tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287219602024-02-19T22:43:08.415+00:00The Life Creative with Chris G. AllanWelcome to my blog of creative pastimes. I write stories, I podcast, and I sometimes animate and video edit. I also like to talk about the inspiration I find in the world around me. Since setting up this blog in 2006, I’ve mainly hoped to share my experiences about creative successes (and failures) for other aspiring authors and creatives. So whether you’re a fellow scribbler or a curious reader, feel free to drop in from time to time to follow my continuing creative adventures - Chris G. AllanC.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.comBlogger181125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-90817162727081730822021-05-31T11:10:00.000+01:002023-03-27T12:16:01.702+01:00"Colouring in my world" - creating words AND pictures"And I dream of Michelangelo when I'm lying in my bed, I see god upon the ceiling, I see angels overhead..." - Counting CrowsI've talked a lot on this creative work blog in the past about writing for the screen but a little while ago, I had the amazing opportunity in the day job to not only write but also direct, shoot and edit a story that would be produced by ITV and feature as part of their C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-25864067603295169612021-01-07T13:07:00.084+00:002023-03-30T16:36:59.963+01:00WRITING: the Sequel -"Adventures in Podcasting" (Finding a Voice Part the Second!)
"Across the great divide alone (wondering, open, afraid and...) Arrive in a life unknown..." - SemisonicA good while ago now, I posted about a podcast habit I'd picked up, following on from an uncontrollable collecting pattern I'd grown into following one of my favourite movie franchises for most of my life... I'm talking of course (again!) about all things Indiana Jones... So far, on the C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-54910100514094831022016-12-29T14:07:00.000+00:002018-07-02T21:18:52.841+01:00A good way to round-up the year: with a creative success!
A real year of living creatively!
# "When I'm deep inside of me, don't be too concerned... I won't ask for nothin' while I'm gone..." - Billy Joel
For the last couple of years here on the blog I’ve begun to journal about my efforts to move towards becoming a video editor in my day job and this month thanks to a recognised course with an exam at the end of it, happily, I’ve managed C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-66333674005607953712016-11-30T09:40:00.000+00:002018-06-03T14:27:01.363+01:00"If Adventure Makes a Sound..." ("Finding a Voice": Part-the-First!)
# “Have you seen me lately? I was out on the radio starting to change” - Counting Crows
Have you ever listened to a podcast? “Audio scribbling” is something I’ve dabbled with over the past few years here and there but for the past decade or so I’ve been listening to various podcasts – some put together by fans of films franchises like Star Wars and others made by established authors whoC.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-43371168152643928782016-10-31T07:17:00.005+00:002017-04-21T06:02:58.681+01:00VERY Spooky tales - FEAR of a blank page... (part 2!)
An exclusive tale from C.G.Allan's forthcoming first collection of short fiction...
"The Thirst for Knowledge"
by C.G.Allan
MY life has always been filled with questions. Most of them begin with "Why" and end with "me", but about three hours ago I was faced with a new, more profound question which has forced me to try to forget my own problems for the present moment at least.
It C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-8372771540620310982016-09-30T07:33:00.003+01:002017-07-30T13:35:01.421+01:00Fear of "the Blank Page"?# “I'm just staring at the ceiling, staring back at me…” # - Counting Crows
...illusive and always just lingering on the horizon...
There is a myth, that stretches back into the far reaches of time itself, into the annals of decades gone by, a legend so ingrained in our psyche that as writers, perhaps more so than the average person you pass on the street, it takes hold of our very core and C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-54759586494120522162016-08-30T07:28:00.003+01:002017-04-13T08:37:36.375+01:00"Isn't Life A Dream?"
# I must be looking for something, something sacred I lost... But the river is wide and it's too hard to cross... # - Billy Joel
Setting aside that larger metaphysical question that I’ve decided to title this post with (even though it’s a brilliant starting point for a story: are we actually existing within someone else’s dream or nightmare, even...?), the title words here actually C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-47838926034799538832016-07-29T07:44:00.000+01:002017-01-16T22:22:54.506+00:00The time has come, my friends, to talk of ALL these things... (10 years of the Writing Blog!)
