Category Archives: social media

Trolled on Twitter? Sorry, it’s your own fault.

7th May 2019 Dougie Brimson 18 Comments

As anyone who follows me on Twitter will know, I am a huge fan.

To me it’s a great source of both news and amusement as well as being a fantastic way to promote my books and well, what I do. Most importantly for me at least, it’s a great way to interact with both readers and football fans and it’s fair to say that I’ve made some great mates though twitter with I hope, many more to come.

However, I’ve also encountered some proper dicks over the years and received more than my share of abuse from all kinds of trolls. In recent months for example, besides the usual ‘shit writer’ fair I’ve been accused of condoning child abuse, being sexist, homophobic and racist amongst other things. None of which is particularly nice I’m sure you’ll agree but, and this is the crux of this whole matter, I know how to deal with it. And by that I mean me. Not twitter, not my ISP and not the police, but me.

And at the heart of that is one simple statement, ‘it’s not personal, it’s Twitter’.

The day you start screaming blue murder about something mean said about you by some anonymous idiot on a social networking site is the day your life begins to spiral out of control. No, it’s not nice to be accused of being a Nazi and I’m fairly certain that it’s not nice to read that someone wants to rape you or burn you alive but by reacting, you do exactly what the person who wrote it wants you to do. You give them power by taking them seriously. And power is all they’re after.

This is where people are getting it wrong when they claim Twitter should be clamping down on trolls because Twitter doesn’t have to. You do, as the individual. It’s called taking personal responsibility.

Would you walk down a dark alley in a dodgy area in the middle of the night? No. Would you leave you front door wide open if you went on holiday? No. You take appropriate action to protect yourself.

So why don’t you apply that same thinking when it comes to social media?

Ignore, delete, block. Those three words should be beaten into the brains of everyone who uses either Twitter or Facebook because those three actions place you totally in control of what appears on your feeds.

And if it’s not on your feed, why do you care? Seriously, why?

Social media isn’t like real life. If someone is bad mouthing you to colleagues at work, there are processes in place to deal with it. If you’re having trouble with neighbours, then you tackle it face to face or if it’s beyond that, involve the authorities.

But social media is nothing more than simple words. And unlike sticks and stones, they don’t break bones.

Yes, of course there are exceptions just as there are to every rule and yes, there will be instances where Twitter PLC or even the law should and must get involved. However, in the main it’s a personal choice to react, ignore, delete or simply hit either the mute or block button which Twitter already provide for you to use in just such cases.

If you don’t understand that and don’t accept that in many ways, Twitter is the greatest manifestation of free speech we have, then rather than scream blue murder about the need for censorship (yes, censorship) why not take total control yourself and employ the ultimate sanction, delete your account.

Because you do actually have that option at your disposal and speaking as a Twitter fan, if you do indeed think that social media is there to serve you and not the other way round, then I’d urge you to do just that.

I for one won’t miss you one bit.

@dougiebrimson

crew, violence, racism, racist, anal sex, oral sex, necrophilia, — The Crew. Still #1

I never get bored of saying this, truly, I don’t. A huge thanks to everyone who is keeping The Crew at (or very close to) the #1 spot on the Amazon and iTunes sports charts. We’re now approaching the end of our 10th year at the top of the tree which however you look at it, is quite something.

Top Dog is also sitting pretty as are most of my other titles which proves what I said years ago, that if you give people what they want as opposed to what you hope they might like, they’ll buy it.

Just in case you didn’t already know, all of my books and DVD’s are available from both Amazon and iTunes.

Further information at dougiebrimson.com

beer, lads, women, men, relationships, sex, love, romance, author, screenwriting, ebooks, self publishing, indie film, football, twitter, trolls, trolling, facebook, social media

author, books, ebooks, screenwriting, social media, writing

How to create believable characters (according to me!)

31st August 2018 Dougie Brimson Leave a comment

I was asked this morning how I come up with names for my characters and since I haven’t blogged for a while I thought it might be an idea to kill two birds with one stone by writing something about the process of creating characters and how I go about it.

