Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Prodigious

I don't have anything important or interesting to say about myself today . . . but I did want to stop and acknowledge some interesting stuff that kids are doing out there.

First, Sarah is hard at work on a new story. It is inspired (as you might guess) on the Harry Potter universe. I haven't read it yet, as she is still working on it, but it seems to be set in the "second generation" group of characters, carrying on the future of the Harry, Ron, and Hermione's children and their own struggles and triumphs at Hogwarts (and beyond?).

What's interesting about this . . . beside the fact that Sarah is really energized with this idea (she's been working on it hard for a few days and generates lots of manuscript every day) is that tons of people are out there doing this now. Existing fan fiction sites have been writing alternative HP stories for many years now, but since the publication of Deathly Hallows, the possibility of plot threads in a Next Generation world has grown steadily. My go-to HP website, The Leaky Cauldron has now begun an ongoing fan-directed story set within this universe.

If Sarah is willing, I'll reproduce the finished text on her blog when she is done. Based on random sentences I have heard, her attention to some details, her sentence construction, and her ability to generate believable dialogue construction is pretty impressive for someone who's seven-and-a-half. I promise you that I read some "college-age" essays when I was a grad student teaching assistant that didn't approach her writing ability.

So, look for that. And while you wait . . . check out this hilarious, kid-centric review of Star Wars.

1 comment:

Sven Golly said...

As an aspiring young film critic myself, I am taking notes. Your eye (and ear) for talent is clear.