This is a special moment for me! Small as my following may be, and humble as my beginnings, I have reached a 1000 pageviews of this blog! This might not seem a tremendous number, but for me, it is! I wish to thank everyone who has looked at my blog and given it some thought and opportunity. It is my hope the site will continue to grow with time and I can reach the numbers of some of my new friends, fellow authors, illustrators and creative partners. Today I thought I would branch from my usual repertoire about my book or my journey to Japan to talk a bit of nostalgia. Whether this is well received well, I will see!
My beginnings as a writer were very humble. I remember having a creative inkling from my earliest days. I would take my little figures (action, playmobil, legos etc) and creating stories from things I read or even watched on tv. Today I suppose these would be fanfics, but at the time they were my own little world, kind of like what Pixar does in their stories with "Toy Story." A kid playing with his toys, a world apart from what most people know. Certainly I am not likening myself to them, but everyone knows that story and can relate in some way. I certainly had many of the toys.
I was also fond of certain television, and I had the pleasure of growing up in a golden age of very thought provoking, interesting stories in cartoons, no less. This was a golden age, when I think children were not treated with the "Dora the Explorer" mentality. Some of the conversations and dramas played out in cartoons of this time were very dark with deep and fascinatingly evil antagonists, but at the same time they had a heroes journey in their protagonists.
There were movies too, I loved "Back to the Future" and "Indiana Jones." "Star Wars" was a staple, along with many Disney features. It was a golden time for all of these before prequels, remasters and terrible sequels. There was the original "Lion King" which was essentially Hamlet. Yet for all this I didn't really start writing until the sixth grade and read the book, Dinotopia by James Gurney.
This was a turning point for me, for it combined two of my great loves, dinosaurs and fantastic settings. Gurney is a master storyteller. The book itself is a "journal" but with beautifully picturesque artwork detailing this world where dinosaurs still live. The paintings are immensely expressive and evoke a steampunk atmosphere that I very much wanted to visit. I mean, what kid didn't want to go see dinosaurs?
Dinotopia wasn't just a book, it was an experience. It is meticulously cataloged, to the point it could very well be Jules Verne, and it takes a lot of inspiration from that. The machines, creatures, even the writing style is very Vernesque. It's wonderfully atmospheric, and the fact that there were talking dinosaurs, or dinosaurs of any kind was just icing on the cake. This is a MUST read for any child, and I hawk the fact it inspired me whenever I talk to kids in class at my workplace.
I remember the writing assessment I had after I read the book where I was to propose a letter to the author. I wrote a detailed letter, asking many questions and talking about my favorite parts of the book. At my Mom or Dad's prompting (I forget which, sorry Mom or Dad) I actually mailed the letter to Mr. Gurney. Much was my surprise when I got a letter back, not just any letter. This was on Mr. Gurney's signature typeface. It was about two pages or so, back to front with a golden letterhead. Mr. Gurney took the time to not only answer my questions but provide insight, and his young son (who was seven at the time) also wrote in the margins and on the back.
It was a uniquely personal letter, and I hope to scan a copy and put it up here soon someday. I never forgot that moment because I wanted to be a writer from there on. I wrote Mr. Gurney one more time, but lost correspondence after that. I am glad to see he has continued his work and not only written more about Dinotopia but made a blog about his work which can be found here.
I don't know if I can measure up to his creative genius. I certainly am no artist like he is, but that simple act of kindness started me on a long journey. It is an act I have yet to receive from an agent or a publisher of any kind and one I think more should try to attempt. After all, we are all writers, creators and geniuses in our own way. It only takes a moment of inspiration to set the pen to paper and begin.
