Hello, I'm the Doctor or 'David Tries Being Productive'

This will turn into a mini-biography, I apologise for this!

My post uni life has always been a source of great concern for me. I've never really been sure about what I want to do with this life of mine! Since I was very little I've wanted to write books for a living. I used to go round my granddad's house and he'd staple pieces of drawing paper together for me so I could write stories. I remember writing a few pages of a book called 'The Secret Island' happily cross-legged in his front room. (I also remember him telling me there was a secret trapdoor under a creaky floorboard which I now realise was actually just a creaky floorboard but still.) I maintain after many years Lost stole my idea and promptly screwed it up in it's last season!

Anyway, writing stories has always been far and away my favourite past-time, I'm sure if I'd been more into playing football or music I'd have had a few more girlfriends in my life, but I've always jumped at any opportunity to write a story. I used to love creative writing in primary school, and loved reading stories out at the front of the class. They were probably all the same now I look back; some kind of James Bond meets the Famous Five extravaganza with car chases and lost treasure. 

I am very pleased to inform any reader therefore (with a certain amount of trepidation, knowing the harshness of the industry I so desperately want to be a part of) that my novel; 78,000 words which took me my entire childhood to get perfect, is currently being read by a literary agency and a publisher! A privilege not many people get. 

It's taken me a long time and many lonely hours to realise however, that you don't get published sitting in your bedroom tapping away at your computer. For so many years I was fed up with education and I took a gap year because I just adamantly refused to go to uni. An extremely lonely year which left me pale, skinny and ill-looking later I realised I did want to. One lecture in I found my love of learning rekindled, something I think I lost halfway through my GCSEs when I really started hating school for reasons nothing to do with what I was learning.

I think I could read as soon as I could walk (small exaggeration perhaps). I always remember my mum telling me that I wanted to learn things even before school, to read and write etc, and I carried that through primary school achieving many gold stars in Mrs Weatherley's year 5 class. And earning a trip to Eurodisney for getting commendations in Year 7! Nerd I hear you cry, but I feel now at the age of 21 I can be proud of this. And proud of being a nerd, and a geek, and all things associated. It's quite sad this was sapped from me in my latter secondary school years, but I'm very much glad that it's 100% back at the most important time.

I'm a firm believer that meeting people and a good group of friends can get you anywhere in life. I happened to take Irish Literature at uni, which I love so much I'm now looking into an MA which includes it as a module. Not only that but sitting in on my Irish lectures was a literary agent, the same literary agent who is now hopefully reading my book laughing and remaining attached to the edge of her seat.

The only way to get published in this world I firmly believe is through meeting the right people, and university has given me just this. The best friends in the world and the very best most inspiring group of lecturers and just general people I have ever come across. Where do I start? Do I tell you about the husband and wife linguistics expert lecturing team who should have their own sitcom? Do I tell you about the dry, intelligent dandy with the Hugh Grant haircut? The creative writing lecturer, the published author with the look of the mad scientist? The jack of all trades bouncy irishman/Beatles expert/general happiest man in the universe? Or my personal favourite, the jolly father christmas lookalike who proclaimed in a tragedy lecture that the Cenci by Percy Shelley was a 'fucking awful play!' I kid you not, he literally walked in and proclaimed it before greeting us with a cheerful 'morning gang!' And a fucking awful play it really is.

It's because of these people that I now want to learn everything I possibly can about the subject I love so much. It's only really occurred to me in the last hour or so that I want to be like them. I want to be the person at the front of the lecture hall inspiring people. I don't know why but that just sits right with me. I'm even excited about dissertations! I totted it up and between now and the end of the PHD I'll have to do, I'll have to write round about 150,000 words! Do I mind? Of course not! I'll be studying (hopefully) in London, the greatest most diverse city in the world, becoming an expert in things which appeal to me. All the while trying to get my own personal work published. Imagine the thought of having a dissertation or a PHD paper published! This is my dream and I will come out of this university with a first. 

And when I finish my PHD I'll say (rightfully) 'Hello I'm the Doctor' in my very best David Tennant impression and I'll be a happy man.

Go on, leave a comment, you know you want to.