By David Seaman | Echo
Charles Dickens, William Faulkner, J.K. Rowling: some of of the world's favorite authors didn't write their first novels until well into their twenties or thirties. Sophomore film major Lincoln Reed started when he was 17.
His novel "Judgment" is a dystopian novel about high school student Nate Stephens, who is framed for brutal crimes. Faced with bringing his oppressors to justice or a future as a labor camp inmate, Stephens must become a vigilante in order to clear his name. The novel, self-published in June 2013, is available on Amazon.
A transfer from Hillsdale College, Reed came to Taylor this year to pursue a career in film and writing. Along with taking film classes and writing stories, Reed is catcher for the Taylor baseball team and regularly contributes as a writer for The Echo's Sports section. The Echo talked with him about "Judgment," his writing process and thoughts on a sequel.
Echo: How did your novel "Judgment" come about?
Reed: It came about in high school. I've always had a passion for writing ever since I was little and am fascinated with stories and how they work . . . (and) characters and how to put stories together. In high school, I had a few ideas and thought I'd start a short story. Like a snowball effect, I kept writing for fun. It's a hobby, sort of a release for me to get my mind off of things.
I did a lot of research on how to write a novel and different act structures. What do you need in a protagonist and antagonist? I researched that.
Echo: The story deals with a vigilante-like character. How did you come up with a character like Nate Stephens?
Reed: I love superhero vigilante stories. I thought I'd put my own twist on that, put it in kind of a futuristic atmosphere in America. It's a character study of the protagonist from his point of view, his descent into darkness and how he handles different choices, different situations.
Echo: What was the writing process like for "Judgment"?
Reed: In high school, whenever I had a chance to sit down, if I had a 30-minute window on a weeknight, I'd try to write something down. In between classes, I'd be writing down ideas on my laptop. Whenever I had a chance to put a few thousand words down, I'd do it. It took a while, about a year and a half or so, on and off.
Echo: Did you know you'd be on Amazon?
Reed: I wrote "Judgment" really just for me. I'm not in it right now to make money. I knew that I wanted to write it and finish it. If I thought it was good or someone read it and told me it was good, I'd put it out there. I went the self-publishing route, which some people say is good and some people say is bad. For me, it was more to see what people think, develop an audience. See if I have any talent at all. There's been some good feedback-three of the four Amazon reviews are five-star-so it's been more of an experiment to start creating a portfolio.
Echo: When did you write it?
Reed: I started it the spring of my junior year. I finished the day before I went to college. My goal was to finish it before college because I knew and had this expectation that I wouldn't have much time to write in college at first. (I) finished it up as best I could and let it sit my first year, revisiting it after the school year ended (the novel was published between Reed's freshman and sophomore year at Hillsdale). (I edited) it as best as possible in between and finally putting it out there.
Echo: Between being a catcher for the baseball team and a film major, do you still have time for writing?
Reed: It's pretty scarce. I have ideas running through my head all the time. I daydream and think about what I'm going to write about next, where is this plotline going. If I ever get a chance to sit down and put those on paper, it's few and far between. It's about time management right now. My goal is to write every day; there might be a time where I write a few thousand words a week.
Echo: Will you ever write a sequel to "Judgment"?
Reed: I've been working on one since Christmas. I'm still working through how to structure character developments and the plot. I'm thinking all the time on how to improve it. I'm reading other authors who are doing the same thing I want to do. I'm reading a lot of H.P. Lovecraft right now. I want to incorporate that kind of horror into my writing. (I'm) trying to learn from people who did it well in the past, which I believe is a crucial part of writing. I would love to be a professional writing and film major but I don't think it's physically possible!