It is important to stress from the outset however, that this is my process. As I’ve written many times before, I have never studied the craft of writing and so have no idea if there is a standard ‘way’ or not.

For me, character development is actually one of the most fun parts of the writing process because it allows me the opportunity to play god. Given that it’s fairly certain that he and I will not be meeting in the afterlife as I’ll almost certainly be heading south, it’s an opportunity I tend to relish for all kinds of reasons. Revenge being just one.

So, when a character makes an appearance in my psyche for the first time, be it in a novel or a screenplay, the process always starts with the same thing, the story. Be it tightly or loosely plotted, it is vital that you, as the writer, have some idea of the journey you’re going to take your creations on before you start actually putting them together. Once you have the bones of that, then you can start putting on the flesh. It is however, important to understand that to all intents and purposes, your characters must be real in every sense of the word. They must have histories, personalities, flaws and fears and it’s up to you, as the writer (god), to create those.

For me, the first stage of that process is to give each of them a name, a face and a voice. The name is the easier of the three because all it has to do it fit the individual and the world you want them to inhabit. Can you imagine Billy Evans being called Tarquin Selby-Green? Of course not, it would never work. Billy is short, sharp, blokey and slightly cheeky so it was perfect for the main man in both The Crew and Billy’s Log.

I also wanted the christian names to be short and punchy. Evans was my former agents name and Billy Evans rolls off the tongue. Simple as that. But in the past I’ve found names for my characters simply by scrolling through Facebook and finding something which I think fits.

However, whilst a name can be changed fairly easily, usually with a few clicks of a button, the face and the voice are far more important because as you spend increasing periods of time with these imaginary people, they will fairly quickly come to haunt your consciousness. Key to both of those are their appearance.

When a character first appears in your head, he or she will inevitably have a certain look and to stay with Billy Evans as an example, he was no exception. From day one he was medium height, stocky, dark haired and had a cheeky face. In essence, like any one of a hundred lads I know. I also knew immediately what I wanted him to sound like and so once I had the plot tied down, I went looking for him.

Oh yes, every character in everything I’ve ever written is based on a real person an in the case of Billy Evans, it was a mate. However, it could just as easily be someone famous who I may or may not have ever even met and I do that for a very specific reason. If I ever find myself struggling, I can either ring up that person or YouTube them. Trust me, it’s amazing how quickly and easily a quick chat or a short video clip can free up the mind and spark something off.

Of course, as work progresses the characters begin to take on lives of their own which is exactly as it should be but as a starting point, basing them on real people certainly works for me and in all honesty, that’s all I care about!

It has recently been commented upon that I have been fairly quite of late. This is not however, because I have been suffering from the mythical writers block not have I retired. Far from it.

In fact over the last year or so I have worked on three movie scripts (two of which have nothing to do with either football or criminals) as well as what could be an extremely controversial TV drama. Having thrown all of these into the commissioning pit over the last few weeks, I am now back working feverishly on the third book in the The Crew/Top Dog trilogy which is thankfully, heading toward completion.

More news of all of these as and when!

Exciting times!

@dougiebrimson

,Just in case you didn’t already know, all of my books and DVD’s are available from both Amazon and iTunes.

author, screenwriting, screenplay, green street, elijah wood, fart, farting, gangster, sex, oral, football, soccer, hooligans, author, indie, independent, self publishing, ebook

Brexit, politics, social media

Dear Labour Party… An open letter from a non-supporter.

4th May 2018 Dougie Brimson 5 Comments

* I wrote this blog in May 2018. In the wake of last nights election results, I thought I’d post it again because to be blunt, I nailed it. *

As you seemingly haven’t noticed, the last four attempts to get a vote of confidence in your party have resulted in the delivery of something of a kicking by the British electorate.

The most recent being yesterdays local government elections where traditionally, the party in opposition (that’s you apparently) have done quite well.

Inevitably, both the mainstream press and social media are currently full of how it all went horribly wrong for you yet as far as I’ve seen, no one has had the balls to call it as really it is, or at least how we non-Labour supporters see it.

