College student pens first novel

Dawson Therre’s first novel was released in May. Photos submitted

By Tom Victoria

Dawson Therre uses the power of the pen to process his and others’ emotions. The burgeoning author released his first novel this spring.

The young writer explained what writing means to him.

“When I'm writing, if I feel a certain way about something, it is easier to articulate because I write it,” he said. “And then I read it over, and I process the emotion, and I feel better about it. It's always good to write it down, get the feeling out and then circle back around and see how you actually feel about it. Writing is definitely a way for me to process emotions.”

Dawson’s protagonist Jack Boyd follows in the footsteps of such literary luminaries as The Catcher in the Rye’s Holden Caulfield, A Separate Peace’s Gene Forrester and The Perks of Being a Wallflower’s Charlie Kelmeckis as he comes of age dealing with grief and love.

“The book is called You can recognize late September by how the leaves whistle just right, kindly to the wind,” he said. “It's a bit of a long title, but it's said in the book. It explains the whole arc of the story, because the main character's mom died in September. And then a few weeks later, his best friend also died.”

Dawson, 20, of Florida said the book initially had a different title.

“My writing the title was completely a chance thing,” he said. “Up to then I was calling the book Ever Since September but then I wrote this really beautiful lyrical sentence that I just couldn’t let go of. I knew the book had to be called that right away.” 

Dawson explained how Jack handles his emotions.

“He's writing in a journal, basically handling his grief and trying to recoup the entire last year, trying to process it through writing,” he said.

Dawson was spurred by reading J.D. Salinger’s most famous work.

“I was reading a lot coming out of quarantine, Covid and everything,” he said. “I'd been reading so much that I was feeling really inspired. I read The Catcher in the Rye, which was definitely a book that heavily inspired this book. The Catcher in the Rye set off the way I wanted my prose to go and the way I wanted to structure the story. I also liked The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It's definitely one of my favorite stories ever. I wanted to create a character that was similar to Charlie in that story if that's even possible, because I think that's one of the best written characters in fiction that we have.”

Just as Gene in A Separate Peace has the pivotal moment of shaking a branch that causes his best friend Finny to fall and innocence to be lost, Jack has his own crucial juncture in Dawson’s story.

“I look at the character in my book, Jack, the same way,” he said. “There's definitely a point in the book where you can see becoming of age. Something happened, and you can see the way his character completely changed from then. I tried my best to write it from experience I've had growing up. I'm only 20 years old, so I haven't lived too much. But my teenage years, I tried to definitely incorporate them into the story to make it as relatable as possible.”

In Dawson’s tale, the pivotal moment occurs during a game.

“Chapter 8 is called It's a New Life, Right? I put that whole chapter around the basis of realizing, okay, I'm moving into a different chapter of my life,” he said. “One of the characters says that to Jack: ‘it's a new life.’ I really like that dialogue, so I wanted to name the chapter after it. That's the climax of the story. They're at a high school party and there's a spin the bottle game that happens and there's a certain moment that takes place. That's when Jack has the moment, okay, this is my life now as compared to before. Everything has changed and this is who I am now. That's definitely that point.”

The cover of Dawson’s novel.

Dawson carefully considered what each chapter should be named.

“Each chapter title comes from a sentence I wrote in that particular segment, though sometimes I did struggle deciding the names and what fit best,” he said. “I wanted to consider all things happening in the chapter and be totally certain I was giving it the most effective name thematically. Chapter 8 I almost called Kissing Stories and Chapter 4 was almost called The Little Girl Who Died.”

Dawson purposely selected 1987 to be when the meat of the story takes place.

“I actually picked 1987 because of Fleetwood Mac,” he said about the renowned rock band. “Their song Songbird plays a very important part in the main character’s story. I also just knew I wanted it to be a time before mobile cell phones were a thing.” 

Dawson said he drew upon his own loss to translate through Jack.

“When losing someone, there's always the what if thought,” he said. “Who would I be if they were here? Because we will never know, but it's a haunting thought. I lost my grandpa at a very young age and I always think would I do this if he was still here? What would he think of my actions? I tried to really incorporate that into my book — Jack always having the regret of doing things and thinking my mom's not here to see me do this. How should I feel about it?”

Dawson watched his grandfather’s health decline.

