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Macksville High School

Macksville High School

Respect - Honesty - Pride - Teamwork

Telephone02 6568 1066

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Hayden Jeffery, Year 11 has short story "NOIR" published in Timeless Tales

We are very proud to announce that Hayden Jeffery in Year 11 at Macksville High School has recently had his short story published in Timeless Tales, after entering the Write4fun, Schools Writing Competition for 2011.

 

Write4fun was formed to enhance the writing abilities of high and primary schools students throughout Australia and New Zealand and more recently, the United States of America. Students are able to express their thoughts and emotions in a rather exciting and fun manner, as well as take part in a unique educational experience. This competition had no theme!! Entrants are encouraged to let their imaginations run wild and get their creative juices flowing to write on any topic and in any style. Students from all grades were welcome to enter from Kindergarten to Grade 12.

 

Hayden describes his work in his own words:

 "The story doesn't, in my view, follow a central plot so much as paints the atmosphere between the two characters ("The Evil Clown" and the unnamed first person narrator) who are versing in stereotyped superhero conflict. I wanted to imply a dark and melancholic bond of personal angst and hypocritical emotions between them; I feel the story is more a verbal portrait or artwork because of this. I'm happy with the end result, but almost a year later, I feel a distance from it, as if the work's author was another person, although much of my other stories still retain the same gloom and internal conflict as this piece.

The characters I used were recycled from other stories/concepts I was still developing; much of what I wrote is what I wrote instantly and in the one session. It's a raw, spontaneous burst of literary violence, to put it in an honest but overly saturated way. The title, "Noir", comes from the French word for "black"; it's also a nod to the 1930's jaded detective crime films, and simultaneously a hint at the mood of the story piece. Ultimately, it is a story between a confused superhero and his tangible, darker half. The twist is distinguishing who is the original and who is the other; the Gothic nihilist teen, or the murderous, psychotic black and white clown".

 

Please click on the following link to read Hayden's winning entry: Hayden Jeffery NOIR (pdf, 57 KB)