So, as a 59-year-old bloke who has never voted Labour and probably never will, I thought I’d let you know why with a few simple bullet points which may or may not help.

One of the most important things you have to understand, and which a majority of your supporters seem incapable of grasping, is that calling people idiots, stupid or racist just because they don’t agree with you is counter productive.
Your supporters can scream, shout and protest all they like but unless you recognise that the silent majority are silent for a reason, you’re never going to get anywhere. UKIP might be finished as a political force but they cracked it when it needed cracking and you can learn a lot of lessons from them and how Nigel Farage did what he did.
Failing to grasp that the vast majority of people in this country are hard-working, decent, respectful, law-abiding tax payers who are sick and tired of you promising to prop up every other bugger but them is also counter productive.
You have some truly awful people in the upper echelons of your party. Your leader might be a lovely bloke but he has never once come across as a person I’d want to see at the helm of my country. However, he’s not the worst. The odious David Lammy takes that spot and every time he opens his mouth, it strengthens resolve against you. The vile and arrogant John McDonnell is not far behind him closely followed by the train crash that is Ms Abbott.
On which note, speaking as an armed forces veteran, your leaderships history of cosying up to the murders of the IRA whilst leaving our soldiers to the mercy of the courts continues to prove more damaging than you clearly recognise.
The anti-semitism issue is killing you, as it should.
Patriotism is not racist. It’s not even xenophobic. Stop making out that it is and show some faith in the UK and it’s people.
Banging on about issues such as the NHS, policing, defence and housing is fine if you provide properly thought out alternatives, but you don’t.
Similarly, promising to prop up the lazy and the feckless at our expense isn’t doing you any favours. Nor is pounding away at the rich when most of your MP’s and former ministers are sickeningly minted. Indeed, hypocrisy is never good so calling the government out on something when your history on that same subject is equally dubious is plain stupidity.
Immigration IS a problem too many people and most of those blame you. Many live in areas which traditionally vote Labour so if you want them to vote for you again, come up with a policy that recognises their concerns and deals with them in a way that isn’t defined by political correctness but by their reality.
Wheeling out a succession of champagne socialists to urge the electorate to vote for you merely underlines the ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentality which has divided your party. Eddie Izzard strolling around in a pink beret with freshly applied lipstick might attract a few headlines and appease the snowflakes but to the average working man (and woman) it’s embarrassing. Similarly, all the traitorous tool that is Alistair Campbell does is harden attitudes against those who took us into Iraq (i.e: your lot) and as for Owen Jones and James O’Brien…
Once in a while, take the government to task on an issue which the vast majority of the country would support you on. The madness of Overseas Aid is an obvious example.
Admitting you got it wrong once in a while is a sign of strength, not weakness.
Finally, like it or not, Brexit is going to happen and the majority of this country want it. Just as importantly, they want the PM to get tough with the EU, not bend over and let them screw us, again. So back the government and by definition, your country. Because not doing so is not only damaging to you, but were you to get behind the country, you might actually start to get the electorate on your side. Well, some of them anyway.

There you go. Hope that helps a little, but not too much obviously.

Best wishes

@dougiebrimson

Just in case you didn’t already know, all of my books and DVD’s are available from both Amazon and iTunes.

Further information at dougiebrimson.com

beer, lads, women, men, relationships, sex, love, romance, author, screenwriting, ebooks, self publishing, indie film, football, twitter, trolls, trolling, facebook, social media

Brexit, politics, social media

The remain camp is doomed to fail the Brexit battle, and it only has itself to blame.

18th February 2018 Dougie Brimson Leave a comment

I have recently been having some social media fun at the expense of the remain camp, or as they have come to be known, the remoaners. They really are a funny lot.

Indeed, playing with them is like a game of Twitter Tetris. You know what’s coming and at what speed, you just don’t know in what order it’s going to drop. It’s hilarious.

However, like any online game, what’s interesting to those of us who play it is how this one has evolved over time. For example, in the last week we have seen a marked shift from ‘we have to have a referendum because the polls say *insert fictional percentage here* have changed their minds’ to ‘we have to have a referendum so that we can draw a line under it’. It almost appears conciliatory, except of course, it isn’t. What it is, is desperate.

