Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

My son is in the Third Form and has already written a couple of short novels. He has just completed his 3rd, called Blue Murder. At 43,000 words it is getting on for proper short novel length!
The first edition has sold out and has got very positive feedback from adults and teenagers alike - mostly people who don't know CH so have read it on it's merit as a murder mystery. The Head has a copy and he is waiting on his feedback!
There is quite a lot of CH stuff in it - very grateful to Dinah Cat for giving him a book on CH history for his research.
Also, very grateful to this forum as he used it a lot for research, particularly on the Tube.
Anyway, a lot of work has gone into it so if anyone fancies a good read, it is available to buy (sorry, we have to cover printing costs - but there is a £.150 donation to a school project in Ivory Coast) from www.willgoddard.co.uk

wow, well done to him!

I shall buy it, when funds are looking a little healthier

Congratulations to him; it is good to see that the forum has proven to have some such use.

Another future S T Coleridge or Charles Lamb perhaps?

Well done --
Re ST C ---- did his education enable him to spell Rhyme, as Rime --- or was that a cunning pun, on Rime, as in sea salt ?

Before I am swamped with erudite explanations -------- I jest !

Hello. I am completely impressed by your son's writing. My daughter will be entering CH in sept 2011. She too is a talented young writer. Did you find the English dept nurtured and stretched your son's apparent ability? In what ways? Did he have his own computer in year 7 or did he do all this great writing using pen and paper or school's computers? Thank you for your time.

Hi,
Thank you for all your kind comments.
He actually wrote the first one after he did a practice paper for the CH entry exam. The one where they give you the opening and you have to complete the story. He did that and the family were all clamouring to know what happened so he wrote the first book, in just the 2 week half term before he did the CH entry tests.
For this last one, he did research while he was at school and during the Easter holidays mainly - we traipsed up to the British Library Newspaper reading rooms and he read the book about CH that he was given. He then wrote the book in between terms. I am a teacher and work longer terms than he does so he spends the time before I break up or before he goes back sitting at the back of my classroom - and he writes then on a laptop. The first book was handwritten but his writing is dreadful so it is typed now. As they were off last year a lot (swine flu and snow) he had quite a lot of time at the back of my room so got lots done. He actually finished the last one on the train to London on the Saturday before going back to school after half term.
He took creative writing as an Active last year (an extra curricular activity) and certainly he was pushed and stretched there. He was taught by the Head's wife and she read both his books and helped him a lot and gave him the confidence to carry on.
CH is very good and finding your talent and then helping you develop it.

Thank you so much for your prompt reply. My daughter was also offered grammar school place and although she is keen for CH, I hope we made right decision. Was Will offered grammar school as choice? Why did you choose CH? I hope you don't mind me asking...

YadaYada wrote:

He took creative writing as an Active last year (an extra curricular activity) and certainly he was pushed and stretched there. He was taught by the Head's wife and she read both his books and helped him a lot and gave him the confidence to carry on.

How important those are for any author; I'm glad to see your comments.

Ineedacoffee wrote:Thank you so much for your prompt reply. My daughter was also offered grammar school place and although she is keen for CH, I hope we made right decision. Was Will offered grammar school as choice? Why did you choose CH? I hope you don't mind me asking...

Ineedacoffee - brilliant name!

Both of my daughters were offered places at a girls grammar school that consistently comes top in the country for their exam results, but both chose CH (their choices). I think once you see CH you fall in love with it, the same spark wasn't there at the grammar school.

Thank you so much lonelymom for your thoughts. Feel badly that I am taking focus away from purpose of original post! The Murder Mystery book by CH student!
Didn't mean to! Thanks again. X ineedacoffee

No grammar offer for us although he did sit and pass the test. We are just too far away from the school so it was the local school or CH for us. LonelyMom is right about CH having a special feel to it and there was never any doubt that CH would be the better place for him, academically and socially. For me, the social side of it was at least equally as important.
Will is hoping that the Head lets him sell copies of Blue Murder at school - he's not trying to make any money but he just wants people to read it! Not much point writing it if people don't read it!

Thank you Yadayada and best of luck to your son! You must be so proud! X

YadaYada wrote: Will is hoping that the Head lets him sell copies of Blue Murder at school - he's not trying to make any money but he just wants people to read it! Not much point writing it if people don't read it!

One would hope so; a number of entrepreneurs were "made" at school or uni, Richard Branson being just one. I'm no such but I manufactured and sold ginger beer when I was there just to make some pocket money and someone else in Col A was making a different drink.

I have just ordered a copy! My daughter starts in September - and she simply cannot wait - the book might feed her need for everything CH as well as illustrate to her just what can be achieved! Well done to your son ... how many of us have said at some time or another "there's a book in me somewhere ..." and never done anything about it! I can't wait for it to arrive .... clearly I'll have to read it first ...!

Will`s a great lad! I must get myself a copy!