Introducing the Author RYAN OL

My Writing and 'Authoring'...

I began writing my first novel in University, driven by the thrill as the newly created reality unfolded, whilst enjoying the pleasures of various styles of expression.

A commission writing the introduction and articles for a UN Habitat Conference revealed the soul satisfying combination of spiritual equilibrium combined with the pure thrill of writing creatively. Literally the most exciting experience of my life, which astounded me, considering the very full extent of the lives I have lived.

Later, when becoming more serious about earning from creative writing as a primary source of income (rather than business writing engaged in as an on-going adjunct to my other business roles), I also became more serious about learning how to write creatively for commercial success. This self-taught process, learning ‘how-to’, has continued from the mid 1990’s to the present.

Spontaneous creative writing in a wide range of formats from poetry, lyrics, ad-copy, scripts, to thematic articles does still to occur, but work in novel and screenplay or other longer project formats is now, never spontaneous. Instead, before even a single line of prose meets paper, a great deal of time and work is invested in preparation. That preparation is dense with thought, accompanied by disciplines, processes and techniques. All are goal oriented. The pleasure of expressing in a choice of styles, voices, and other elements, for the chosen format, is both cerebrally enlightening, and imaginatively sensual. Wielding the words is often the fastest, most feverish, and intensely 'obsessive/compulsive' stage of my creative process.

Before indulging in that blissful journey, comes the great labor of kindling the spark of a creative concept, into a beacon resonating in the collective consciousness; persisting and persevering through the struggles of resolving confounding challenges; marshaling into existence a creative output that attains specific multi-faceted objectives. Achieved with the best practices of project management, adapted to the demands of the creative process, this preparatory process is typically long and arduous, and would be faster and simpler, were it not for the high standards intentionally pursued.

In this way, I do not suffer from ‘writers block’, often described as a writer being blank in the mind about what to write next with text. Instead, my work flow is mostly characterized by denying myself the permission to indulge in the pleasurable privilege of line-by-line 'word-smithing', without first ensuring all requisite constructs of story, characters, settings, themes, plots, voices and all integral materials of the project, are cohesively constructed, in advance.

The pleasures of writing are not the sole motivation of my work. Finding words flowing within me has never been a problem for me. In common with other artists, I too, do believe that much I have written merely traverses through me as a medium. That’s fine as a writer, but the hard work and ‘heavy lifting’ comes with being an author, to design and manage the artistic construct, to achieve specifically desired impact, and thus success. A surprising discovery, by applying this multi-layered process, is that the pathway is opened, not just for words, but also for conceptual solutions to flow. Both are remarkable, but the latter can be amazing.

Present Project Priorities

Rather than merely targeting near term audience popularity in specific demographic segments, both the present project priorities below, convey high concept themes emerging concurrently with resonance in the broader collective consciousness of humanity, with potential for recognition as 21st century literary / cinematographic landmarks.

A common theme of both Priority projects is the juxtaposition of the primordial human spirit against the emerging preeminence of technology - timely for human civilization's epoch, as the powers rendered by spiritualism and knowledge of philosophy & arts, succumbs to domination by modern technological advances in our present age of machine learning and artificial intelligence ascendancy... https://ryanol.com/is-ai-replacing-human-actors. .

The project’s development began in 1995 when the author discovered historical facts in a neglected exhibit at an Istanbul museum. The creative concept emerged in 2017, followed by story structuring in 2021, with screenplay completion 11/11/2022. By Q2 2023, a pitch deck, VFX/CGI storyboard, and business plan were completed, with key talent overtures and distributor promotions starting in Q4 2023. Throughout 2024, 1923: Believe gained significant traction through self-directed promotion to over 130 key media and entertainment professionals, achieving notable interest. Funding placement is now in finalization, with direct negotiations for strategic partnerships with actors, directors, production companies, and streaming platforms expected once investor agreements are secured. The project’s unique commercial strategy, combining theatrical release with merchandising, promises a long revenue tail (https://ryanol.com/believe-project-update).

