So where did it all begin?

It's an obvious answer (and a boring one really ;-) - reading and watching other people's work (click Here for more them). After reading a really good Story or watching a good Film or TV Programme I would find my imagination would then take over - this could also be the case when I've read a not-so-good one, because I would then start thinking how I would have done it (better, the ego is a wonderful thing ;-)

So, over a number of years I've had these ideas knocking around with no real outlet. I'd tried writing them down, and later typing them on an old typewriter - unfortunately my writing and typing skills are not up to the task. Then came computers, word processors and, more importantly, Grammar& Spelling Checkers - what a relief! (for more on these click HERE)

The effects of these three opened up the doors to a lot of people (like me) who may never have got around to producing anything where others could read it. I think it's like the PUNK phenomenon - which basically announced that anyone could be in a band no matter how awful or talented they may have been, and a lot of us tried (see my Bass Guitar Pages for more)

Then Web Space appeared, the big breakthrough, and here I am. A Legend in my own Imagination, where I can delude myself in to thinking that thousands, if not millions, of people have visited there Pages and I have finally become that Cult-Underground-Anti-Hero that I'd always wanted to be (now how's that for imagination, eh? ;-)

What I have tried to do is create a Style of presentation that utilises the extra benefits of reading something Online. The use of Colours for different Characters Dialogue is one way in which I hope you can keep track of who said what, etc. it cuts down on the such & such replied, or so & so said this, which can make 'wordy' Stories feel like a chore sometimes.

I'm not sure yet how that will pan out when there are a multitude of Characters around, although, in theory, I should have around 250 Colours to choose from that are 'Web-safe' i.e. recognised as Standard by the majority of Browsers (for more on Browsers click HERE).

Another thing you may notice about D's Tales is that I have left out Physical Descriptions of the actual Characters. This is intentional and based upon the idea that I would leave it up to the reader to 'imagine' it for themselves. Whether it be the Characters Gender, Size, Colouring, etc. They are only included if there is a necessity to do so, e.g. in Comparisons there is a Young Child and a Teacher which was unavoidable in establishing the dynamics of their particular 'Scenes' beyond that it's up to you. Whereas the Minister and Planner do not need any further details other than their Roles and, again, the Hierarchy of their Interactions.

I am interested as to how this affects the Reader's Perspectives. Did you imagine the Character as Male or Female? How Old? What Colour was their Eyes? and so on. If you would like to Email Me with you thoughts on this 'philosophy' or any of the Characters I will be happy to hear from you. The main risk I run is that the Characters may appear impersonal and difficult to relate to, although I think this is down to other's to resolve for themselves. A plus is that you, the Reader, can put yourself as one of the Characters and no one can, with any authority, deny you that possibility :-)

I will confess that I have, as is natural, an idea of how I envisage them, although this does change from time to time - that saves a Rewrite :-) I am an idealist and I certainly think that we need to move away from Stereotypes. If you find yourself falling in to making Stereotypical Judgements on the Characters just try imagining them differently and see how it pans out.

I have my own Stereotypes which I keep a closely guarded secret - before anyone gets all worked up about it - I follow, as much as I'm able, a non-discriminatory policy when it comes to my writings whether it be in Print or even in Songs. Where I do use them is when I am trying to illustrate a point, for example, if I wrote a Song about Racism or Sexism then I may make reference to someone's Colour or Gender, even then I would endeavour to to find alternatives.

It is very easy to be discriminatory rather than treat each individual on their own merits, etc. I have found that I those who make the effort are generally better people for it. Those that don't may never realise what they are missing out on - the world is a big place (the universe even bigger!) anything is possible and everything is achievable if we just put in the effort and are honest (a bit preachy I know, however some still haven't got the message :-(

If anyone ever got around to Casting Actors (generic term) to play a Character from one of my Tales (it may happen ;-) it does leave the doors 'wide open' for anyone to have a go at it. This may or may not work because I have also felt the twinge of disappointment when something I've read has been shown on the screen and the Character portrayed is nothing like I've imagined them.

In the meantime, to allow everyone else to make up their own minds, I will not put my ideas down here. I think I have quite a progressive (and possibly unique-ish) perspective on this topic. I guess if somebody wanted to put any of my stories in a Show, TV, Theatre, etc. then I would like to be involved and my ideas will come to light. In the meantime, and being realistic, it is unlikely to happen - so guess away!

diffs

There is something I'd like to mention. When I original got my PC it had Works (4.5a) Software on it which contained both UK & US Dictionaries (US selected by Default), so far so good you might think, unfortunately it only had a US Thesaurus. Although I'm strongly in Favour of the Campaign for Plain English, this is not the way to go about it (unfortunately we'll probably all end up using 'American English' ;-( I know have Word (Office 97) which is a little more 'UK-friendly' although not entirely problem-free.

I think the main problem is, particularly in this time of Mobile Phone Texting, that the changes are coming around more due to laziness &/or sloppiness than a concerted effort to simplify a difficult language. With 'English' slowly becoming the World's Official Second Language it will interesting to see how things develop. As it is English is spoken more than it is written so as long as we can talk there's hope :-)

The easier (ish) Spellings like Color instead of the UK Colour is a useful step although it could be argued that it should be Culler or Culer - (well maybe not, we'd end up all sounding like Londoners or Aristocrats ;-)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the Stories & any comments about them. So go get yourself a Cup of Tea, or other refreshment, sit back & have a read.

Oh yes, don't forget to switch off the Auto Disconnect on Your Internet Dial - Up Settings ;-)