I self-published a novella (a short novel) this summer. I will add a link below to the Amazon page where you can read the description, but the book--called Starfish Prime*--is meant to appeal to middle school-aged youth. There are aspects of the book about which I am proud, and other aspects I feel reveal my freshman status as an author.
It is short--in print, it is only 123 pages--and not at all difficult to read. A swift reader could finish in one sitting if motivated. It took me some time to write it, but because of this and the thought I put into it, I grew to learn from the characters I invented. I saw them as flawed, but well-meaning individuals, and I saw, too, parts of myself and those closest to me in them. Specifically, I saw some of the character traits I dreamed of showing when I was a young man, as well as some of the more flawed traits I actually do possess.**
One example of the former--examples of traits I wish I had possessed--took place in a flashback scene of the two protagonists. The book is far from being semi-autobiographical, however, as the characters are both also very different from me. Still, I found myself relating to and sympathizing with both characters in a way that made me care about them more than when I started. I hope that this means they have some depth of character to which other readers can relate, also.
In any case, I enjoyed writing it. If anything, I learned that I have a lot to learn about writing fiction, but I also began to see and fashion my particular style, one that I found is shaped by global thinking rather than local: I like examining the forest more than the trees. In that sense, I suppose that writing this story also helped me learn about myself as a person.*** If you are interested in reading a summary of the novella, you can do so on the back cover found here. The book is in digital and print form.
*Humorously, I found that someone else, a more seasoned author, also wrote a book titled Starfish Prime, the name of which comes from a 1962 nuclear test in the United States and reflects the content of the novella.
**When I was in the primary grades, I daydreamed more than once of stopping an active shooter on campus, essentially being the hero for my peers. Unfortunately, though I did not realize it at the time, this was a sad response to the problems that could, indeed, happen on elementary school campuses, even while I was growing up.
***I did learn some things about publishing, too.
It is short--in print, it is only 123 pages--and not at all difficult to read. A swift reader could finish in one sitting if motivated. It took me some time to write it, but because of this and the thought I put into it, I grew to learn from the characters I invented. I saw them as flawed, but well-meaning individuals, and I saw, too, parts of myself and those closest to me in them. Specifically, I saw some of the character traits I dreamed of showing when I was a young man, as well as some of the more flawed traits I actually do possess.**
One example of the former--examples of traits I wish I had possessed--took place in a flashback scene of the two protagonists. The book is far from being semi-autobiographical, however, as the characters are both also very different from me. Still, I found myself relating to and sympathizing with both characters in a way that made me care about them more than when I started. I hope that this means they have some depth of character to which other readers can relate, also.
In any case, I enjoyed writing it. If anything, I learned that I have a lot to learn about writing fiction, but I also began to see and fashion my particular style, one that I found is shaped by global thinking rather than local: I like examining the forest more than the trees. In that sense, I suppose that writing this story also helped me learn about myself as a person.*** If you are interested in reading a summary of the novella, you can do so on the back cover found here. The book is in digital and print form.
*Humorously, I found that someone else, a more seasoned author, also wrote a book titled Starfish Prime, the name of which comes from a 1962 nuclear test in the United States and reflects the content of the novella.
**When I was in the primary grades, I daydreamed more than once of stopping an active shooter on campus, essentially being the hero for my peers. Unfortunately, though I did not realize it at the time, this was a sad response to the problems that could, indeed, happen on elementary school campuses, even while I was growing up.
***I did learn some things about publishing, too.
Comments
Post a Comment