A never-ending story
March 6th, 2012
The new editor of the Hobart Mercury came up with a brilliant idea to celebrate Australia’s National Year of Reading. He asked me to start off a story, which would run as a serial, once a week on Tuesdays for the entire year, with each chapter (apart from the first one, which is mine) being written by a different high school student.
So for the last few weeks, when I wasn’t working on the new novel or editing stuff for the publishers, I’ve been thinking about how to start this story in such a way that it could last a whole year. Who would the characters be? What might happen to them in the first chapter that would get both readers and potential writers interested straight away? Where was it going to happen? (Had to be in Tasmania somewhere!) What interesting clues could I drop into it, for the writers who follow me to pick up on?
In the end I decided on a plane crash, on Tassie’s rugged west coast. So I got the first chapter written, and delivered it. Yesterday, Sharyn Jones from the Mercury online came out to Lauderdale (where I live) to film me reading it. Then she asked me some questions about how I write, to cut into the video.
The story is in today’s Mercury, but it’s also online here, with a promotional video, and an audio of the whole of Chapter 1. Let me know what you think. Would this beginning inspire YOU to write the next chapter?
0 thoughts on “A never-ending story”
Leave a Reply
About Lian
Lian Tanner has been dynamited while scuba diving and arrested while busking. She once spent a week in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, hunting for a Japanese soldier left over from the Second World War. Nowadays she lives by the beach in southern Tasmania.
More about Lian
Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : )
Thanks Hannah. It was fun to do.
You did a great job with reading it. It sounded very interesting!!!!!!!!!!!
Reading aloud is something I really like doing. I think it’s my acting training. Very useful thing for an author to have had!
Dear Lian
I think the never ending story was a great idea as you will never have just one author so the all the glory and “Thanks ” go to every who did it like when the did the Aussie chomps ,bites and nibbles when the sequel to the first one was a different author altogether and they all got to to put a say into their stories !
Love Lilli
Yes, I agree, Lilli. It spreads the pleasure around a bit. I think the Mercury is going to have a big party at the end of the year for everyone who wrote part of the story, so that will be interesting, the meet the high school students who were involved.