LITERATURE SPOTLIGHT P. 112
IVY LEAVES JOURNAL OF LITERATURE & ART
EDITION 99
The Eccentric History of a Sicilian: Johnathan Sorce
on Writing, Komodo Dragons, and Persimmons
WRITER JOHNATHAN SORCE
WRITTEN BY BRIANNA MARTIN
There is no better word to describe Johnathan Sorce’s writing style than eclectic. As a Creative Writing and History double major, Johnathan enjoys using “the elements of story that you see through history” in his own writings. Johnathan utilizes historical events, places, and people as a base for inspiration and to shape and improve his own writing. He dabbles in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and has explored concepts ranging from fantasy to his Sicilian heritage.
Johnathan began his writing journey at a young age when his homeschool curriculum introduced him to persuasive writing and he attended a creative writing class at a church. At age eleven, he started working on a novel project that involved crafting his own world and language. The project has since been shelved, but Johnathan hopes that “part of it may see the light of day or may be inspiration for other things.”
J.R.R. Tolkien and Dr. Seuss have been some of Johnathan’s greatest inspirations, both as a young child and to this day. He does not limit himself to only drawing inspiration from authors, however. He enjoys watching movies and television shows like Adventure Time and Over the Garden Wall to appreciate and learn from their craft. Johnathan continues to search for inspiration as he consumes other types of media as well such as plays and history podcasts.
A more recent mentor figure for Johnathan is Sal Fontana, a recent Anderson University graduate. Fontana has been balancing his responsibilities as an adult, husband, worker, and friend while also finding time to write. Johnanthan says that “Sal’s aspirations did not die from real world responsibilities,” and wants to emulate that as he is faced with his own graduation. When Johnathan navigates the post graduate world, he aims to write and design tabletop games.
Johnathan hopes that his readers will find that the “world is interesting when you stop to think about it and when you stop to appreciate it.” He desires to entertain readers while giving them an appreciation for history and all it has to offer. Most of all, he does not want to lose sight of the formal yet silly tone he employs to write his stories.
“The woRld is interesting when you stop to think about it and when you stop to appreciate it.”
Johnathan is constantly thinking of new ideas and storylines to use in his works. Even as he completes homework or hangs out with friends, Johnathan keeps a part of his mind focused on new concepts. When he has the time to concentrate solely on his works, he conducts research to ensure a proper representation of the time period he writes in. Johnathan also enjoys going on walks in order to flesh out ideas by talking to himself. Throughout the writing process, Johnathan has a chaotic compilation of documents where he works through numerous iterations before a final copy emerges.
Currently, Johnathan is working on a historical fantasy piece that follows two brothers who leave their homeland to find adventure. The two knights plan to make a name for themselves, but chaos in the land coupled with their flaws causes a falling out. As a whole, the piece will include some elements of magic. A unique component of this piece is that the plants and animals do not align with those on earth. Jonathan gave the example that instead of horses, “the characters ride on what is essentially a giant Komodo dragon.”
Throughout the journal, Johnathan’s works explore medieval babbling, star vomit, ancestors, spring time, and persimmons, which demonstrate his whimsical writing style.
Johnathan leaves this advice for other authors: “You’ll never be good at anything accidentally. First attempts will not always be fruitful in the way that one hopes, but it should never stop you from writing.”
