One of the first project I ever embarked on was a comic book series about a superhero called Mr. A (the A is for Awesome), where he’d download super powers from the internet and install them to himself via a USB cable that plugged into his belly-button.
I must have been about eight years old when I created Mr. A, but little did I know that it was the start of a lifelong obsession with creating stories—that, and technology. Throughout my life, I’ve flitted between three core creative outlets: writing, music production and technology.
You’ve Got Raspberry Pi On Your Face
Whilst technology might not seem an obvious area of creativity—and, trust me, as a project manager who works in tech, sometimes it can feel like a creative drain—tech is the ultimate driver of creation.
You can build software, video games, mobile apps, utilize existing software to write books and create music. For my teenage-self, however, it was the Raspberry Pi. If you don’t know what this is, it’s a basically a tiny computer.
Amongst all the things I made with the Raspberry Pi—a retro game emulator, a media centre, a home server—I was most proud of V.I.C or Very Intelligent Computer. (I was onto AI way before OpenAI!) V.I.C allowed you to have basic (pre-programmed) conversations, set alarms and play music.
Most interestingly, I attached a small LCD screen to the Pi to show the face of Holly from Red Dwarf. Then, utilising text-to-speech technology, whenever V.I.C spoke, Holly’s mouth would clumsily open and shut.
Speaking of tech, I also ran a website call “Funny Works” when I was in primary school, where I learned how to use embedded code to implement mini games.
Still unsure that technology is a creative outlet?
Writing: My Love
As I got older my interest in technological creation faded, especially after secondary school. I became much more interested in film, writing and music—the arts. In a way, I was embarrassed by my nerdy interest in the Raspberry Pi and it wasn’t something I wanted to showcase as I entered real-life.
Now, I don’t care. I’m an adult with a fiancée, a house and a baby on the way. I’m comfortable with myself and my curiosity and I want to explore every idea that comes my way. I also want to show my child the importance of creativity and give them the freedom to build no matter their interest.
Still, I mostly favour writing as my creative outlet. Not only is it free, requiring no pre-requisites to get started, it’s also the most rewarding creative endeavour. There is no feeling quite like pulling a coherent narrative together out of jumbled thoughts and mismatched notes. And then people read your work and literally enter your world!
What Am I Working On?
I could ramble on about the nature of creativity and my time with different mediums for pages—I haven’t even got to music yet—but this is supposed to be an introductory article. So, let’s move onto what I’m working on and discuss a little about why I’m here.
My two biggest focuses currently are my upcoming book, Keep Your Head: How to Survive as Henry VIII’s Wife, and a consumer-facing electronic device which I don’t want to go into detail about just yet.
I will be talking about Keep Your Head and giving regular updates on its progress and availability, but I’m not here for promotion.
Why Am I Here?
I’m here because I need another outlet. I’m brimming with ideas and I want a place to discuss my thoughts—a place where I can take a break from the multiple projects I’m working on and write without pressure. So, these posts will probably be sporadic.
In particular, I was inspired by Adam Savage’s book Every Tool’s a Hammer to start this newsletter. He made me realise something profound: whilst for the last umpteen years I’ve considered myself a writer, that’s not true—I’m a creator.
Although I might prioritise my writing, I’m constantly coming up with ideas and creating across a variety of disciplines. For instance, I’ve recently started making my own jam and not so long ago I was whittling chess pieces; I’m also considering creating a mobile game.
This is my biggest weakness. I’ve got too many ideas, so I often veer off track from one project to another. Hopefully, writing about my projects here helps me stick with them.
If you’re interested in following my creative journey and maybe learning a thing or two, go ahead and subscribe. I’ll be posting personal blogs, creative debates, reviews, guides and explainers (probably all with spelling and grammatical errors—I don’t want to get bogged down by editing).