# "I wish it was last September, so we could lose ourselves in crowds everyday..." - Ben Folds
C.G.Allan circa 2006!
2006 was a very good year… It was also a very different one too – and a vastly varied world to that of 2016. There was no instagram, Twitter was only just getting going and a younger scribbler C.G.Allan was only a year out of graduating from an MA in Creative Writing&C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-72420919665016645682016-06-30T07:55:00.000+01:002016-11-06T10:46:15.998+00:00"Unfinished Tales" and other "Talking Titles"...# “I am the entertainer, I bring to you my songs. I'd like to spend a day or two, but I can't stay that long…” # - Billy Joel
As a writer or just as a reader, I love the idea of ‘lost’ or unfinished tales of an author I’m particularly fond of. A little while ago I bought a copy of Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Narrative of John Smith which was billed as a “lost tale” of his and C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-91958295619421268832016-05-30T11:54:00.001+01:002016-10-17T13:30:30.924+01:00That "difficult" second novel...# "Birds fall from the window ledge above mine, then they flap their wings at the last second..." # - Cake
For a long time now, while I've been in the throws of drafting and redrafting my first adventure novel, I've been thinking about, talking about and even begun writing the first 7 chapters or so of a second, probably more ambitious novel.
Mysterious ruins...
I'm still on my "Road to C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-32705139383771122112016-04-30T13:14:00.000+01:002016-08-14T12:14:24.384+01:00The Creative Day Job...# “Who writes the pages of our life… in black and white?” – Adam Duritz
For a little while now, ever since moving more into the video editing, post-production side of things in my day job, (and had some minor success and praise) I’ve been meaning to start to build myself a creative “show reel”...
This is no mean feat, cramming what amounts to be several hours of full-length videos into a C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-78356780810589202922016-03-31T13:32:00.001+01:002016-07-18T07:15:05.254+01:00In tribute of a lost globetrotter...# If you’re going to San Francisco, you’re going to meet some gentle people there…” # - Scott McKenzie
Since I was young there’s been many figures in my family who’ve stood out and been influential on how my own personal universe has been shaped. I’ve talked about an unforgettable uncle on my dad’s side before called John but like every family I’ve had other people growing up who’ve C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-91785771165041233932016-02-29T07:39:00.001+00:002016-04-18T22:12:23.512+01:00"The SHORT short version"! (the 2016 Writing PREVIEW!)
# "Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there with open arms and open eyes, yeah... Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there, I'll be there..." # - Incubus
Once you get into a life of writing and start to read around your subject or listen out for sage advice from ‘those who are in the know’, you begin to hear things like “there’s only 7 stories in the whole entire world that just get told C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-79395875476780518782016-01-31T20:37:00.001+00:002016-04-12T13:33:23.391+01:00"12 Months Revisiting Childhood Dreams!" (the 2015 Writing REVIEW!)# "Tell us all a story about how it used to be... Make it up and write it down, just like history" # - Paul Simon
At the beginning of each year when I face down the new scribble year to come, I try to reflect on the previous 12 months of my writing – the highs, the lows and generally just celebrate the fact that I’m still alive and kicking as an amateur author(!) So here we go with the rundown C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-47092567610025776902015-12-30T20:07:00.003+00:002016-03-12T09:48:39.761+00:00Look to the horizon and... choose... wisely...
