What's in a name?
Well, my name is Keith Chatfield but I am using that purely by way of introduction. I didn't choose my name and I certainly wouldn't have chosen that name for any character intended to capture the attention of the readers that I hoped to attract with my writing. And that's not me on the left but it is a character who changed my whole life.
Let me introduce you to Issi Noho
'Planting the Acorn'
I was keen to write for children and I was aware that bears are very popular with young folk and parents. So I needed a bear-type character. After much scribbling and doodling I decided on a panda and set about finding a name for him or her.
I vaguely recalled my grandfather telling me of an entertainer named Nosmo King, a name made up from the sign NO SMOKING. I liked the idea of creating a new name by mingling words together and decided to focus on the many instructive notices around us and blend one word with another. After much searching and more scibbling I hit upon two signs on a huge, wooden packing case.
One said - THIS SIDE UP -and the other - USE NO HOOKS. I had solved two questions! My panda would have a packing case for a home and he had draped foliage over it as a camouflage leaving only the middle letters showing. His name, ISSI NOHO.
Now what?
The Mighty Oak sleeps in the Acorn
I now had my main character with a name and a home.
So I made myself a self-congratulatory coffee.
My hands rested over my keypad.
I had a novel at my fingertips. That's what!
This is the moment when I realised that my character
would not do or say anything until I made it happen. .When you reach this point sip your coffee by all means but make sure you start your story-telling journey.
I It will be well worth the effort.
.
Issi Noho - Thames TV/Publishing & Soft Toy
Star of 100 Childrens' TV programmes and published by Heinemann, Piccolo and Sancho Books
THIS WAS THE 'MIGHTY OAK' THAT ISSI NOHO DEVELOPED INTO
Scribblemefun . . .
Or perhaps 'Doodlemefun' is a more appropriate title for this section because this all began with a doodle.
I became intrigued with a cartoon of a boy wearing a huge sombrero. In fact it was so huge that it covered the boy's head. It was more hat than boy, as if he had taken refuge in his hat. It was his home.
A friend of mine made a model of this hatty boy. i named him Sancho and suddenly I could see the possibility of him being a puppet.
I began doodling hats that virtually covered each character completely, be it the king, the mayor, the baker, the teacher, the policeman or the postman.
They became the Hatty People.
Could this be another 'acorn planting' moment?
Well, yes it was. My Hatty folk would live in Hatty houses. HattyTown was born. Developed from another bout of doodling, FilmFair created a stop-go, animated township of characters for Thames TV.
HattyTown books were joined by videos and CDs
. . .
. . . plus a brand new children's comic . . .
PLAYLAND
At the time HattyTown appeared on Thames Television a brand new children's weekly comic -PLAYLAND was launched on the market. It featured children's programmes that were currently on TV so I was particularly lucky.
PLAYLAND flourished for a good two years or so and with it so did HattyTown both in its weekly publication and Christmas annuals.
The PLAYLAND years
Having gained experience writing for TV I was offered writing opportunities and was happy to provide short stories for books like the popular MAGPIE annual. However, my thoughts were moving on from writing episodes for TV and short stories. I wanted to try my hand at a novel.
My main career was teaching, and over a period of some 16 years, I had taken my class of 10/11year olds on field trips every year to Cornwall. The more I learned about the history of Cornwall the more I became completely engrossed and awestruck by the bravery and courage of the tin miners. I was particularly moved by one of the worst disasters that happened at the Levant Tin Mine. I felt that such a disaster could form the basis for an exciting adventure novel and so I set off on the learning curve of writing my first novel
TREGARRICK
'By Tre, Pol and Pen
you shall know your Cornishmen.'
I had done my homework and my mind was stretched with facts about Cornwall - or Kernow as it is in the Cornish language. And the place names and surnames beginning with Tre, Pol or Pen are scattered in profusion over this historic peninsular. TREGARRICK is as good and as powerful a Cornish name as you can find. My novel took me months to complete. I was, eventually, happy with what I had written but, unfortunately, I could not find a publisher for it. I desperately needed to break this deadlock.
365.000 €
I decided to try and find a publisher in Cornwall. And I did.
TABB HOUSE
TABB HOUSE was a good find but the first edition cover (see left) was poor. It did not shout "Adventure" and the illustration looked too scary. The revised effort for our second edition was a distinct improvement and my partnership with Tabb House took off.
The Tabb House Years . . .
Having published Tregarrick, Tabb House were happy to publish other titles I was writing. The BBC broadcast a programme on the radio at 10.45 a.m. called 'Listen with Mother.' it was a 15 minute slot for a children's story. I wrote a short story called 'My Brother Humphrey' and was lucky enough to get it accepted for this slot. I wrote a further 7 Humprey titles and Tabb House agreed to publish all 8.
. . . and a second novel 'BIRD MOUNTAIN.'
With an offer of tips for would-be writers gleaned from my journey . . .
Cultivate that joy in simply playing with words. Decide on the age of your hoped-for readers. Develop your initial ideas. Then just write. Persevere.
Get to the end. Read, re-read. Make changes if needed. Follow guidance on how best to approach publisher or TV. Listen to and take on board all positive criticism. Persevere.
©Copyright. All rights reserved.
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details and accept the service to view the translations.