Childhood is a time filled with imagination. A child’s imagi- nation expands his universe and allows for the presence
of;imaginary;friends,;places,;and;events.
Because children know so little of the
laws;of;nature,;they;are;not;hindered;by
them. Anything is possible, until they
learn it is not so.
For instance, during my own child-hood,;I;had;a;magic;tree;in;my;backyard.
I;would;often;sit;under;that;tree;and;read
or;think;or;merely;dream.;But,;too;often,
reality (in the form of my mother’s voice)
would;call;to;me.;At;those;times,;I;would
simply walk around my tree three times
in;a;clockwise;direction,;and;I;immedi-ately became invisible. Problem solved.
Of;course,;on;some;level,;I;knew;that
the magic was also imaginary. It was really not necessary for me to walk three
times counter-clockwise to regain my
corporeal;form,;but;it;was;definitely;a;lot
more fun that way. The tree’s magic properties were my very own secret.
Many children have similar fanta-sies.;As;they;grow;older,;these;fantasies
may;fade,;but;for;some,;the;power;of
creative thinking only grows with age.
These are the ones that begin to imag-ine;stories;and;later,;to;desire;to;write
books. As the homeschooling population ages and expands, I am coming
across more and more homeschooled
teens who turn this creative bent into
publishable products.
Take,;for;example,;the;story;of;Chris-topher Paolini. Paolini1, who was
homeschooled;his;entire;life,;wrote;his
first;fantasy;novel,;Eragon,;at;the;age;of
15. At first he self-published the novel
and he and his family set off across the
country to promote the novel. Eventu-ally,;the;book;was;brought;to;the;atten-tion of an editor at Alfred A. Knopf,
who picked up the book and signed the
young author on to a three-book deal.
Now, eleven years later, Paolini has
three more novels and a movie screen-play;under;his;belt,;and;his;future;as;a
writer seems secure.
Of course, not every young author
achieves that degree of recognition and
success,;but;very;little;is;lost;in;the;attempt
The
Inspired
Homeschooler
Amelia Harper
Creating;Creative Writers
Because;children;know;so;little;of;the;laws;of;nature,
they are not hindered by them.
