lens for the present:
- PRISM: Refracting contemporary concerns - from bureaucratic control to institutional inertia - into a sharp, speculative focus
- ARCHITECTURE: Designing rigid social systems and their determinig scientific rational to explore the inherent friction between order and the individual
- LITMUS TEST: Placing human motivation & emotion at the centre of these systems to witness the moment they reach their limits - and see how they come through
I do not just build worlds; I build systems. Then, I challenge the human spirit to find its own place within them.
Plot, Character, and the Woven Idea
The essential tapestry of my work is a three-fold commitment:
- BLUEPRINT: A highly creative, 'what-if' idea that challenges the status quo
- JOURNEY: A meticulously structured plot that respects the reader's intellect
- SOUL: Compelling characters whose desires drive the narrative forward
In my world, there is a time for the Mixology of theory and a time for the Cultivation of action. My creative process ensures that every layer of the story serves a purpose, leading the reader from the 'grey' of logic to the 'vibrance' of a lived experience.
Colour
What is Colour?
One valley. Seven Fraternities. A thousand forbidden hues. In the shadow of the Last Mountains, a disgraced Examiner and an unlikely group of rebels must navigate a monochromatic conspiracy to retrieve the truth. Colour is a story of hidden records, dangerous dyes, and the courage required to see the world in full light.
Colour is a high-concept speculative thriller exploring the clash between industrial stability and visceral emotion.
Explore COLOUR
Ninety Thousand Words of Colour
The Transporter halted his cart where the track began its steep descent into Wetledale. The mist still sat in wisps over fields that edged the river as it flowed along the valley floor. Even though the mist had nearly lifted, everything the Transporter could see beneath him remained grey, white, brown, or occasionally, the blood red of rust.
- Colour is the contagion that haunts the valley, a forbidden truth waiting to be unearthed.
- Colour is the catalyst in the Last Mountains, sparking a collision between duty and desire.
- Colour is the threat to the Cabinet Makers of Wetledale, exposing the dark hypocrisy of their designs..
Techniques for Creative Writing
These techniques are an essential toolbox for the creative writer. There are three techniques that help you create great ideas (Mixology), three techniques that help you develop those ideas into a first written draft (Cultivation), and lastly 3 techniques that are the bedrock of writing compelling fiction.
More Techniques for Creative Writing
The section offers everything you need for writing creatively - from control of the creative process - to the theory behind the ideas. You will also find here a wide range of described - and often illustrated - creative techniques.
Glanside Creative
Explore the Glanside Creativity Website. Each of these boxes explores a dimension of Glanside Creativity.