Plan Z with Stephen Hudson

Many years ago I went on a course where the speaker asked those present in the room whether they enjoyed dentistry or not. Only 20% of those present responded that they did, and at the time, I was one of those 20%.

As the years progressed, my love for the job began to wax and wane, and a series of health issues brought forth the reality that I needed to re-evaluate where I was in my life.

I now find myself taking a sabbatical from dentistry with the very real prospect I might not return.

It was during this journey through my inner turmoil that I awoke one morning with an image burned in my thoughts. Picture yourself sat on a yacht at sea, and on the distant horizon you can see an aircraft carrier. From that one moment, the seeds of a book were formed. Now many of you are thinking, “how can that lead to writing a book”. Well there is a thought process that follows. What is the aircraft carrier doing there? Who are the people on the boat? Why is this happening?

Now I know that many writers will disagree with me, but from my perspective, this is how books are formed. And no matter what the different variations, hundreds of thousands of people have had a similar moment in their lives. A door opened a fraction of an inch, enticing them to kick that door in, screaming “I’M HERE”. The problem is, the majority of people don’t take that action. They let the door close, because they are too busy, too full of doubts, too wrapped up in the trials and tribulations of life. The world’s greatest novels have probably never been written.

The thing is, when you get that chance, when the path of your life threatens to veer off on a different course, and you take the leap of faith, things start to happen. Unseen forces come to your aid, I truly believe that. And I’m not just talking about writing fiction. As Napoleon Hill said repeatedly, the seeds of your ultimate success come wrapped up in impossible situations. We as human beings need to be able to see these challenges for what they are, opportunities for growth, for learning. If it doesn’t kill you, it can make you become a better person, if you let it.

I write under a pseudonym called “Sean Deville”. The reason being was originally due to fear. Fear of the GDC (would they feel I was bringing the profession into disrepute?). Fear of what others will think. Fear of what my patients will think. Fear of my thoughts and literal fantasies being rejected. Although criticism is an essential part of the learning process, it is not something that I accept easily. So at the beginning I hid behind the façade as most writers initially do. You see, what I write isn’t to everybody’s taste. I write rather explicit horror fiction, the present manifestation being a zombie trilogy that sees the world ripped asunder.

The beauty of writing is we now live in a world where anyone can publish a book. I was fortunate enough to find a publisher, but more and more authors are having huge success through self-publishing, using social media and the power of the written word to get their message out. Conversely that also means that the world of literature is now awash with novels that are rarely read, especially on kindle format. Everyone now has the power to put their thoughts on paper.

But to write a book you have to do it and not just think about it. You have to commit to getting those words out, and then you have to refine what you have written. For me I couldn’t not do it, the story had to be told and I hope those who read it will enjoy my somewhat warped version of reality I have concocted. You don’t even have to be a brilliant speller or have a degree in English literature. Because once your Magnum Opus is complete, you can go on www.freelancer.com and pay someone to cross all the I’s and dot all the t’s.

I’ll tell you what I believe though. If it feels like a chore, if sitting in front of that PC or laptop doesn’t cause your heart to sing, writing might not be for you. You reach a moment where your whole being is consumed by what you are doing, where the thoughts fly off onto the computer screen with an ease and a fluidity that sometimes scares you.

Because our lives are stories. Some people are there to guide the way, to be the inspiration. Others are there to be warnings, examples of the frailty and the failure of humanity. And every one of us, whilst we are alive, get to choose which of those we will be. Despite the cruise missiles that regularly rocks our lives, we get to be the authors of our own destiny.

Writing became, what I call, my ‘plan B’, or if you prefer my ‘plan Z’! As the regulatory and litigious burden became a weight rather than an irritation, I began to feel that dentistry was perhaps becoming a young person’s game. Now that I’ve had to take time off due to illness, I have turned to my ‘Plan Z’ to fill my time and maintain my bank account. And as the days pass by, I more and more feel that writing is my true calling. I was and am good at being a dentist, but it is not my identity. I was not a dentist; I was just someone who did dentistry. Your own Plan B can be anything you know. And it is your insurance against the unthinkable happening. You don’t get in the car with the intention of being in a car accident, but you have insurance all the same. Things happen, and you need to have a foot in the door to lead you down a different road should your circumstances change. Start now because you want to, not when you are forced to. I was perhaps fortunate to not have to fight through the initial poverty that many authors face. But conversely, perhaps that’s what took me so long to pull my finger out!

The American poet Charles Bukowski once said “You should find what you love to do….and let it kill you.”

The first two parts of the Sean Deville post apocalyptic trilogy, “Cobra Z” and “The Contained” are now available from Severed Press. They can be purchased in both Kindle format and paperback from Amazon.co.uk

Dr Stephen Hudson BDS, MSc, PGD Med law…aka Sean Deville.