“My grandpa lived with us when he was dying,” he said. “I was only 12 at that time and it was definitely a lot to cope with so young thinking about it now. But these things happen all the time. Tragic as they are, I think we have to experience them to grow up. I think grief, however big or small, we have to suffer all the way through it to heal properly. You have to let yourself feel awful and bad. Don’t go all out trying not to be that way. One of my favorite lines in my book is: ‘If you never bleed at even the very smallest things, you must not bleed at all.’”

Dawson also could relate to a time he felt like he was a different person than he used to be.

“I had this whole thing happen in the beginning of the year that changed a friendship I really valued,” he said. “I felt my world slip off its axis, but I found myself dwelling on it way too much. I got so bitter. I couldn’t sit in that feeling my whole life. It’s not healthy. At some point, you have to put on your shoes and just walk off. I didn’t used to be that way at all, though. I’d dwell on everything and stay in one place forever if I could.” 

Dawson said the key to crafting an effective tale is making it relatable.

“If everyone can relate to it, that's my goal,” he said. “As any writer ever, that should be their goal is to make something that everyone can in some way relate to.”

Dawson said he did his job if people relate to any aspect of the novel.

“When I was writing this story, a lot of times, I was thinking would somebody actually get this,” he said. “I'm trying to articulate through the prose, but at some point, I just let that go.  Somebody out there definitely will find some way to relate to this. When I read books, there's always some sort of way that I can wiggle in some relation to it. So I'm hoping with my book, people are able to — even if they don't completely relate to the story — that they can find one piece of it that they can.”

Dawson appreciates the ability of fiction to illustrate how good people are capable of doing bad things and bad people can do good.

“I like writing characters like that,” he said. “A character who has done something totally bad and then wondering if they can be redeemed. I became obsessed with the idea of grieving a character who's done something very bad, if it's appropriate to grieve them. I really liked that idea. I toyed with it a little bit in this story, but I didn't really explore it all that much. I don't want to say too much, but in this story, there's definitely a part where you're questioning if you should be allowed to grieve this certain character.”

“I don’t know what I’ll do next, but I feel like this story isn’t totally over yet. I will visit it again.”

Dawson stressed the importance of a character’s growth in a story.

“Definitely having a character that's relatable and trying to recognize my growth in them,” he said. “In my book, it's a linear storyline because I wanted it to come off as realistic as possible. I didn't have the character completely transfixed or totally changed from the beginning to the end of the story because I wanted it to be this is a real-life thing. A person doesn't just change over 200 pages. So by the end of the story, I would say he's kind of the same as he was. But he has newer thoughts and he's still changing. I left it open for interpretation of how the character is going to be moving forward.”

More events may lie ahead for Dawson’s Jack.

“I definitely want to write a second book,” he said. “I think about still following the main character. I've been toying with a few ideas. I'm waiting to hear back on some people still finishing the book. Some people have messaged me asking about a certain character in the book that they want to know more about, which I hadn't really thought much about her story at all. But I guess I'm gonna. I'm always interested to hear what other people think, and I'm always interested to write anything. Maybe I will look into that. I don't know what I'll do next, but I feel like this story isn't totally over yet. I will visit it again.”

Dawson doesn’t force his writing.

“I don't ever force myself to write,” he said. “I write if I really feel in the mood. I found if I'm forcing myself to write, it comes off bland and uninspired. If I feel very good about what I'm doing, the writing comes very simple and easy and I like the product, the result. I never want to say I'm going to sit and write because nothing good ever comes out of that. I found if I just let it come to me, it comes out a lot better.”

Dawson would like to explore other worlds than Jack’s when the time is right.

“I'm worried because it's my first book,” he said. “I'm worried if I try to write a different book about a totally different character that it would be hard for me to separate the way I wrote this book into that book. That's something I still have to work on as I improve my writing because I don't want somebody to read a book and then be this is like this other book that he wrote. If I'm going to explore other worlds, I want it to be totally brand new.”

Dawson wants his story to ease readers about a concern they may have in their lives regarding grief.

“The most important part is you don't have to or you don't forget people,” he said. “Jack struggles in the book, worrying that he's going to forget his mom. But when you see things, you think of somebody. A bird is a very prominent symbol in the book. Jack sings Songbird because he and his mom used to watch songbirds sing or listen to them sing. Jack is constantly fearful of forgetting his mom. But there's the songbirds that he hears and his mom's memory always comes back to him. I want people to realize there will always be something, an object or thought, that keeps this person in your memory forever. You meet somebody who reminds you of this person or you see somebody wearing a piece of clothing that reminds you of somebody. I want people to know if I ever lose somebody, I know that they won't ever be gone because I at least have the memory of them.”

