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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Young author shares his story

By Byron Lawson
 Northside High School

About two years ago, I began thinking of a short story just to pass the time.

I began recording events that would take place, characters, their personalities and various story elements. From there, the initial plot came into focus, including who would die and who would live.

As different plots and drafts came through, the story varied between a simple bank heist to a full pharmaceutical company conspiracy, give or take a few details.

The protagonist soon began developing personal quirks and changed emotionally throughout the story: from a gentle, lackluster individual to a complicated, strong-willed person.

Before long, the story evolved into a novel. I devised this synopsis:

Susan Coleman is fresh from college and offered work at the local newspaper, the Embrook Times. We soon learn she has a close friend, James Porter.

Susan stumbles on clues about a vast conspiracy in which lives are at stake. She realizes this could be the biggest story of her career, but could cost her her life.

To prolong my enthusiasm for the project, I built a Web page stemming off my personal site, www.byronjlawson.com. I added a wealth of content, including a guest book, synopsis, excerpts, cover art, character profiles, location descriptions — even a map illustrating key locations.

The events of the novel take place in a fictional city and is based on my trips to The Roanoke Times’ newsroom as a member of The Edge staff.

Almost a year later, when the final chapter was written and the story line fell into place, I began editing.

It was quite a lengthy process for one person, so I enlisted the help of a teacher.

Editing was completed within two weeks, and finally the book seemed finished.

What was lacking was formatting — such as page numbers. For this, I needed the help of another teacher, who was tech savvy.

For the cover art, I used Photoshop to manipulate a photo I took. It depicted a young woman in the heart of a dark and gloomy city.

Once everything was completed, I published my book, “The Embrook Reporter,” via Lulu, an online, print-on-demand publisher.

After a few clicks, I was finished. I ordered a preview copy to review and catch any errors. Before I knew it, I had completed my first novel as a 16-year-old high school junior.

It’s been a great experience. I’ve learned quite a bit from all the things I did. I’m now simultaneously working on my second and third novels, one of which is a sequel to the first book.
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