I'm always watching people over a short time frame, putting them in an extreme position. Sometimes you don't see the humanity in a person because the time frame is so short and the circumstance so extreme.

He generally ignores the traditional conventions of literary Scots used for example by Allan Ramsay Robert Fergusson Robert Burns Robert Louis Stevenson and James Orr. Trainspotting Marabou Filth and Ecstasy. Welsh has directed several short films for bands.

He has also written plays screenplays and directed several short films. Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist playwright and short story writer.