'1923: Believe' (working title)

The screenplay '1923: Believe', a historical war drama and romance, is a priority project envisioned as either a feature film or a limited three-episode TV series. Set in a traditional village society during the final days of the feudal Ottoman era, it follows two teenage rebels whose forbidden love propels them through a tumultuous journey amidst war-torn strife. Their naive yet impassioned belief in love transforms them into unexpected heroic saviors, contributing to the birth of a new era. Based on true, untold historical events tied to diplomatic intrigue and the geopolitical shifts leading to the Great War, the story carries contemporary relevance with the centenary of the modern Turkish Republic and the expiration of the Lausanne/Montreux treaty. The tagline, “Once we begin believing in ourselves... there is no end to what we can achieve,” encapsulates its theme of the primordial human spirit juxtaposed against the emerging preeminence of technology.

Plot summaries here.... https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27483568/

This project, conceived for a family audience, appeals to a wide demographic, including male and female viewers, young and old. With no sex or direct violence, the narrative blends a simple, sweet romantic drama with glimpses of humor and action, structured around a conventional three-act story arc interwoven with factual historical events. The screenplay, completed between October 2021 and November 2022, is disciplined in its succinct dialogue and designed for budget and production efficiency, with on-set locations planned in Istanbul’s Marmara region and southwest Bulgaria’s traditional Ottoman-era villages. The story’s strong thematic resonance, rooted in a classic archetypal narrative, delivers a powerful message about human potential and resilience, drawing parallels with epic films like Gone With The Wind for its cultural impact (https://ryanol.com/1923-believe-intro).

'1923: Believe' serves as a tribute to the evolution of cinematography, reflecting techniques from the 1900s through modern AI and CGI enhancements. By incorporating a progression of stylistic elements of past cinematic eras, the project stands as a milestone celebrating a century of film making while embracing the industry’s technological future.

The story’s Turkish heroine, set against the backdrop of Atatürk’s reforms in the 1920's, positions it at a cultural and ideological nexus, delivering a socially impactful message projected to resonate globally, particularly during Turkey’s Republic Day celebrations for decades to come.

The decision not to adapt the story into a novel was made to protect aspects of hidden history ineligible for copyright protection and for tactical audience-related reasons (https://ryanol.com/1923-believe-intro-female-archetypes

A limited dimension introduction to creative concept, story, characters, and themes is provided here… Project Intro: https://ryanol.com/1923-believe-intro

'Magic Mountain in the Sea' (working title for Multi Mixed Media Project.)

In the realm of magical realism and drama, the story of Magic Mountain in the Sea weaves through a tapestry of art, divine nature, and ancient mysticism. The story follows the flight of a high-tech hedge fund manager, haunted by dark forces of his past from the sub-conscious underworld, that dominate and torment his present. Guided by a mysterious and mystical overseer to a sanctuary for his salvation, this enigmatic ancient deity leads his consciousness on a transformative journey to save her and her daughters from the destructive tide of modern technological advancement. Envisioned as a multi-layered saga with potential sequels, the project is designed to evolve into a supernatural computer game, amplifying its immersive storytelling. The Magic Mountain in the Sea series, produced by MagiMou Productions, currently includes five episodes: Surviving Paradise, Quest for a Drink, Nature Glows, Mountain Knows, and Everything Flows. In each, Ryan Ol is envisioned for casting in the protagonist's role as the Wanderer, embodying the journey through this mystical and imperiled world.

Between 2019 and 2022, a successfully implemented communications strategy for social impact, promoted the story's back-ground setting and environmental cause, leveraging short-form mixed media content and laying the groundwork for a feature film. The intended social impact results and objectives were achieved, with the Greek government declaring a hiatus on development of the mountain. However, the continued media production roll out of Magic Mountain in the Sea faced delays due to the author's bout with COVID, and competing priorities with another project having an un-fungible calendar deadline, '1923: Believe' (see above) . As a result, the communications materials for Magic Mountain in the Sea remain fragmented, with elements of the story and related spin-offs distributed in short-form mixed media format across social media platforms (as intended intentionally and tactically for the social impact endeavor), but without a sequential and cohesive story delivered in any one specific channel. .

