153. Ricky’s story

What Ricky said to me that day. The words that he said he was sad because he could not read it left a big resonance in me. Should I say that his words opened his eyes?

It was a kind of responsibility that I hadn’t thought of until just before that. An opening in my field of vision to try to use my talents in a slightly more diverse way so that a wider range of people can enjoy them.

So what I thought was a novel for young children like Ricky. whatever kind it is I think I’ll probably write some kind of fantasy novel.

And the drawings Ricky drew in the hospital room were intended to be recreated as monsters or characters in the text.

“Why are you suddenly buying so many fairy tales and children’s fantasy books?”

Kang-seok flipped through the books delivered to the hotel room, which are read by children of various kinds, and tilted his head.

What else are you buying and collecting these books for?

Curiosity arose. Didn’t something interesting, unexpected, and out of the norm happen every time Jaeik moved?

“It’s a new storyline.”

“Are you going to make something like Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, or Goosebumps?”

“What kind of work standards are you talking about?”

Aren’t these works of absolute perfection? Books 1, 2 and 23 in the series sold over 100 million copies.

“Yeah. Now, are you deceiving me? If so, look at the number of copies sold now in the world and talk about it. It’s already sold over 5,000 copies after only selling 2 copies. What’s up? You said you would write about 7 to 8 books in the world, so 100 million copies is unconditional.”

“ah? Have your sales increased that much already?”

Come to think of it, I remembered that Ian had recently received an e-mail, but I hadn’t checked it properly.

“Ahh? ah? Have sales increased that much?”

Kang-seok stretched his horse’s tail and pushed the tablet screen.

The report to Ian McShane clearly stated that the recent worldwide sales of the book had exceeded 50 million copies.

“Whatever. Please contact Mr. Ian. I wonder if Watpad also publishes children’s books or children’s fantasy novels. If you have an idea, you can make a contract. after 4 days? I think the outline will come out roughly.”

“no wonder. Is it because of Ricky?”

At Kang Seok’s question, Jae Ik shook his head slightly. Because it was as Kang Seok said.

But it started because of Ricky, but not only because of Ricky.

I wanted the children lying in the same hospital room as Ricky to dream of adventures in this wide world, and I wanted them to grow up happier after seeing my work.

“okay. suffer I’ll contact President Ian.”

Kang Seok checked the contents on the tablet and quietly left the room. It was basic not to disturb Jaeik when he was concentrating like that, and at the same time, whenever he did that, he always created something.

“Hmm.”

Jaeik laid out Ricky’s picture on the printer and lost himself in thought. I had never written anything for children before, so there was no point in worrying about it.

what content to write What story should I bring?

However, if I were to write the third part of the world right away or another adult fantasy, I would write one right away, but I was extremely cautious about novels aimed at children.

As with all content, the most important framework is the story. This Ricky story also didn’t end with Part 1.

It wasn’t even a story that would end as a novel. Was there a single piece of content I created that just went over without OSMU or Transmedia?

Besides, there were too many so-called restrictions, from word choice to scenes. I had to be careful not to be negatively influenced by my writing considering that I have to write without difficulty and that my emotional development is still not perfect.

Thanks to that, I was struggling over and over again.

“value.”

And after a while, Jae-ik, who caught his tail, wrote the word value out loud on a piece of white paper and wrote down the most commonly used values in children’s literature, such as friendship and love, good and evil, adventure and the power to overcome hardships.

You can’t use things like scheming, politics, and revenge that would be used in adult fantasy here.

“The main character’s name is Ricky. And an adventurer and wizard exploring a harsh world.”

I was going to draw a wizard who goes on an adventure to find something lost.

After deciding what kind of writing he would like to write, Jaeik started drawing.

Isn’t a fairy tale more immersive when accompanied by illustrations? Even children will be able to relate to visuals more clearly than words. It’s easier to write if you decide the scene to some extent.

The sketch of Ricky, who hums spontaneously and starts an adventure on the tablet, has already been completed.

“Good. great.”

A faint smile did not leave Jaeik’s face as he worked.

It’s my first time working on a fairy tale, but I should say that I’m enjoying it more than I thought.

After drawing several pictures, Jaeik put the pictures on display, opened a character notebook on a piece of white paper, and wrote down the character’s settings.

“Ricky. A child with pure, untainted curiosity. Brave and . . .”

Ricky’s hair was light brown, the same color as his parents’ hair. And it was a character with a playful face.

That’s how I started to fill in the letters by selecting only the easy words on the white paper and only the scenes that the children could more intuitively accept.

—

(Fairy tale? Children’s fantasy novel?)

Ian McShane tilted his head after seeing the email sent by Kang Seok. Suddenly, a very short story about Jaeik writing a children’s fantasy novel.

(Suddenly, it’s a child’s fantasy. What’s the reason?)

