Creativity Takes Courage by Jess Brown

Now we are on the countdown to the Twisted 3 launch event, I have been reflecting on what this ‘come back’ has meant to me.

Having dabbled with previous screenwriting Create 50 projects, I remember spotting the Twisted 50 vol. 1 competition back in 2016.  I did English and Film at university but in my final year I specialised in creative writing as that is what really ignited my passion. My Uncle Richie was always my inspiration and together we’d spend hours crafting weird and macabre stories whilst chatting on the phone. We decided to motivate each other to write entries for Twisted 50, become part of the feedback community, and to our delight we both were successful in being selected for the first book.

Since then, I have been published four times and Twisted: The Final Chapter, will be my fifth. What was different this time was that my Uncle Richie was no longer there to collaborate and brainstorm with. He sadly passed away suddenly in 2020 and I hadn’t found the strength to write anything since he died.

Seeing Twisted gave me the courage to climb out of my creative void and remember my passion for writing. It helps that I’ve made some friends in the process, and some reached out to me to offer support (special thank you to Chris Stanley!)

Thanks to this community, I feel like I’m getting back to myself again. Richie will always be sorely missed but hopefully I can channel elements of his brilliance (and strangeness!) through my writing.

Thank you, Chris Jones and the Twisted community, see you all in February and let’s raise a glass to my Uncle Richie.