(June 17, 2003) — Brandon Johnson’s love for writing developed tremendously in high school when his teachers at Clark encouraged him to publish his works. After receiving positive feedback for his writing, he decided to pursue the publication of a novel, whose title is yet to be determined. The idea of writing a novel came to him in January of last year. To maintain discipline in putting this idea into action, Johnson decided to make the topic of his novel his senior project. It is a historical fiction novel, which is often a common genre in his writings, about the complications that a group of French servants from a minor noble house faced during the wars of religion from 1563 to 1573. Johnson’s project seems extreme, but he did not start out as a writing with a professional agenda. Prior to his arrival at Clark, Johnson was not a publicized person and like him, his writing was private. Johnson seldom received recognition for his writing. He won a Reflections award in middle school for one of his essays. Although he is proud of this recognition, Johnson comments, “I can’t imagine why my essay was recognized in that Reflections contest. It was quite mediocre.” At Clark, however, his history and English teachers helped his confidence when they commented positively on his essays and creative stories. English teacher Melanie Martin commented, “Brandon’s writing has a real sense of voice and personality.” Perhaps this is true ecause as Johnson said, “my inspiration to write is the emotions of it all. While most writers write to teach a moral or even to make money, I write because I like to be consumed by my imagination and by the creative process of writing. To the underclassmen, Johnson advises, “Try to get to know your teachers because they are the people, especially here at Clark, who could really help you. Also, be glad that you are attending a small school because most students at a normal-sized high school seldom get to speak to their counselors let alone their teachers.