Susan Pamela Eunice Emilson is a typical 13-year-old girl. She likes to play the flute and hanging out with her friends, hates Math, loves pizza, and enjoys watching television when she has the time. She insists that the TV show C.S.I. does not give her nightmares, although the sight of a needle in real life makes her want to throw up. A normal girl doing normal things…except for those 80 page hand-written novels she produces on a regular basis.
Emilson started writing when she was four years old, starting off with song writing and plays. Her latest play, “A Mother’s Life”, was scheduled to perform at her own Junior High School when Emilson’s friend, a major character, had to back out. Instead, the play was performed with characters played by stuffed animals and her little sister for a captivated audience of four…Emilson’s parents and grandparents. “We did it for my Mom’s birthday. I think she really enjoyed it.” She gives me a shy smile, seeming a child one moment and an old soul the next.
“Words are powerful,” she says solemnly.
And words are what Emilson has to spare for her passion, which is writing mysteries in long fiction. Her stories are filled with people with exotic names and littered with realistic dialogue. “I’d like to make a career out of writing stories,” she says, “but even if I didn’t make any money at it, I’d still do it on the side. And maybe own a farm with all types of animals.” She makes a squeamish face. “Not cows, though.”
For a challenge, her father commissioned her to write a short story for a summer project. “I made one but it was really hard. There wasn’t enough space to give the characters time to develop and I didn’t like being restricted to only writing about one scene.” Longer is equated with better in Emilson’s first experiences with publishing. An E-Zine approved one of Emilson’s stories, Five In An Unknown World, on the condition that it is extended eight more chapters. She promptly complied by not only meeting their expectations, but also writing 13 extra chapters.
Emilson credits her little sister, Charissa, for being a motivation to keep the stories coming. “She’ll always ask to read what I’m working on and then she’ll beg to know what happens next. I have to keep going so she’ll leave me alone!” She sighs. Then she adds quickly and modestly, “My mom tells me I have a great gift.”
When asked to list the special gifts of an outstanding kid, Emilson says, “Kind and patient. Having a sense of humour makes you interesting.” How would others describe Emilson? “Nice, I hope.” She thinks for a minute, “Maybe the boys wouldn’t say that.”
Besides all that writing practice Emilson still likes to keep her skills sharp. “I like to read a good author. I find that I learn how to write from analyzing how the author puts the story together and the ideas that he or she may have. I also like to think about things I might have changed or added to make it even a better story.”
Emilson’s advice to wanna-be writers is to stay with it. “I find that the story or the character gets really stale if I don’t write something on it everyday. If I don’t work at the story constantly, I find it really hard to finish it. I have a lot of uncompleted stuff.”
But with more than a dozen completed stories and plays under her belt, Emilson seems well on her way. A warning to all editors: be on the watch for a rising star – goes by the name of Susan Emilson.
