The first story I ever read that made a connection with me was 'Stig of the Dump' by Clive King. About a week after reading the book at school we had to write an essay. I was about seven or eight at the time and once I started to write my story, loosely based on Stig and adventures that I would have with him, I was quite amazed that the story just flowed out of me. I wrote many pages which I certainly had never felt the need to do before. The story was 'okay' and I was thanked by the teacher who was impressed with my imagination and quantity if not with the actual quality, grammar and content.

I was not really motivated to write any more and the feeling was lost, but not forgotten. Over the years at school all my essays were ventures into the wilds of my imagination and most times they did not meet with any great feedback from the teachers who read them. One reason was probably because my writing has never been very easy to read. In fact I won an award at primary school for my most specially difficult to read "spider-scrawl" writing. I was proud of this in an eccentric way.

My hand writing has never improved, actually it has probably become much worse. In fact when I was courting my wife Elizabeth I wrote most every day. It is a remarkable achievement that; one - she was clever enough to decipher my letters; and two- that my letters helped in winning her heart. But then that speaks more about her capacity for love than any innate ability of mine to win her heart. I am so lucky.

I only ever had one other real adventure into writing, when I was in my twenties, and I do remember that the flow of words and my imagination was a joy to me. The story was again long though the content lacked sufficient quality.

With the arrival of our children our lives changed in more ways than I could know. Since the wee ones were born we have always read them books. At times we would sit together and read and talk about stories and that was how Rodger the Badger was first created. Elannah and I were talking about writing a story together and it was about a Badger named Rodger. Elannah supplied the drawings though it was many year later after the arrival of Sam before I actually started to write 'Of Lights in the Night'.

This time I was able to write without putting pen to paper and have people peer squinting at the page to decipher my words. Thank god for computers, now my writing was with keyboards, so much easier to read. My life's journey had arrived at a point where my imagination and my skills on a keyboard with the power of a good word processor, a wonderful wife and family to inspire me and fire our collective imaginations just all came together and it worked.

What is my technique for when I now write? It is quite simple; the story must become a part of my everyday thoughts.

Before I commit to a new chapter I think on what I would like to write about and visualise the story. Adding in ideas and building up the story in my mind until I am ready to put on the computer screen what I have considered and seen inside my mind. For example with the first book my love of fireworks gave me the background passion on which to base the story. The characters, being vivid and realistic in my head are able to come alive on this background and as I write they take on very real dialogue and emotions. The book is about a series of sensations, fireworks of the imagination, with Grumphspawn the Great Wizard entertaining the gathering in the land of Dreams. With the background in place and the characters playing across my mind the fireworks become the focus, the foreground of the scene, and the internal visualisation is converted into the written word in a clear flowing style that draws the reader along in fantastical fun.

Currently I am about to write a new chapter in the third story and this one entails a boat afloat in the Sea of Dreams. I have been using the technique described above for many days already building up the different aspects of this part of the story with the various plot themes woven in. The ultimate goal of the story is to entertain my children so fun and wonder must be a major part of it.

I have not finished my preparations for this chapter but I am close. The background will be my love of boats and of the Sea, the characters are clear and interact with the boat and, with the possibility that any of their thoughts can be made real in the Sea of Dreams, the possibilities for fun and wonder are without limit, always in tune with the characters needs, wants and desires.

From my early times as a writer of stories at school till now has been quite a journey. Originally I did not have any techniques just a need to write even if my words were not so easy to read by others. Now I am able to create the stories that others enjoy and that is a very satisfying feeling indeed.

So my advice is that everyone should remember their dreams and follow them, it may only be a matter of timing until you reach them.

Sean Noonan

Author

'Of Lights in the Night, Friends and Adventure' first of 'The Everlasting and Fantastical Adventures of Elannah and Sam' collection.

The next two stories 'A First Christmas, Friends and Festivity' and 'Of Salty Seadogs and Oceans of Fun' are coming soon.