How do you explain that inspirational moment, when an idea appears in front of you, almost out of nowhere and gives you the chance to do something not only worthwhile, but something that will offer you a great achievement at the end. In Mid July of 2006, at the age of 18, I began writing my first novel, the Fable of Mythrian. I saw a great opportunity not only in the basis of this book, but something which would give me both enjoyment and a goal with a rewarding outcome at the end. Now, at the age of twenty I have completed my goal and it is to be published through Melrose books.
I was never very good at English at school and grammar and punctuation was always something I had struggled with. But like all the ideas I have ever come up with, it has been my drive and stubbornness not to let anything go just because I face difficulties. But then, it depends how you evaluate a book. For me, writing a book is like writing a score of music or painting a picture; it is form of expression where you share how you feel about a topic or subject with others who are keen to hear your opinion, or wish to be inspired themselves. Or as Frederick Delius once quoted, ‘For me, music is very simple, it is the expression of a poetical nature,’ and I take the same qualities into writing. Imaginative and creative ideas is something I strive upon. I feel that if you place the colour of your ideas into the book, the words will follow in the same manner.
I have always been fascinated by the fantasy genre; the creativity of the world, the broadness of the characters and the endless possibilities of stretching outside reality and touching onto new, undiscovered ground. While I was writing the Fable of Mythrian, I was doing at course in countryside management Brooksby College. I was inspired by the countryside and the incredible variation of landscapes and habitats of Britain. I wanted to create a world which incorporated these ideas; a world full of arable fields as far as the eye could see; mystical woodlands and tucked in amongst it, these secluded villages with bustling little communities.
And it all started with the image of a tree, which was on the loading screen of a game I was playing on. But the tree was quite enchanting and had all this light around it which made it appealing and intriguing to me. I had already come up with the name, the Enchantment before hand and I was actually thinking about using it as a title for a song. But when I saw this image of a tree and looked at the title, the two things connected and my mind suddenly exploded with ideas and possibilities. I got a blank piece of paper, drew the enchantment as a woodland in the centre; put good on one side, evil on the other and thus began the map for my first novel. Mythrian, the name of the book protagonist, was again something I had in my head for a long time, but I knew it would work perfectly in with the novel. But it just goes to show you how just one idea can spread into hundreds of ideas and from that one tree, which started the inspiration for my book, branched off into many ideas for sequels and other books.
Now it is my goal to become a full time writer and write books in many different genres, experiment with as much as I can. My hope is that people will enjoy the Fable of Mythrian and the subsequent sequels in the series that follow.
If anyone asked me for advice on writing a book? I would say let your imagination free. Do not be held back because you may feel that the terminology isn’t good enough or bind yourself behind any systems that someone might say is the answer to writing a good book. There is no real answer to writing a successful book; it is all a matter of expression and how you tell the tale is what captures the reader. We all write differently and have our own unique style and you should create your own unique style. I have read quite a few books which read well, but they lack the colour and imagination that sweeps me off my feet. In my opinion, books need a lot of colourful and imaginative ideas and one way I got around this was by listening to music or looking at art that held inspiration for the idea I was looking for and then in my head, I tried to picture a scene or a film, building the music or artwork around it. A lot of my ideas for my books have come from listening to a piece of music and building my own film around it, picking up on elements in the music like e.g. is it major or minor; is it happy or sad; is it’s scope quite broad or short; does it tell the reader exactly what is happening or does it leave it as a bit of a mystery? All these things you need pick up on in the music and try to build your own scene in your head.
The possibilities are endless...