For the truth is that the remain camp are starting to wake up to an inescapable fact. Because ever since the referendum decision was announced and their anguished cries for a second referendum began, they have got it wrong. Very wrong. Indeed, to a man and woman, they have fought an appalling campaign on behalf of a second vote.

The big mistake they made was that from the outset, they refused to acknowledge that those of us who voted to leave the EU might have done so based on a legitimate opinion. Instead, they foolishly adopted the age old bully boy tactics of the left and went on the attack. From the bog standard ‘you idiots fell for all the lies’ to ‘you’ve stolen our future you racist bastards’ we heard it all. We’re still hearing it.

The problem was that we on the leave side didn’t bite. Instead, the collective 52% sat back and waited for something that never came, a coherent argument which might suggest to us that things might be better if we changed our minds. Instead, all we have seen from them is how much worse they are going to be when we leave. Thus, if we follow their thinking, our choice as Brexiters is more of the same or more of the same, only worse. And what kind of choice is that? Certainly not one which lends weight to their desperate plea that we should join their anguished calls to put it to the vote again.

Things might have been different had they actually engaged in a debate, but this of course, is exactly what they didn’t want because that, as previously stated, would have meant admitting that we might have actually voted for Brexit with our heads and not because The Mail told us to.

As a consequence, anyone brave enough to stick their head above the Brexit parapet will quickly find themselves under a vicious and sustained attack designed not just to shout them down, but to shut them down. And don’t make the mistake of thinking this is in the past, it’s still going on as I type this. In fact, it’s even worse because the truth of the matter is that the remoaners are the political equivalent of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and like the nations favourite doorsteppers, they don’t want to debate, they want to convert.

They even have their own hash tag (#FBPE which means ‘Follow back, Pro-European Union’) which effectively allows them to gang up on you almost immediately with each one liking or retweeting the others smug comments like playground cowards desperate to be liked. It’s hilarious.

Now, we are seeing the same kind of thinking with Donald Trump. This rabid minority, who view him as the very devil, are dominating the social media discussion about his forthcoming visit with promises to flood the streets not merely to protest, but to spew even more of their hatred. And true to form, if you post anything remotely pro-Trump, the troll pack will be on you like the dogs they are. So the debate is stifled. Again. Thus, their side is effectively, the opinion of the public.

Yet if you go out and actually speak to people, there is huge support for Trump in this country. Indeed, I suspect that a sizeable majority of the 52% in this country would love a leader who actually puts his country first and delivers on his promises. Dare to voice that opinion on Twitter and see what happens.

But their tactics aren’t working and ultimately, they can never work. The British are the most tolerant people on earth but anyone who knows anything about us will be aware that the silent majority don’t like being bullied. It might take some time to get us riled up, but once we’re there it’s game over.

And thanks to the stupidity and arrogance of the remoaners, we’re pretty much there.

Onwards.

@dougiebrimson

Just in case you didn’t already know, all of my books and DVD’s are available from both Amazon and iTunes.

Further information at dougiebrimson.com

army, navy, RAF, soldiers, homosexual, homophobia, muslim, hindu, sikh, jewish, men, women

politics, social media, terrorism

The Football Lads Alliance – Not right or left, just right.

8th October 2017 Dougie Brimson 1 Comment

You may or may not have noticed given the lack of coverage in the mainstream media, but on Saturday 7th October, well in excess of 30,000 people from all corners of these Islands marched peacefully and relatively silently, through the centre of London.

The Football Lads Alliance was on the move, and I am proud to say that I was one of them.

Inevitably, the movement has come under all sorts of attacks from all kinds of places but I’m not going to respond to them here because I don’t have to. Not because it isn’t my place, which it isn’t, but because I’ve always believed that once you step onto the back foot, you’ve already lost the battle. Especially when it comes to people who have been suckered into the ‘left is right and right is always wrong’ mantra.