Jae Ik, who is in the middle of writing the third part of the world behind the scenes, is suddenly writing a children’s fantasy novel and has any thoughts of publishing it.

(I have an idea, of course.)

The problem was that Watpad mainly published web novels and works aimed at adults.

In other words, in the case of children’s fantasy, it meant that there was little publishing experience, but it is not possible to hand over the golden egg to another publisher.

(First of all, Shelly! Two plane tickets to New York! Tomorrow at the earliest possible time! I made an appointment for a meeting with writer Song Jae-ik’s manager! And…)

(yes!)

In an instant, the resume of an employee who had recently joined the company came to mind.

(Brene. Brene agrees to this business trip too. Tell him that it’s the writer Song Jae-ik’s case, and schedule a schedule for New York!)

(All right!)

(Which gift should I buy this time?)

The person you meet is not just a writer, but Song Jae-ik. I don’t know what the reason is, but isn’t it basic to go with both hands raised?

Ian McShane picked up his overcoat. It wasn’t time to leave work yet, but I had to go home and pack my things to go to New York, where I was staying, and I had to find out at least a rough idea of what it was about.

(It’s a children’s fantasy novel.)

Everyone in the world is like that, but when it comes to children’s fantasy, isn’t Harry Potter the most representative novel?

But in such a market, Jaeik’s work? For those who know that Jaeik is an adult fantasy specialist, it may be foreign to them.

Ian McShane was curious. What is the children’s fantasy written by Song Jae-ik?

Of course, that pleasure should be left to what you feel in New York.

—

(Uh, is it right for me to go?)

Brene Brown, a newcomer to Watpad, tilted her head all the way to New York because she hadn’t yet heard why she was accompanying her on this business trip.

I knew that I was going to a meeting with writer Song Jae-ik, but the genres I dealt with were completely different. He had specialized in children’s literature so far, and joined Watpad to access novels of more diverse genres.

However, there is no way that he, who is completely new to adult fantasy, would be entrusted with a writer like Song Jae-ik.

(That’s right. You had a lot of children’s publishing experience before you came here.)

(Is Song Jae-ik writing a book for children?)

Was there anyone who didn’t know Song Jae-Ik as a Watpad employee? He is a writer from the other side of the world, but that writer is a novel for children.

(Oops. It looks like I didn’t say anything. This one. I’ve been distracted lately. They said it was a child’s fantasy. I haven’t checked the text yet. I’m going to check it out today and sign a contract.)

Brene’s worried mind went ahead. The genre of children’s fantasy was never an easy genre. Perhaps more difficult than adult fantasy was child fantasy.

It had to be that delicate, and at the same time, it had to be approached cautiously. Should I say that if I make a mistake, it becomes a novel that is neither me nor me?

However, the advantage of children’s fantasy was that it could encompass all generations if written properly.

Just the works that immediately come to mind include Winnie the Pooh, Harry Potter, The Little Prince, The Chronicles of Narnia, Alice’s Tale, and The Wizard of Oz. All of them were children’s novels, but don’t adults like them too?

(By the way, isn’t this Broadway?)

We arrived by taxi in front of a production company on Broadway. A musical production company that is not a hotel, restaurant, or cafe?

(Ah, did you not know? The writer is working hard on producing musicals these days.)

(I only heard that you write musical scripts.)

Brené followed Ian into the building, and Kang Seok greeted Ian warmly.

(It’s been a while!)

(That’s right. It’s nice if we see each other often, but since the writer is very busy.)

At Ian’s words, Kang Seok laughed out loud. That, too, was true. Aren’t you suddenly going on a road trip with the American group?

Of course, there were autograph sessions in the middle cities, but Ashhi and Ian’s schedule didn’t match, so another employee took his place.

(Are you upstairs? I was a bit surprised that the production company asked to meet, but he’s a very busy person.)

Kang Seok’s expression suddenly turned strange at Ian’s question.

(Maybe something happened to the author…?)

(Ha ha. You better go and see it yourself.)

—

(Ah, it looks like he’s practicing. Quietly.)

The place where Kang Seok guided us was not a conference room, but a practice room. It is also a kind of practice room with a simple stage.

(I was originally going to hold the meeting in the conference room.)

Kang Seok shook his head and carefully opened the door behind him and went in, and the whole view of the stage came into view.

And the image of Jaeik singing and playing the piano on the stage. Not just singing as if practicing, but collaborating with other actors next to you!

Besides, it sang really well. So is the piano.

Neither Ian nor Brene could say anything at the moment and just opened their mouths.

(Somehow, I got to stand on the stage of a musical. That was also decided a while ago.)

Kang Seok scratched his head. How embarrassing it was to suddenly stand on stage for a test performance less than a week after he said he was worried.

It was while talking about directing with the cast actors.

very impulsively. That’s very frustrating.

(It’s frustrating, so I’m not even doing it.)