Loveday Writing

I was sad to learn at the end of last year that John Marsden passed away at the age of 74.

I actually didn’t learn about the news until after the New Year due to recovering from a car accident that happened on the same day John passed.

As you all know (or even if you don’t), I’ve spent the last (nearly) ten years completing 600 Writing Topics that John came up with and included in his 1993 book, Everything I Know About Writing. I started this self-imposed challenge on 2 September 2015. I initially aimed to complete this challenge within 5 years, however now I’m hoping to complete it before or on the ten year mark.

I have 98 topics left to complete and 80 days to go.

The first novel of John Marsden’s I ever read was Letters from the Inside as part of my work in Year 9 English class in 2005 and immediately fell in love with his work. I fell in love with it even more when I eventually came across more of his work, specifically his debut novel, So Much to Tell You and its follow-up that’s more “sidequel” than sequel, Take My Word for It, not long after I finished high school.

What I loved about these specific novels was how easy yet captivating they were to read, how relatable the characters and setting were, and also how Marsden utilised the epistolary novel style, a literary style that seems to be getting harder to come across these days.

To honour Marsden and his influence on me as a reader and a writer, as well as a good next challenge for me to take on as a writer and a reader once the 600 Writing Topics challenge is complete, I’ve decided to read his books in order, as listed below:

1. So Much to Tell You (1987)
2. The Journey (1988)
3. The Great Gatenby (1989)
4. Staying Alive in Year 5 (1990)
5. Out of Time (1990)
6. Letters from the Inside (1991)
7. Take My Word for It (1992)
8. Looking for Trouble (1993)
9. Everything I Know About Writing (1993)
10. Cool School (1996)
11. Creep Street (1996)
12. Checkers (1996)
13. This I Believe (1996) – Editor
14. For Weddings and a Funeral (1996) – Editor
15. Dear Miffy (1997)
16. Prayer for the Twenty-First Century (1997)
17. Norton’s Hut (1998)
18. The Rabbits (1998)
19. Secret Men’s Business (1998)
20. Winter (2000)
21. Marsden on Marsden (2000)
22. The Head Book (2001)
23. Millie (2002)
24. The Magic Rainforest (2002)
25. A Day in the Life of Me (2002)
26. The Boy You Brought Home (2002)
27. A Roomful of Magic (2004)
28. I Believe This (2004) – Editor
29. Hamlet: A Novel (2008)
30. Home and Away (2008)
31. South of Darkness (2014)
32. The Art of Growing Up (2019)
33. Take Risks (2021)

The Tomorrow Series:

1. Tomorrow, When the War Began (1993)
2. The Dead of Night (1994)
3. The Third Day, The Frost (1995)
4. Darkness, Be My Friend (1996)
5. Burning for Revenge (1997)
6. The Night is for Hunting (1998)
7. The Other Side of Dawn (1999)

The Ellie Chronicles Series:

1. While I Live (2003)
2. Incurable (2005)
3. Circle of Flight (2006)

Alice Miller School, one of the schools that Marsden founded in Victoria, sent a letter to parents stating that “he died at his desk in his home, doing what he loved, writing.” Very few people literally die doing what they love, and what a legacy his love and his creativity leaves this world.

Vale John Marsden, rest in peace.