My name is Silas. I'm a Film Director, a writer - a Storyteller

An introduction

Who Am I? Why should you read anything I write?

I was always in love with storytelling. I remember writing my first story at 7—it was about a pencil who came to life and had adventures around my house. I loved endowing inanimate objects with life and daydreaming about what they would do. (Consequently, my young mind was annoyed at Toy Story because they somehow stole my idea, lol!)

Since 9, I wanted to be a novelist, and I was more concerned with borrowing books from the library about how to write a book than I was with reading someone else's. Although, I was in love with Star Trek and wrote my own Star Trek fan fiction—before I even knew what fan fiction was.

When I had siblings (I’m the oldest of 8), I enjoyed telling them freestyle adventure stories on stormy nights (I shared a bunk bed with my brothers, so they were more or less a captive audience). When we played with toys, I couldn't stand not having a serial storyline. All our toys had characters, roles, and backstories. The narratives were adventures leading to grand battles, societies in turmoil (no, I’m not kidding), and character tales. Every new toy brought in had to be initiated into the world with a story (again, enter my frustration with Toy Story as a kid). The genre was always some sort of science fiction and fantasy, all very serial...and it actually did conclude in a climactic, world-shattering event coinciding with a series of real-life traumatic moments that ultimately ended what would be considered my childhood (but both of those are stories for a different time).

Eventually, my love for story found its way into film. Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Narnia—all worlds that exist both in literature and film—appealed to me. But it was watching behind the scenes of The Matrix (the best one) and Star Trek, and listening to George Lucas, that sparked the thought: “Somebody makes these worlds for real! I want to be that guy.”

And from there, a dual journey began. My dream was to become a writer/director/worldbuilder.

As I pursued the craft academically, my taste expanded and became more "sophisticated," extending into different genres, modes, and forms of art. My artistic vocabulary vastly expanded. I studied every avenue of technique in story crafting—every aspect of theatrical production, film production, media production, from the creative to the technical. I took to the stage (that’s a whole story in itself), built sets, pricked my fingers sewing wardrobe, studied music—I touched everything, all of it, with my own hands. Post-graduation, I started a theater company, wrote short films, plays, directed, produced, made music videos, documentaries—and finally started to craft the worlds and tell the stories I daydreamed of as a kid.

That brings us to now. Making films costs money and time. A story in my mind can take years to come to fruition visually. And let me make this clear—I am a filmmaker, but I am a storyteller at heart. This Substack is my attempt to bring my loves together. It’s unconventional, I know. Folks who read novels don’t care that much for screenplay format, and folks who love movies don’t necessarily like reading books. But this is my heart, and I want to create a place for lovers of story, no matter the vehicle, to find stories worth reading. You’ll find both and all here. We’re in a time of media convergence—the lines are being blurred. I feel like that’s always where I’ve lived. So now is the time for me not to care about the lines. You might get a film script, a radio drama, a rant, a chapter of a book, a short story, a whole novel. This is the place where I express all of it. And I hope you can find value in it.

And So…Welcome to my Substack!

Every week, I’ll be sharing pages from the pilot episode of my series Attrition, along with "lore pages" that dive deep into the world I’m building. In addition, I’ll be posting chapters from my upcoming Future-Fantasy novel, available as drafts. This is where you’ll get to follow the story’s development in real time — some chapters might even be rewritten as the journey unfolds.

Once we hit 300 paid monthly subscribers, I’ll launch a Community Story. I’ll start the story, but your engagement and input will help shape its direction. It’s all about building a collaborative storytelling experience.

As a filmmaker first, my goal is to create an audience of readers who share in the stories I love to tell. My work is imaginative, evocative, and always grounded in a blend of deep imagination and reflective thought on the world around us. Thank you for joining me on this journey — I can’t wait to share it with you!

AI Ethics Statement

I want to be transparent about how I use AI in my creative process. I do not use AI to generate stories, ideas, prose, metaphors, or any other literary techniques. I don’t use AI for voice either. My commitment is to authentic, human-driven storytelling. The fundamental task of a narrative writer is to craft these elements, and they should not be subverted by AI.

I do use AI for proofreading and creative research, but always with the intention of improving my personal skills as a writer. While AI tools may assist in refining language, the majority of the proofreading process is still led by human hands — I’m surrounded by talented writers and creatives who help shape my work.

My inspiration comes from living, experiencing, and allowing my mind to explore freely. I do not rely on AI for inspiration; that remains deeply personal and rooted in my own experiences and reflections.

I'm still growing as a writer, and my goal is to become a master craftsman with words (though I know this is a long road ahead). I believe relying too heavily on AI is fundamentally destructive to that process and undermines the very essence of literature, which is rooted in the human experience.

AI may occasionally be used for images, but these will always be indicated as such. Any AI-generated visuals are only a temporary solution until I can afford to commission work from true visual artists.

But let’s be totally fair, like everyone else — I do use AI for embracing tedious clerical tasks like writing frivolous emails or quick-and-dirty descriptions. I know there are skills to develop there, but I’d rather spend my time daydreaming about new things to write than trying to figure out how to best word a “per my last ****ing email.”