Leave them behind

I guess the answer came to me while I was thinking about what I was going to write for today, but I recently wondered: when do you know it's time to end a character's story?

The actual end of the story isn't the end of the character's life. They live on implicitly with the consequences of the initial story to guide them to the end of their imaginary days. With the invention of sequels, trilogies and series, the character's life could hypothetically go on forever. As a writer, when do you decide to stop writing about them?

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle kept writing Sherlock Holmes stories for years, and he lost his drive for them after the first story. He even went to the trouble of killing him off so he wouldn't have to write any more, but fans convinced him to revive the great detective (and thank heaven for that!).

I was only thinking about this because with the characters of my main story, the events that happen to them within that one narrative is rapidly coming to a close. And I've started to imagine what their lives will be like afterwards, when they're all grown up (their ages range from sixteen to eleven). Who marries who, what career paths they choose, that sort of thing. I wrote about 3,000 words based on the daughter of the main character and reading over it, I realised how unnecessary it was.

The story I wrote has a specific focus. It exists within its own secular unity (yeah, I'm just making up phrases now). Anything more I write for the characters is just self-indulgent and won't do anything to add to the quality of the story. If it did, then it would be a part of the story itself.

Oh god. I had a scary moment just then when I pictured me writing about the same four characters forever. Like The Land Before Time.

The 'P' word

Poetry. There, I said it. I'll say it three times at midnight, looking at myself in the mirror if I have to. Maybe the ghost of Keats will come out and possess my body. Wouldn't THAT be something to start chain mail for?

But I'm quickly getting off topic. I'm amazed at how much people on my course hated poetry (I say hated because, technically, we've had our last class. Although we still have an essay and exam to do on it so...). Nobody wanted to read it, talk about it, look at it. It was as if poetry was a person who had done something unmentionable to a vulnerable old lady and was forever judged by society for the rest of its days. I'm sure I'm not the only one who got disappointed when my fellow students' eyes glazed over at the mention of poetry. At least the tutor felt my pain...

Hardly anyone liked to write it, either. Even the ones who did Creative Writing! I was shocked. But... That's still not what this post is about. Perhaps I should start again?

*ahem*

The beginning of time

The tale of how I got into writing is, like my personality, strange and complicated. Anything I had to write for school does not count towards my ambition because that was just school work that happened to be really fun.

I didn't always want to be a writer, even though I've enjoyed making stories since I knew what one was - though that doesn't mean I'm a good liar. I'm not. From the time I was five until I was fourteen, I've wanted to be: a teacher, an illustrator, a pop star, a graphic designer (not even sure I knew what that was), an archaeologist, a voice actress, a world leader, a comedienne, a TV presenter, a journalist, a fireman (yes, fireman. I didn't want to be bound by my gender!), a psychologist, a life coach, a motivational speaker - but not all at once!

So when did I want to become a writer? Let me take you back to the winter of 2008. I was just fourteen. My friend SJ and I were talking on MSN about our mutual adoration of the Pokémon franchise, when she mentioned that she had written a story with one of her friends based on the series. 98 pages later, I was seeing life in a completely different way.

But I didn't write anything just yet. Not until SJ introduced me to FanFiction.

180 degrees

Remember when I said I wasn't sick of Shakespeare? I've changed my mind. I hate that guy, dead as he is. He's always just there, lording his success over me with his constant presence. I once said to my friend that Shakespeare was the god of writing. You know what he said?

"Is he?!"

So perhaps I have unjustly put Shakespeare on a pedestal - evidently not everyone agrees with me about his greatness. Maybe Shakespeare spent years toiling over his plays and sonnets before he hit the big time producing them for the king. Maybe he was plagued with doubts and worries and had off-days, too. Or maybe he knew from the very first sentence he ever wrote that he would be a roaring success. We'll never know.

I changed my mind about Mr Shakespeare quite recently. I was reading through the module options for the second year of my degree and saw there was one entirely dedicated to Shakespeare. It involved a critical essay and a jolly three-hour exam at the end which accounted for 60% of the grade.

Really. As if we hadn't had enough of him throughout our literary education. I get that he was a magnificent  writer and his work is revered worldwide but come on! Two hours a week completely devoted to Shakespeare? How's that for a slap in the face of a young, aspiring author. Even if they did make a module to honour my name, life and work, you can bet it would be formed fifty years after I was dead.

That's just how literary appreciation works, sadly.

I also discovered by chance that April 23rd is known as Shakespeare Day. I'm beginning to wonder if the world isn't taking this Shakespeare appreciation thing a little too far. We get it, World. Shakespeare wrote a lot of stuff that is now really popular for schools, theatre and modern adaptations. But please, tone is down a little. You're killing my self-esteem.

Someone like me

I am not a journalist, and I'm not going to pretend to be interested in becoming one. I did a three day course in journalism back in 2010 and I found out just how much I didn't want to pursue it as a career. At all. Like, ever.

But now that I've got that out of the way, I humbly present my little interview with a budding writer-in-training, Daniel. I thought it would be nice to spice up my blog with the voice of someone who wants to write (like me), but is still at the beginning stages (also like me). I now present to you what we talked about. Daniel's responses are in blue.

How long have you been writing for, and what made you start?

Hmm. I would say I've always written something, you know? Since I could start writing - not that I was any good at it when I was like five or whatever. But I really really really really really became interested in writing probably around year ten, because I had the most amazing English teacher. She was Canadian, like six feet tall and massive, but she was absolutely hilarious 'cause you know, she just made the most snide comments about everyone in the class, and how their work was rubbish - but in a funny way that didn't hurt people's feelings of course. And you know, she was probably the person who made me want to study English.