Currently in slow-paced development in Greece, the project is advancing sporadically on multiple fronts. The short film Free Nike is in post-production, with contracting underway for a final AI-driven CGI scene to complete its intentionally raw aesthetic. A series of short-format mini-films is 60% complete, requiring an additional 40% of filming. A multimedia project blending painted art, photography, and micro-poetry is fully completed, having undergone a trial roll out on social media. Meanwhile, a feature film is slated for pre-production, with scheduling unconfirmed. The core of this project is a novel stylistically intent on evoking haptic effect in the reader, 80% complete, being developed within a conventional three act structure, purposely to accommodate the development of the screenplay.

Thematically, Magic Mountain in the Sea and its companion projects explore the tension between the primordial human spirit and the rising dominance of technology—a timely reflection in an era defined by machine learning and artificial intelligence (see Is AI Replacing Human Actors?).

This multifaceted project not only seeks to captivate audiences but also to inspire action for environmental preservation, merging storytelling with a vital social impact mission. At its core, the narrative champions sustainable environmental conservation, spotlighting a unique pristine natural habitat in southeast Europe.

The story draws on autobiographical elements of the author's life experience, including experiences of alternative planes of consciousness on the Mountain, in addition to self-directed research projects on location, exploring 'The Haptic Effect of Natural Phenomenon on the Human Consciousness', and third party sources discussing 'Forgotten Super-Powers of Humanity's Collective Consciousness', and primary archaeological sources from the period from whence antiquity emerges from the post-Atlantean epoch of pre-history, examining 'Ancient References to the Trinity of Gods'. An underlying theme constant through-out, is the 'spiritual awakening' of humanity, and the conflicts arising from changes facing humanity's presently understood origins with more recent creation mythology pertaining to intelligent design and other-worldly/extra-terrestrial influences.

First among the sequels, is likely to be a creative concept currently under contemplation, where-in hybrid mythical, humanoid and cyberstate characters featuring a range of innate spiritual powers and cyber-tech AI enhancements, engage in a struggle for survival and domination by competing metaphysical forces revealed by the 'awakening', across different arenas: time and space of primary reality of humanity; the different dimensions of consciousness; and new dimensions of cyberworld virtual reality. The character types have strong similarities to memorable and recognizable heroes of past feature film successes. The media visuals are expected to feature AI integrations with traditional cinematography, in a way not yet witnessed (but likely inevitable and arriving soon), and appropriate for the various settings and character types. This creative concept framework construct provides ample scope for multiple sequels, and non-linear interactive game development. This high-concept project has relevant themes pervasive and resonating in the present collective consciousness of global modern day audiences, but instead of delivering these with maximum impact for evoking gravity and catharsis, is instead oriented more toward light sensational popular appeal targeting existing gamer audiences (for transition to the gaming product roll-out).

Magic Mountain in the Sea... story bites .. https://samothraki.vivaldi.net/2020/02/05/105/

Magic Mountain in the Sea, grid of snippets on Instagram... @MagiMouSea

Magic Mountain in the Sea, Themes... https://uk.pinterest.com/samothrakia/

Additional Projects

Two additional novels, each previously 80% completed during 1990 and 2005, are on hold due to perceived commercial limitations, but may be reconsidered for future development. The theme of both focuses on the a naive and idealistic protagonist's relations with nature, in the course of his strife trying to escape servitude from organized crime. The first is styled as a simple, fast Grahame Greene/ Steinbeck fusion style novel set in the narcotics smuggling world of Central American and Florida in the 1970's, climaxing in a hurricane. The second is an action escape story, having elements of a Dostoevsky psychological thriller, set in the fictional but historic sectarian and ethnic conflict of Istanbul's criminal underworld, transitioning from traditional feudal to modern vibrant tech society during the 1990's. Between 1996 and 2003 80%+ of the novel 'Ortakoy' (working title 'X Man') was completed but stopped upon consideration of it being too 'dark' psychologically and too sensitive politically to proceed with commercialization. Subsequently Istanbul gangster themes have become very popular for film and so one day this project may proceed.

The intellectual property for all projects remains wholly owned by the author, with representation currently uncommitted and open for discussion.

My Past

My unusual journey has been described as both inspiring and thought-provoking, transitioning into acting and creative pursuits.