I would however, like to talk about one aspect of this which rarely seems to be given any real attention and that is this: Using nothing more than social media, how did John Meighan, a relatively average Tottenham supporter manage to galvanise the world of football fandom to such an extent that supporters from every club in the UK and beyond were prepared to set aside rivalries and even outright hatred and walk together in almost perfect harmony?

The answer is actually astonishingly simple. He merely took the first step and offered a voice to the politically disenfranchised. As soon as he’d done that, success was inevitable.

For the truth is that what makes the Football Lads Alliance work is that it isn’t about right or left, it’s about right or wrong. That’s what appeals to the legions of people across this country who have just had enough. Not just of being ignored or even demonised by the established political parties, but of being taken for a ride. Indeed, it’s best summed up by this quote:

‘The alarm has been going off for a while but the ordinary working man kept pressing the snooze button until finally, he decided that he had to get up and go do his job.’

What underpins that, and the thing which in many ways describes the USP of the FLA, is the fact that it isn’t being helmed by a Corbyn or Farage type figure with a self-serving agenda but is instead, headed up by one of us. A working class man who shares our experience, our discontent and our belief that as a strong and growing collective, we are finally starting to develop not just a voice, but something else that has been suppressed for far too long; pride.

Indeed, the one word I heard over and over again on Saturday was proud. Proud of being there, proud of being a part of something and proud of being British.

What happens next is down to the main man but whatever, whenever and wherever it is, the message to the British government will be the same. Whatever the source, whatever the warped idealism or motivation, whoever the target and whatever the cost, the time has come for the authorities to stop pandering to the snowflakes and take the fight to the enemy in our midst. Stop them, whatever it takes.

I’ll be there, with tens of thousands of others. Front and centre, proud as punch.

@dougiebrimson

Just in case you didn’t already know, all of my books and DVD’s are available from both Amazon and iTunes.

Further information at dougiebrimson.com

benefits, politics, social media

50 common sense political policies to make Britain great again. Part Two.

19th July 2017 Dougie Brimson 2 Comments

Yesterday, in response to some of the madness that has been tricking out into the public domain lately, I posted the first half of my 50 policies that I would adopt were I to be placed in charge of this once great country. You can read this by clicking here.

However, before I post the remaining 25, I feel I must comment on something that hit the news yesterday and that is the subject of Gender Neutrality in adverts. The trouble is, I don’t know where to start because it is such absolute bloody madness that I had to check that yesterday wasn’t April 1st.

Quite why this country enables and allows these morons to dictate to us genuinely escapes me and if anything, it reinforces the idea that for the sake of the future of this country, we need someone to kick start a backlash against political correctness.

What really saddens me is that so powerful has this lobby become that no one in the public eye is prepared to stand up and call it out for the craziness that it is. Instead, they stay quiet and so the media fascists are able to railroad their agenda through without hinderance. And who suffers? Yes, we do.

It has to stop. It has to be stopped.

Here are the remaining 25 policies. Enjoy, and comment if you feel the need!

26. Make St. Georges Day a national holiday and adopt Jerusalem as the national anthem of England.

27. Have a genuinely English parliament in line with the other countries of the union.

28. Make it illegal for teachers to show political or religious bias in schools.

29. Properly fund the public and social services as priorities. They underpin this country.

30. Enforce the laws against illegal practices carried out on religious or cultural grounds.

31. Make repairing the roads an absolute priority.

32. Carry out an urgent investigation into where and how the money being raised by major charities is being spent.

33. Suspend all historic enquiries into the activities of our Armed Forces .

34. Ban the use of mobile phones in schools.

35. Anyone caught using a phone whilst driving should have it confiscated on the spot.

36. Anyone granted residency who commits a criminal offence requiring a custodial sentence within 5 years should instantly forfeit their British passport and face immediate deportation to their country of origin.

37. Anyone caught using a disabled badge illegally should have their car seized immediately.

38. Charge people for failing to attend NHS appointments.

39. Charge people for A&E services if their visits are drink or drug related.

40. Charge overseas lorry drivers for the use of our road network and put the money raised into the budget to fix the roads.

