On Nov. 13, in the Marano Campus Center Auditorium, the Living Writers Series brought in its latest author to speak to Oswego State.
The Living Writers Series is a program created 20 years ago by the English and creative writing departments with the purpose of bringing in authors from all writing disciplines to introduce students in the two departments to authors and creators in the field that they are studying.
It has since been expanded to be open to the community, with any and all students and faculty being allowed to come and sit in on the meeting with the authors.
Their latest guest was sci-fi and fantasy author Christopher Paolini, author of the Inheritance Cycle series, and winner of the “Quill Awards for Young Adult/Teens” and “Indies Choice Book Award for Children’s Literature.”
Paolini began writing his first book, “Eragon,” when he was 15, and self-published it when he was 17.
As a kid from Montana, Paolini said he lived on the Yellowstone River and used his experiences to help in his first fantasy story. He wanted to write the story because he enjoyed reading stories with dragons, monsters and adventures.
“I was homeschooled and graduated from high school early, there isn’t much to do in the area, and I ended up getting very, very bored,” Paolini said. “Since the alternative to boredom was digging holes in the backyard, I decided to write stories.”
After finding a story from the local library, “Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher,” about a young boy that found and took care of a young dragon, Paolini said he felt inspired to write a story like that.
“I loved that idea so much, of a young man finding a dragon, that I wanted to write about that,” Paolini said. “I started asking myself questions, like what kind of world would a dragon come from, how would a dragon end up in the middle of a forest?”
Paolini gave some advice for how he became a successful writer, and described his creative process.
“What fascinates me as a writer is taking something that’s been done a thousand times and thinking and thinking and thinking until you find some little new facet that ends up blossoming into something new and interesting,” Paolini said.
Audience members said they were drawn to the event because of the success of Paolini’s books. One audience member, Jay Vollmer, said he had discovered Paolini’s books in 2007, after moving, and loved them.
“I was such a super fan that I would get my local bookstore to open at midnight, just to sell me the newest book,” Vollmer said.
Photo:Greg Tavani | The Oswegonian