Success in music and sport was followed by money management, accompanied by the adjunct of a lifetime of writing for demanding industry and academic sectors, in many formats. Most of my professional working life has been ensconced in international communities of high net-worth individuals from the UK, North America, Europe, North Africa, Middle East, and S.E. Asia. I am well traveled across four continents constantly, literally since age one, never having lived in one location longer than four years until the age of 25. Thus I have understanding of many and varied linguistic and cultural nuances. I am a native American and British speaker with elite accents, and also speak Turkish, formerly fluent in German and Spanish, with some knowledge of Italian, Greek and Arabic. Living in London and Istanbul simultaneously for decades, and most recently since pandemic lock-down, in Greece, and Bulgaria, conveniently between set locations I work on as an actor in Sofia, Istanbul, and northern Greece.

As an Author, I have completed numerous commissions and works in many different formats, including articles, poetry & lyrics, novels, documentaries, corporate communications, polemic and speech-writing, research reports, and promo, short & feature film scripts & screenplays. A breadth of work and extensive experience across various writing formats, industries, and creative endeavors—demonstrates both versatility and expertise.

In the mid 1990's I did make a concerted effort to obtain a publisher in London for creative works, but was unable to persevere due to a tumultuous personal life.

Nearly a dozen short form articles commissioned for a UN Habitat Conference garnered significant local media attention, portrayed various idiosyncratic observations into urban planning in cultural, historic, and natural (flora, fauna, geography) contexts. With a uniquely insightful voice, those were perhaps some of my best short form works and so I am sorry to no longer have the hard copy edition nor any soft copies of those works, due to a tumultuous life.

A quantitative econometric forecasting project and report (investment research) I led and wrote earned me an offer of an Honorary Doctorate in 1994.

Between 2013 and 2017 I wrote a serious of chapters about the psychology of high frequency stock market trading (occupation at that time) with the unique voice and perceptions of a pre-historic hunter (American Indian heritage). I should eventually like to publish this, and related works, partly because of my keen interest and engagement in this field since age 11. Years later whilst successfully forecasting and trading the Great Crash of Black Monday Oct 1987, I had the previous September, triggered the largest one day rally in the London Stock Exchange’s history (up to that time)... The exuberant elation that followed, with bottles of champagne popping on the exchange floor, were a celebration in my name. As a young man of 28 I was introduced professionally in person as ‘a legend in his own time’. My first hand experiences in this realm compare favorably to successful best sellers such as ‘The Big Short’… that has fewer ‘guarded secrets’ and narrower scope in comparison... Truth is, I was uniquely prescient and talented in this arena, and worked executing the global trades for the ‘Masters of the Universe’ as their ‘Wunderkind’ at the forefront of product innovation in financial and capital markets pre ‘Big Bang’ in London

.. but by 2014, despite trading around the clock and steadily increasing the challenges I set myself, when those activities were no longer sufficiently captivating to divert my mind from encroaching madness resulting from predatory personal and family relationships, I instead 'jumped ship', onto stage, to revisit the acting talents of my youth, and immersed my self into the character of Pinocchio for 35+ pantomime performances, which was a surprising success. And with that confirmation of real potential, I embarked on my acting career…

Shortly thereafter the deeply troubled emotional traumas that have plagued my consciousness internalized and culminated into a near death experience that required emergency surgery to bring me back to life. Thereafter I committed entirely to creative pursuits with what time on earth I was fortunate to be gifted with.

Character Actor

...in feature films and TV series, and web series, working on sets in Istanbul, Greece, and in Sofia. Re-focusing on the entertainment sector, I am appreciative of having performed on film production sets with gifted Actors, Actresses, Directors, and Production Crews, in such productions as:

After Ever Happy..... Number One opening box office weekend US, UK and Europe

Film

LionsGate / Voltage Pictures /Amazon...

Role: Joe

Castille Landon

2020-2021

Empires Rising: Ottomans... 10+ weeks ranked NetFlix top ten world wide binge viewing

TV Mini Series

Karga7/RedArrows/Netflix

Role:: Nobleman

Emre Sahin

2019-2020

...and a dozen titles more,

Professional Credits on IMDb here... https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10454348/

And Short and long hair compilations

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