I find that writing frees me. I don’t know what it is, but even typing this is sort of freeing. I guess it’s just in me, like part of my soul. I’ve been reading most of my life and enjoy it. This has helped fuel my imagination, and lo-and-behold I now want to write. I was told not so long ago to keep a small notebook of things that popped into my head which, for some reason, I seem to have forgotten every single time I have a good idea. I have footnotes on pieces of paper literally everywhere and can’t find half of them. Apart from all this, I have started my first book and am enjoying it immensely. It is a fantasy/comedy/adventure/parody that tries to walk into clichés, but at the same time is quite original. The only clichés are the things I parody. I have read a good few fictional novels in my time and have wanted to point out flaws, or generally things that people don’t notice. For example, has anyone really considered that they regularly smoke what seems to be drugs in the The Lord of the Rings? Ok, to be fair I've never actually read The Lord of the Rings, but I’m told the film is extremely similar, so I thought “why not point it out?” I also base a lot of the main characters in my writing on people I know, myself included. Another thing I want to poke fun at is the way some fantasy books deal with death. Death is often seen as a man shrouded in darkness and evil - except for Terry Pratchett, who makes Death out to be comical; a being who doesn’t enjoy his job immensely and would rather read a book while waiting for it to happen.
My book will be based on another world, but in a Middle Ages theme, with dragons, dwarves, elves and of course humans. There will also be vampires, werewolves, spirits and many, many, other legendary creatures and monsters. I have so many Orders in it that it’s hard to keep track; for example, The Order of Celestial White Mages…and there are more White Mage Orders (they're like colleges, with different places to learn and different groups to hang out with). The idea is that no one will be fixed to a certain way of thinking (or as I make them think). I am working from Chapter 1 onwards (which is common with many writers) and not starting at the end or middle and working my way back. I am reading this book as I write it to seeing if I enjoy it as much as I hope other readers will.
One thing I want to do is pass beyond the characters themselves and make the reader believe that their world is real and that the places, people and creatures are real. I don’t just want to focus on the places that the main characters go, and instead try and branch out. I won’t try this in the first book, but I definitely in the future.
I’ve had these dreams all my life and I’m finally putting them together. I guess it’s just in me. I hope that soon you will be able to enjoy the results of these dreams in the pages of a book.
Seán Gallagher
Third Year
Carndonagh Community School
Co. Donegal
Ireland
I posted this piece on behalf of Seán. He’s a very enthusiastic reader and spends a lot of time in the school library. I’m very hopeful that he could become an accomplished writer in the future. Pupils like Seán remind me of the importance of encouraging reading and writing in young people, particularly if they feel that they just can’t do it...It can be hard work, but once a taste for reading and writing has been nurtured and developed, it never goes away.
ReplyDeleteJohn Collins,
Librarian, Carndonagh Community School