Little did we know that the beloved authors of Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries were part of a literary syndicate of ghost writers. We loved the way the characters spent their days independent of adult supervision and, yes, still managing to choose good over evil. Citizenship over anarchy. Like you, Terry, l did not recognize the formulaic
Structure. (oops. Writing on my phone). But formulas are comforting in the throes of childhood. And adulthood too. Check out the Hallmark Christmas movies. Merry Christmas to all.
Clan McFarlane is pretty proud of Leslie McFarlane (his real name) as is Haileybury, Ontario where he wrote 20+ of the Hardy Boys novels. Apparently, Haileybury has a sign to this effect although I have not seen it for myself. Yes, Ontario has produced its share of writers, even if some wrote to a formula!
The Hardy Boys Detective Handbook! I'd forgotten all about that. Later I had a book about how to be a spy, which was intriguing as well.
I'm one of those people who identified themselves as a writer from a young age -- at least as far back as 6, but maybe younger. I advertised on As It Happens to write free songs for people (no takers, sadly). I'm not sure if everyone is a born writer, though I suspect most would show writing tendencies from early on, even if they didn't think of themselves as a writer per se. But you can put me down on your list on the "Innate" side. (Albeit with LOTS of practice afterwards...)
And that, my friend, is what is known as the wisdom of the aged! Oops, did I just call you aged? Sorry but it's true. We come to these conclusions in our 'golden' years, even if those years can be a little worn and worrisome. Food for thought, Terry. Thanks!
What a hoot to see all those volumes of The Hardy Boys in this blog post. I don’t have my collection any more – they went from my basement to my son’s basement after my wife died and I downsized. I hope my grandsons have read them and keep them for another generation.
Like you, I was highly influenced in my early reading, and likely my writing by those books by Canadian author ‘Franklin W. Dixon’. In my book, The Treasure of Stella Bay (and I do hope you will find the time to read it), a book lightly patterned on Mark Twain’s autobiography’, Tom Sawyer, but set in 1962, rather than 1862) I make frequent reference to the Hardy Boys.
I read the Hardy Boys too as a kid. That must be it!
Little did we know that the beloved authors of Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries were part of a literary syndicate of ghost writers. We loved the way the characters spent their days independent of adult supervision and, yes, still managing to choose good over evil. Citizenship over anarchy. Like you, Terry, l did not recognize the formulaic
Structure. (oops. Writing on my phone). But formulas are comforting in the throes of childhood. And adulthood too. Check out the Hallmark Christmas movies. Merry Christmas to all.
Clan McFarlane is pretty proud of Leslie McFarlane (his real name) as is Haileybury, Ontario where he wrote 20+ of the Hardy Boys novels. Apparently, Haileybury has a sign to this effect although I have not seen it for myself. Yes, Ontario has produced its share of writers, even if some wrote to a formula!
The Hardy Boys Detective Handbook! I'd forgotten all about that. Later I had a book about how to be a spy, which was intriguing as well.
I'm one of those people who identified themselves as a writer from a young age -- at least as far back as 6, but maybe younger. I advertised on As It Happens to write free songs for people (no takers, sadly). I'm not sure if everyone is a born writer, though I suspect most would show writing tendencies from early on, even if they didn't think of themselves as a writer per se. But you can put me down on your list on the "Innate" side. (Albeit with LOTS of practice afterwards...)
Glad to hear your book tour went well!
And that, my friend, is what is known as the wisdom of the aged! Oops, did I just call you aged? Sorry but it's true. We come to these conclusions in our 'golden' years, even if those years can be a little worn and worrisome. Food for thought, Terry. Thanks!
What a hoot to see all those volumes of The Hardy Boys in this blog post. I don’t have my collection any more – they went from my basement to my son’s basement after my wife died and I downsized. I hope my grandsons have read them and keep them for another generation.
Like you, I was highly influenced in my early reading, and likely my writing by those books by Canadian author ‘Franklin W. Dixon’. In my book, The Treasure of Stella Bay (and I do hope you will find the time to read it), a book lightly patterned on Mark Twain’s autobiography’, Tom Sawyer, but set in 1962, rather than 1862) I make frequent reference to the Hardy Boys.
An enjoyable return to the Hardy Boys which I reread (a few, anyways) back in 1969 during a northern stint with Frontier College...