How to Start a Creative Project That Might Be Terrible

I take you through the very beginnings of a new creative endeavour, complete with insecurity and a lack of clarity.

I’m typing. That’s all that’s happening so far.

This is my new thing. My substack. A place where I will primarily be typing things and then sharing them. Sounds easy enough, right? After all, thousands of people do it and they make it look so easy. They press the buttons on their keyboard, words come out, and people consume their work.

For a while now I’ve been wanting a platform where I can share my ideas, views and knowledge. A place where I can talk about life as a writer and filmmaker - where I can also critique, review, gossip and chat about all things media - be it TV, movies, social media, news, and whatever else.

Now that I’ve started typing - the inner voice kicks in. The critic. The voice that questions who am I to type the words onto this page? How dare I have the confidence that anybody would want to read this? Hasn’t it been done before? Aren’t there already enough people doing this?

But then another voice comes into my head, and it’s more calm and assured. It tells me my voice here is useful, maybe even necessary. Why? because I’ve been relating less and less to so many things I see and hear in the world and I feel that this journey can help me reconnect, both with others and myself.

I have, throughout my career, found myself both on the inside and the outside of the media industry.

In my career I have written and directed award winning short films. I’ve directed some of the best upcoming actors in the UK film industry. I’ve written and directed comedy sketches that have been watched by nearly 200 million people. If that all sounds like a boast, wait until the next few sentences.

Because in this paragraph, I talk about how I’ve always been an outsider. I’ve never been commissioned by a film or TV company, never had a broadcast credit, never quite known where I fit in. I’ve never had a wad of cash invested in a project, I’ve never had the privilege of doing things on a big scale. Instead, I’ve been the guy who creates without the resources. If all I have is a pen, I write. If all I have is the phone in my pocket, I make a film with it.

That’s why this newsletter is appealing to me.

In various ways over the years, on different platforms, I’ve built an audience. I’ve found people who want to know who I am and what I have to say/create. As a creative writer and filmmaker, that was all I’d ever wanted.

Oh, and to make a living too.

Which is why social media fascinates me. So many of the old guard look down on TikTok, they think Instagram is for posers, they moan about vertical video. They fail to see that many of the most unique creative minds are flourishing on these apps.

I love movies, it was my first passion. But sometimes I might go two months without seeing a film. Other times, I watch four Denzel Washington movies in a single sitting. Rather than hide from my ever changing habits, I want to embrace them and talk about them.

If I’m watching films, I’ll talk about it. If I’m not watching films, I’ll talk about that too.

So, as per the topic of this blog, I am creating a new thing. It’s this thing right here; the very thing you’re reading.

And as with all creative things, I have no idea if it’s any good, I have no idea if you’ll care. I just know that I need to be here, to do this.

I’m me, you’re you. And I hope you stick around.