41. Any individual granted residency who shows an affiliation to any political or religious organisation dedicated to the overthrow of our nation and it’s democratic or Christian values should immediately forfeit their British passport and be deported to their country of origin. Their immediate family should also face the same sanctions.

42. If Sky TV move games at late notice, then they should be made to compensate the travelling supporters.

43. End the practice of having different rules for different countries in the union. Either we all have free prescriptions and tuition fee’s, or none do.

44. Air ambulances should not be reliant on charity and nor would they be. Same goes for the RNLI.

45. Anyone from overseas who serves or has served in HM Armed Forces would automatically have right to remain here for the rest of their natural lives.

46. Stop the practice of buy to invest by doubling the community charge bill for any properties left intentionally empty for more than three months. Properties left intentionally empty for more than 12 months would be seized for use by the local authorities for a negligible rent.

47. Make it a legal requirement for councils to house veterans as a priority.

48. Legalise the use of water cannon when necessary in the UK (and put dye in the water).

49. Make assaults on all public service workers a criminal offence.

50. Identify cases where political correctness is being used to pander to minorities and apply basic common sense to bring the country back from this liberalistic madness. For example, and as previously stated, the concept of ’gender neutrality’ is pure nonsense.

@dougiebrimson

As some of you may be aware, I’ve been beavering away on the sequel to Billy’s Log for some time now and am currently publishing extracts online in ‘Billy’s Blog’.

Please click here to visit and if you enjoy it, feel free to spread the word!

Just in case you didn’t already know, all of my books and DVD’s are available from both Amazon and iTunes.

Further information at dougiebrimson.com

beer, lads, women, men, relationships, sex, love, romance, author, screenwriting, ebooks, self publishing, indie film, football

football, soccer, social media, twitter

Is Twitter the force to clean up football? Hell Yeah!

1st May 2017 Dougie Brimson Leave a comment

As you may have noticed, I am a huge fan of social media.

I use for everything from promotion and research though to networking and talking bollocks with people I barely know.

Surprisingly, one thing I rarely use social networking for is talking about football. The main reasons being that I don’t really care too much what is happening at any other club than Watford and certainly have little or no interest in the day to day trivia of players lives or for that matter, their opinions. More importantly, I find if far too easy to get sucked into arguments and being the type of person who loves the last word, can find myself involved in pointless debates for days!

In truth, I actually find the whole idea of social networking quite ridiculous and like many things to do with the internet, I consider its prime function is to waste time and avoid facing up to the realities of life. However, it is an undeniable fact that social media does have real power and central to that is the ability to spread or even occasionally, create news. In that sense, Twitter is pretty much unrivalled.

I mention this here because this morning I have been reading the responses to last nights Match of the Day and in particular, the issue of diving which was a key factor in two of the games shown.

To a man, and woman, the response has been one of anger. Not merely at the guilty parties, but at the fact that the pundits on Match of the Day were so loathe to call it what it actually is, cheating. More importantly, there was an inference that the fault lie not with the player, but the referee for missing making the wrong decision.

Now let’s face it, we’ve all seen things happen in games which players have got away with simply because the referee missed them. And even though they will have been picked up by the TV cameras and shown later on, we also know that thanks to the stupid rules relating to retrospective action in regard of cheating, it is extremely unlikely that anything will ever be done by way of punishment.

But like most supporters I am sick to death of the diving and the cheating that is ruining the game I love and if the authorities, the clubs or the players union won’t do anything to stop it even though they know it is wrong, then maybe pressure from the fans will finally force them into action.

Just as importantly, if through the use of social networking fans are finally able to interact more directly with players, maybe they won’t be so quick to feign injury if they know that they are going to have to justify their behaviour to the people who pay their wages. After all, embarrassment is the biggest deterrent known to man!

There will of course be those who think this is the very worst of developments but in all honesty, I don’t care. For too long now we fans have been forced to sit back and put up with the demise of fair play and the shame that this disgraceful cheating brings onto the sport and by association, us.

If through social networking we finally have the chance to force football into bringing about a return to sportsmanship, that can only be a good thing for the game.

