Constantine, "Alien Boy"

Congratulations to University of Leicester Creative Writing MA graduate Constantine, who has published a new novel, Alien Boy! 

Constantine achieved a first in his B.A. Creative writing degree in 2017 and achieved equal success when he finished his Master's degree in 2021. He has written four episodes of the CBeebies show Pablo and has written a number of books, the most well-known being The Cats of Charnwood Forest.

About Alien Boy, by Constantine

Alien Boy is the first in several very short volumes designed for reluctant readers. The chapters are short, there is some description, plenty of dialogue and it is written from a first-person point of view. The style of writing fits the age of the character and reminds me of the "What We Did in the Holidays" reports I used to be asked to write at school in the late 80s. The story follows Alen, an 11-year-old orphan with ASD who discovers he is far more important than he could possibly believe.

You can read more about Alien Boy on the publisher's website here. Below, you can read a sample from the novel. 

From Alien Boy

After dinner I rushed to my room, closed the door, and took out my watch. I looked at it long and hard. It had come back on, and once again random numbers were showing on the screen.

I put it down and immediately the numbers stopped … you can guess what happened next can’t you? That’s right, I picked it up and the numbers started again but stopped when I put it down.

My mind went back to my talk with Gordon. The watch had flashed when I passed it to him, but was it flashing while he held it? I don’t think it did. Could the watch only work when being touched by me?

This was amazing, I strapped it to my wrist, and it came to life, numbers scrolling across the screen, always in groups of two. After a while, the watch beeped and then the numbers started again. Was there a pattern? I waited till it beeped again and this time I wrote them down. This is what it looked like:

09 06 00 26 15 21 00 23 01 14 20 00 20 15 00 11 14 15 23 00 23 08 15 00 26 15 21 00 01 18 05 27 00 20 08 05 00 17 21 05 19 20 09 15 14 00 20 15 00 01 19 11 00 09 15 00 23 08 15 00 01 13 00 09 

The 09 was flashing, so I underlined it. I thought that it must be important, but what did it mean? What did any of it mean? I looked at the numbers long and hard. And the 00’s stood out. If 0 is nothing, then 00 is also nothing. So, I wrote it again leaving a space where the 00’s were. Now it looked like this.

09 06    26 15 21      23 01 14 20    20 15    11 14 15 23    23 08 15    26 15 21    01 18 05 27    20 08 05    17 21 05 19 20 09 15 14    20 15    01 19 11    09 15    23 08 15    01 13    09

Now I was getting somewhere. The numbers were starting to look like words. Could it really be so simple?

I looked for a 01 and saw there was one near the end next to a 13. Now if 01 was "A" then 13 would be "M" which would make "AM." It seemed to work and so I tried all the other numbers. The 27 caused me some problems, because as you know there are only 26 letters; but then I figured that if 00 could be a space, 27 could be a full stop. Within minutes I had deciphered the message:

"If you want to know who you are the question to ask is 'who am I?'"

What did that mean? I thought about it, but it didn’t make sense. Then I remembered that the "I" was flashing. That was a clue. Who am I? I’m Alen Boiy. Was it the "I" in my surname? What if I took it out? I’m Alen Boy? That didn’t make much more sense. Okay what if I took the "I" and put it somewhere else? Alen I Boy? I Alen Boy? Then it hit me: you probably worked it out ages ago. The "I" went in the middle of my first name.

I whispered the answer out loud because it seemed too mad to stay in my head.

"I’m not Alen Boiy," I whispered. "I’m Alien Boy."

My watch made a beep and a new message scrolled across the screen. In a few minutes I had it deciphered.

"Well done," it said. "We will be in touch."

Charis Buckingham, "What Ghostwriting Taught Me"

After graduating Leicester University with my MA in Creative Writing, it took me two years to actively pursue a career in writing. While lockdown did a number on us all, the time and space it enforced helped me articulate my dissatisfaction with my career. Finding a way forward wasn’t easy, but I transitioned from teacher to ghostwriter and it was without question the best decision I’ve ever made. Not only does it allow me to spend all day every day doing what I love, it’s also taught me a lot about writing and how to manage a consistent creative schedule.

Perhaps the first thing I learnt to do was re-evaluate my perception of productivity. There once was a time when I considered writing 2000 words a day impressive. I was proud of myself for completing NaNoWriMo during my MA. Now, I’m not detracting from that achievement, but when I’m being paid for the words I produce not the time I put in, it shifts the goalposts somewhat. I’m currently producing over 30,000 words a week. To help manage this, I work on at least two projects per day and adhere to a strict timetable. Writing consistently is more about willpower than divine intervention’s fickle hand. It’s about getting up and punching those words out, whether you’re on fire for your novel or you’re ready to toss it into the fire. Determination counts for more than creativity.

The writing world is loosely divided into ‘pantzers’ and ‘planners.’ The pantzers write into the void. We thrive off inspiration. We discover the unfolding of our novels as we write them, with many twists and turns coming as a surprise. We wrestle with stubborn and wilful characters, and often allow the protagonists to carve their own path through the world we’ve created. It’s a spontaneous process, and one I recommend for the sheer fun of not knowing what’s going to happen next. 

Planners, however, do as you’d expect: they plan. They take a germinating idea and flesh it out long before they put figurative pencil to paper. They create an outline, character plans. Instead of forgetting the colour of a character’s eyes, they note this important detail in advance. I’m naturally a pantzer, and previously wrote all my novels with only a vague idea of their conclusion and perhaps a few major events on the way (these novels all later required substantial rewriting). As a ghostwriter, though, whose detailed outlines need to be created in advance for approval, I was forced to adhere to the planner’s way of life. And it changed everything. No longer do I wait for inspiration to light the darkened path before me: I bring my own torches. The exciting feeling of discovery is traded for the sensation of knowing where I’m going, and it’s perhaps my biggest piece of advice for those struggling to get through a full-length novel.

The final lesson took the longest to learn. In fact, it took years of steadfast denial for me to confess that writer’s block doesn’t exist. I used to swear by it. By invoking writer’s block, I could absolve responsibility because it wasn’t my fault. It was the perfect excuse. 

The problem is, ghostwriting doesn’t let you get away with excuses. Deadlines don’t go away because you’re having a bad day, or because the stars aren’t aligned, or because you’re stuck on a particular phrase. The blank page can’t stay blank for long; if you don’t write, you don’t get paid. And let me tell you, there’s no better motivator than financial necessity.

(NB: Writer’s block is not the same as a burn-out, which can happen in any profession. My writing schedule gives me plenty of breaks, and I always take time off after finishing a particular project. Part of managing my productivity includes ensuring I’m never working past my limit.)

In short, ghostwriting has, conversely, taught me to write. I could ramble forever about the more technical things ghostwriting has taught me about my craft, but these would not have come if I hadn’t learnt to discard my ideas of writer’s block and embrace discipline. To be a good writer, first we must be a writer. I’ve mastered the first; now I’m working on the second.

About the author

Charis is a Creative Writing graduate turned full-time ghostwriter. She mostly specialises in romance and fantasy, though she's editing a thriller novel and would one day love to write a cosy mystery. When she's not singing or reading, she's walking and gaming - though not at the same time! She lives in Leicestershire with her partner and dog, and dreams of life in the country.