# "I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slower, makes you talk a little lower about the things you could not show her..." # - Counting Crows
I thought I’d end the year that was 2015 with a short post, reflecting on an aspect of my writing life that’s been on my mind a lot recently - and for me personally, it’s a biggie…
This year has seen me reach the last full stop on the C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-26037480551227701042015-11-30T07:25:00.002+00:002016-03-03T08:04:36.128+00:00Scribble thoughts for Autumn...# "You wanna be a writer, but you don't know how or when? Find a quiet place and use a humble pen" - Paul Simon
When I first got into writing, I thought I should surround myself with the tools of the trade - I bought myself an old typewriter (which I never used!) and had a few fountain pens (one was even inscribed with my name!) and ink cartridges (that inevitably leaked). Of courseC.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-24579713453566936212015-10-31T17:38:00.001+00:002016-02-23T12:26:20.112+00:00The Building Blocks of My Early Imaginings...# "I wanna move you, I wanna move you around..." # - Anya Marina
When I was about 7 years old, I remember being given a peculiarly-small Christmas present to open. I probably left it to last to unwrap because of its size amongst the plastic toy soldiers and Action Force figures (as well as the Star Wars vehicles) that sat alongside them under our Christmas tree. But it turned out C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-48156300304437850182015-09-30T22:43:00.000+01:002016-02-03T09:09:46.897+00:00A Summer of Cycling - Part the Final!# "All my life, watching America..." # - Razorlight
A couple of years ago, I began posting about another hobby that complimented my scribble addiction - my adventures in cycling are still rolling along, courtesy of a neat little folding bike and my more robust mountain bike.
I say that it complements my writing because I do hold firm to the belief that as well as spending lots of time at C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-22491703596817422722015-08-31T10:32:00.003+01:002016-01-03T14:00:05.526+00:00The Last... book I read!
# "Sail away with me, what will be will be..." # - David Gray
In my adult years, there's been one author who has been a constant on my reading shelf. He's one of the reasons I got into adventure writing and in 2015, he's also been the author who's gotten me to read more books in one year than any other. Ladies and gents, I give you my favourite living author - Bernard Cornwell.
C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-78817205270302778652015-07-31T19:26:00.003+01:002015-12-30T20:03:45.766+00:00Building the blocks of a Story...# "Some guy on the net thinks I suck, and he should know - he's got his own blog..." # - Ben Folds
Back in the dark ages that most people know as the mid-1980s, a primary-school aged C.G.Allan was hooked on a kids TV show called Look and Read. The show had a weird floating alien (or was he a robot?) presenter called Wordy and various story segments, including short serialised screen C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-35084182719198366712015-06-30T22:00:00.000+01:002015-12-07T10:40:34.536+00:00"Stateside Stories"...<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-11884467877734169772015-05-31T14:11:00.001+01:002015-11-15T11:20:49.605+00:00"Carriage Return" - the beginning of something brand new...
# "Adjectives on the typewriter, he moves his words like a prize fighter... The frenzied pace of the mind inside the cell" # - Cake
If you read my last post back in April, you'll get the sense that I rather like a good story title... The title of this blog post "Carriage Return" for instance, is one that's been rattling round in my head for a while during 2015... It's another of my 'C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-2699888595301346722015-04-30T18:20:00.000+01:002015-08-12T20:36:58.459+01:00On The Road To Publishville # 10 - "What's in a Name?"
# "On the road again... Goin' places that I've never been, seein' things that I may never see again, and I can't wait to get on the road again..." # - Willie Nelson
Over the past year and a half I've embarked on the epic task of writing a couple of different novels (one about some rather diminuitive people and the other about some rather more devious people) but as ever these stories areC.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-21915515556923881462015-03-31T16:28:00.001+01:002015-07-12T09:36:24.140+01:00In Search of my Inner Geek...
# "Hold it now and watch the hoodwink, as I make you stop, think... You'll think you're looking at Aquaman!" # - Barenaked Ladies
One of my more quiet ambitions as a kid who's never really grown up is to visit the San Diego Comic Con in the US... Now, I'm actually making a trip Stateside this summer but it's to the east side of that great continent, rather than the west, but over the past C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-39291631270761255742015-02-28T10:02:00.001+00:002015-06-25T16:44:26.936+01:00"Back to the Future PAST Part II"! (the 2015 Writing PREVIEW!)# "I'm lookin' high and low, don't know where to go, I got to double back, my friend. The only way to find, what I left behind - I got to double back again, double back again!" # - ZZ Top
Every Christmas my wife and I buy one new decoration for our tree. It's a bit of a tradition we started ever since we moved in together. (it's not a rigid tradition - sometimes we buy two and C.G.Allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00808352829587560572noreply@blogger.com0