So let’s do it.

Finally, a lot of people have been asking about my next movie project and whilst Three Greens continues to head toward production, I can tell you that if all goes to plan, details of another movie I’ve been working on will be released at the Cannes Film Festival next month.

And that’s all you’re getting for now!

@dougiebrimson

Just in case you didn’t already know, all of my books and DVD’s are available from both Amazon and iTunes.

Further information at dougiebrimson.com

beer, lads, women, men, relationships, sex, love, romance, author, screenwriting, ebooks, self publishing, indie film, football, twitter, trolls, trolling, facebook, social media

social media, twitter, writing

Trolls and how to deal with them. Again.

29th April 2017 Dougie Brimson Leave a comment

My last blog on the subject of trolls certainly generated quite a response.

Most, admittedly, were in agreement with me in that the best, if not only way to deal with trolls is to adopt the ignore, delete and block approach. For in doing so, not only do you instantly deprive them of the one thing they crave which is attention, you also save yourself a lot of both grief and time.

There were however, a number of people who disagreed with me, some vehemently. To a man (although oddly, most seemed to be women) their argument was not based on the issue of hate crime, which is a very different issue, but was more about their own personal experience. And it was all along the lines of ‘if someone is abusing me, why should I be the one to leave?’ which is fair enough in one sense but totally bloody stupid in the other.

This isn’t rocket science folks. If someone is giving you grief, the only sensible thing to do is to distance yourself from that person and that principle applies as much to social media as it does to a dodgy pub on a Saturday night. The only alternative courses of action are to stand there taking it until someone comes along to deal with them for you or, assuming you have the balls to do it, you go nose-to-nose and respond in kind (although to be fair, as a veteran of many a troll war, trust me when I tell you that this approach rarely ends well).

Not surprisingly, when I made this point in response to those telling me I was mistaken, some of them not only continued to disagree but a few actually ended up becoming abusive. One even began to tag my agent into posts accusing me of being homophobic which obviously saw him instantly blocked for what was, ironically, fairly textbook trolling.

And there’s the rub folks. Yes, trolls are a pain in the arse but the simple truth is that absolutely anyone who uses social media can find themselves acting like one.

Not everyone however, is smart enough to understand that if a troll does latch on to you, all the power you will ever need to deal with them is simply a few key strokes away.

You can read my previous blog here.

And that’s all you’re getting for now!

@dougiebrimson

Just in case you didn’t already know, all of my books and DVD’s are available from both Amazon and iTunes.

Further information at dougiebrimson.com

beer, lads, women, men, relationships, sex, love, romance, author, screenwriting, ebooks, self publishing, indie film, football, twitter, trolls, trolling, facebook, social media

social media, twitter, writing

Offended on Twitter? Maybe the problem is you.

21st February 2017 Dougie Brimson Leave a comment

Twitter, as anyone who uses it will know, is a funny old place.

From genuinely household names to people who are little more than legends in their own minds, it plays host to every kind of character from every corner of this planet we call earth. And I love it.

It’s fair to say that I’ve met some brilliant people via the little blue bird and I’ve certainly sold lots of books. I’ve also obtained a reasonable amount of work and even achieved the odd thing of which I feel quite proud. But more than that, it’s a huge source of entertainment.

From football to films or military to moron, there isn’t a subject or issue imaginable which isn’t being talked about at the exact moment you log in and want to talk about it. And in an age which is being increasingly dominated by Brexit and Trump, it has become the perfect place to poke and prod the opposition both for sport and for personal gratification. I mean, what’s not to like about that?

There is of course, a flip side. There are some seriously deluded people out there and if you let it, Twitter can eat up time like nothing else on earth. Not so good when you’re a writer on a deadline, not so bad when you’re bored and there’s nothing on TV.

It’s also troll heaven but as long as you know how to deal with them and understand that most are too stupid to realise when they’re being mocked, they can actually be great fun. They certainly make me laugh.

But at the end of the day, Twitter is whatever you want it to be. Toy or tool, whatever works for you.

