Top graduate from Notre Dame found his calling in creative writing

Notre Dame Regional High School's 2013 valedictorian, Matthew Thompson, will leave for Vanderbilt University this fall to pursue a degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing and a flute minor.

Thompson is the author of three novels, one of which is published by e-book publishing company SynergEbooks.

Thompson writes during the summers and focuses on classes and extracurricular activities during the school year.

While at Notre Dame, Thompson participated in Scholar Bowl for four years, making captain of the varsity team as a senior. He played the flute, making All-District Band every year and the All-State Orchestra his senior year. He was a member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society for three years, making vice president his senior year. Thompson also was a member of the National Honor Society for the last two years.

"Maybe after a month of resurrecting myself from the year of school work, I just get into a writing mode, and I'll write a novel in like a month," he said.

Thompson always has been an avid reader, but during a walk down to Little Bear Lake about seven years ago, it struck him that he might as well give writing a try.

"I can remember it very vividly," he said. "I just thought if I liked reading so much, why should I not try and write something?"

After his first few attempts, Thompson found his niche in fantasy writing. The outdoors still is where many of his ideas are born.

"I can sort of imagine the situations happening outside, so I'll take a walk and I'll imagine a battle occurring in the woods or something like that, and that will kind of just develop into a story," he said.

When it comes to transferring his imagination to a word document, Thompson mass-produces. Some days he can sit and write 6,000 words.

"I usually keep it in its own little world," he said. "It's kind of private until I have it in a format that I'm happy with."

His parents encouraged him to read early on, and Thompson fell in love with works like the "Lord of the Rings" and "Eragon." Lately, he's moved to classics like "100 Years of Solitude" and "The Great Gatsby."

This is his last summer before heading to college, and Thompson plans to broaden his writing by switching from the fantasy genre to a more realistic fiction. He's considering writing about some of his experiences from his last year of high school.

Thompson will miss the friendships he's made at Notre Dame, but the lure of the academic life at Vanderbilt promises a welcome challenge. Looking forward, he sees himself as a professor at a university, teaching and writing fiction on the side.

There's a Wordsworth quote Thompson loves: "Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart."

"That's really inspirational for me when I'm writing, because that's really what I'm doing," he said. "It's taking my own experiences and my own feelings and just putting them on paper."

botto@semissourian.com

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