Review | Alan Moore Storytelling course on BBC Maestro
Writing lessons from a genius: Alan Moore Storytelling course on BBC Maestro. Photo credit: BBC Maestro.
In a world of writers, Alan Moore’s talent shines above so many others. His body of work is an inspiration for the next generation of artists, filling our heads with a roadmap of exciting possibilities. In his over forty-year career, Moore has broken ground with screenplays like The Show and experimental works of literature like Jerusalem and Voice of the Fire. But he’s most popularly known for his work in comic books, including the genre-redefining Watchmen, as well as other highly regarded stories like V for Vendetta, From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, many of which were turned into films. His earliest work includes Swamp Thing, which was a throwaway character for DC Comics at the time. Moore took old Swampy on a trippy, transcendental journey unlike anything done in comics before, beautifully marrying the world of superheroes with the style of pulp horror comics I’d fallen in love with as a child. It blew me away then. It blows me away now. The man’s talent is a force of nature, and his work on Swamp Thing inspired me to become a horror writer myself.
Can you blame me, as I struggle to make strides in this business lo these many years later, for hoping to steal even a smidgen of that talent for myself?
The skinny on BBC Maestro
When I heard about the on-demand “Alan Moore on Storytelling” course available on BBC Maestro, a horde of rampaging supervillains couldn’t keep me from signing up. For $90, I received access to a nearly seven-hour glimpse into Moore’s unfettered genius, delivered by the artist himself. BBC Maestro, if you haven’t heard, is basically Masterclass for Brits. Masterclass, if you haven’t heard, is basically YouTube for bougie folks like me. For a fee, subscribers get to learn about various crafts through instructional videos taught by the cognoscenti of those fields. The instructors are really highbrow characters. Actors. Chefs. DJs. You know, those types.
For a few hours each day for the better part of a week, I tried to soak up every iota of Mr. Moore’s lessons, absolutely mesmerized.
Moore is no ordinary writer
The uninitiated might be thrown off by Moore’s appearance. He doesn’t look like a writer at all, more an aging rock star. A deluge of wiry gray hair tumbles about his shoulders. A bushy beard surges from under his chin like a Brillo pad on steroids. He dresses like the ringleader at a carnival: a burgundy velvet jacket over a casual tee, scuffed black boots, and bright striped socks peeping out from the hem of his faded jeans. For thirty-four delightful installments, Mr. Moore dispenses wisdom about writing topics like character, place, and structure from the comfort of a vintage armchair, a king’s magician sharing his secrets with an apprentice.
It was especially fascinating to hear the lengths Moore goes to for his stories. How he role-played as “The Demon” Etrigan in Swamp Thing to find a proper cadence for the character, including Etrigan’s sinister growl. How he created a specific language for a neolithic youth in Voice of the Fire using only five hundred words and one tense. (“A-hind of hill, ways off to sun-set-down, is sky come like as fire, and walk I up in way of this, all hard of breath, where is grass colding on I’s feet and wetting they.”) How he researches obsessively to make a time period feel authentic. In his latest graphic novel Providence (click for review), a Lovecraftian horror epic set in the 1920s, Moore’s research included details on specific news events like a police strike, the weather on specific dates, and even phases of the moon!
Is Alan Moore a warlock? Take a look at his rings and decide for yourself.
Humor & magic
There’s a lot to take in, yes, but when Alan Moore is your host, there’s never a dull moment. His passion for writing is infectious. It’s evident in the twinkle in his eyes, the intonations in his loud, commanding voice. He’s an exemplary performer too, as proven by his dramatic readings of two poems written over the years, one of which, “Cometh the Mandrill”, gave me chills. He’s deeply funny, too, with a sharp, dry wit that pops out at the most unlikely moments. At one point, Moore offers a warning to future writers. “I want you to look at this face,” he says, in his rich Northampton drawl. “Look at all of these carven wrinkles, these haunted eyes. This is what a human face looks like after forty years of writing.” Despite his genius, one wonders if Moore is not pulling our collective legs sometimes, especially when he takes credit for singlehandedly creating gangster rap with a poem he wrote in the 70s, “Old Gangsters Never Die”. He performs it here, and it’s lovely. You be the judge if his claim is true.
In the companion notes that accompany your purchase to the course, Moore introduces himself as a writer—and a warlock. While the second part of this claim sounds like it’s meant simply to shock the audience, it isn’t. Moore has long been open about his practices in the arcane arts. One has only to observe the ornate silver rings on most of his fingers to understand he isn’t joking; they bear all kinds of wild occult symbols. Indeed, a couple of episodes specifically liken the craft of writing to the art of spell-casting. Whatever his beliefs, there’s no denying Moore’s talent for enchanting the senses with his gifts. His stories—and his storytelling skills—are nothing short of magic.
Ready to sign up, aspiring writers? Get started now on BBC Maestro.
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