Just take it seriously at your peril.

@dougiebrimson

My numerous books including the football comedy Wings of a Sparrow and the #1 thrillers,The Crew and Top Dog are available from both Amazon and iTunes.

Please click on the relevant link for more information.

Amazon, ebook, kindle, social media

How to beat an online troll.

15th August 2016 Dougie Brimson 3 Comments

amazon, itunes, ebooks, author, brimson, football, soccer, troll, bullies — An Amazon troll.

Much is being made about the subject of trolls this morning and as someone who has endured their fair share of troll wars over the years, I thought it worth exploring one aspect of this issue which rarely receives any mainstream media coverage. The issue of the amazon trolls.

Now I love Amazon, it’s amazing. Not simply for the fact that it offers brilliant prices on just about everything but because it’s where I sell most of my books. Not just in the UK either, but around the world.

However, my favourite online retailer does have a dark side and it is one which all authors need to be aware of; the forums.

As an idea of course, a place where readers can talk about books is brilliant. Not just to enhance the experience of readership but also because a lot of people like to support authors and promote new ones which is not something to be sniffed at. Conversely, it is also a great way to let people know that you might not have enjoyed a particular book as well as hopefully, providing an explanation as to why. This however, is where the problems can sometimes arise. Primarily because of the trolls who lurk there.

Now I always advise authors to avoid responding to reader reviews and especially to comments for the simple reason that reviews are an individual’s opinion and are generally posted for the benefit of other readers. And whilst they can be incredibly useful to authors for all kinds of reasons, they are not written for them/you/me.

There are obviously exceptions to that, the primary ones being to thank someone who has been particularly complimentary or to point someone who has loved a book in the direction of a sequel if such a thing exists. However, when someone posts something negative, be it about the story, the writing or even the grammar, whilst the natural instinct is to respond, it is imperative that you avoid the temptation and instead, bite the bullet and take it on the chin. If you don’t, you potentially open yourself up to a world of pain for nothing excites the amazon trolls more than a sniff of a stroppy author.

As a result, before you know it, you could find yourself under attack and those attacks can very quickly get very personal. They can also become relentless as the literary trolls are prone to hunting in packs. Don’t think they will confine their activities to Amazon either. Oh no, upset the trolls and they’ll fairly quickly be rubbishing you on Goodreads, Facebook and even Twitter. And those attacks can go on for weeks, months, even years.

Indeed, so bad can they get that they don’t just damage the book, they can easily undermine the reputation and even confidence of the author. I know of numerous writers who have actually withdrawn their books from sale simply because they can’t handle the abuse they’ve received. Occasionally, they have got so bad that the police have had to become involved.

Quite what drives these people on escapes me. Although I suspect both jealousy and sad, empty lives have a lot to do with it. However, to delve into the psyche of these bullies gives them exactly the kind of power and importance that they crave so it’s far better to simply laugh them off, ignore them and simply keep churning out good solid work. Because ultimately, that’s what they want to stop you doing, which is ironic given that they all claim to love books.

Dougie Brimson is the author of 15 books, the bulk of which are now available as eBooks. These include the thrillers, The Crew which has held the #1 slot on its Amazon chart for approaching 5 years and is now FREE, its sequel, Top Dog, which is also an award winning movie and the new football comedy, Wings of a Sparrow.

Details of all books as well as links to buy can be found by clicking here!

As anyone who follows me on Twitter will know, I am a huge fan.

So why don’t you apply that same thinking when it comes to social media?

I have recently been having some social media fun at the expense of the remain camp, or as they have come to be known, the remoaners. They really are a funny lot.

And thanks to the stupidity and arrogance of the remoaners, we’re pretty much there.

‘The alarm has been going off for a while but the ordinary working man kept pressing the snooze button until finally, he decided that he had to get up and go do his job.’

As you may have noticed, I am a huge fan of social media.

My last blog on the subject of trolls certainly generated quite a response.

Twitter, as anyone who uses it will know, is a funny old place.

The official blog of author and screenwriter Dougie Brimson www.dougiebrimson.com