Dawson isn’t averse to possible fame that authors can experience.

“I don't think I would ever be against having a successful book,” he said. “I do think it would be hard for me to hear negative opinions. In high school, I was in theater. I did a lot of school plays. I've heard negative things before. It's just a thing of life. That's something I'm still working on: getting constructive feedback and applying it to my work. I haven't yet heard anything negative in particular about the book, but if I ever do, I would try to see how I can put it into the future work and make it better. I'm always open to listening.”

Dawson said an issue for creative people is the public focusing on their personal lives rather than their artistic work.

“I look at famous people,” he said. “We have Taylor Swift, for example. Her art is torn apart in response to her public life. It's very hard for people to separate an artist and their work. I wish it wasn't that way, because we have very wonderful writers today who are very popular. But people would rather review their personal life than their art, which is sort of disappointing. If that were to ever happen to me, I would be more disappointed than anything, because first and foremost, I would like the work to be recognized rather than my life.”

“It’s mostly telling yourself I can do this regardless of what people are going to say. If I make something that I’m proud of, I would be content with putting it out into the world and letting people feel any way about it.”

An interest in music led Dawson to become an author.

“In 2020, when Taylor Swift released her album Folklore,” he said. “I found it a very intriguing lyrically. The story she had worked throughout the tracks, I became very fascinated in that. I was like, okay, I want to write a story. I did write the first chapter, a very rough, rough draft of my book. I scrapped it completely because I didn't think it was any good, but then I came back to it a few years later after I became more interested in reading lyrics through music. I became very engrossed in Taylor Swift, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, all of their lyrics. They tell stories very well, and I wanted to tell or write a story that could come off as simple as a lyric, but also vast as a story.”

Dawson pushed aside any trepidation about becoming an author to see his work in print.

“When I was getting ready to release the book, I was so nervous,” he said. “I'm a very extroverted person. People know a lot about me, but putting out the book was a very big step. The story is fiction, but I have feelings and things that have happened to me put in the story. I've glossed them over and I've fictionalized them, but I was still scared that people would be like this was something that actually happened to you? I had to take a deep breath and be, okay, people are going to pick apart the story and try to say this is a part of your life. But I really believed in the book and my writing. It's mostly telling yourself I can do this regardless of what people are going to say. If I make something that I'm proud of, I would be content with putting it out into the world and letting people feel any way about it.”

Dawson said writers shouldn’t let detractors stop them from publishing.

“I would never let anyone else discourage me,” he said. “I put a lot of effort into this book. It took me two years to write. I'm not going to take that. If it's good, it's going to happen.”

Dawson’s creativity extends to the stage.

“I did theater,” he said. “I started in seventh grade and continued all the way through twelfth grade. With acting, it's another form of storytelling. I've always been very obsessed with telling a story. But in acting, you get to play different characters, a wide variety of characters. I played Sir Toby Belch in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, which was definitely an interesting play to take on because it's Shakespeare. It's a lot of complex writing, but it's fun to take a character and make it your own.”

Dawson also savored the interaction with a live audience.

“I like audience reaction a lot,” he said. “Everyone likes applause for them. Whenever I was acting, I definitely did things to appease the audience. If you're paying for a show, you want to enjoy what you're seeing. When I was acting, I never really felt nervous about it because you're playing somebody else. That always got me through it because people can have an opinion on your role, the way you played it. But you're playing a character. It's not you.”

Dawson recalled other memorable roles.

“I also played the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz,” he said. “That was eighth grade. That was a lot of fun.”

Dawson also starred in an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning You Can’t Take It With You.

“That was the first play I did in high school,” he said. “That was a fun one. My character's name was Ed, and I played the xylophone. I'd never played the xylophone before. It's all about learning. I'm always open to learning something new.”

“I was feeling just very excited about the way I could make this end.”

Dawson didn’t pursue acting as writing blossomed.

“When I graduated, I considered acting,” he said. “I applied to Pace University in New York. I got a callback for an audition for them, but then I didn't get all the way through. Then I was, okay, let me think about this for a little while, because I don't know if I wanted to make it a career. I enjoy acting. I would definitely still act today if the opportunity arose. But towards the end of my high school career, I didn't really have that much interest in it because I'd started to write. I am definitely more focused now on writing than I am acting. But if a role was ever given to me or offered to me, I would take it.”

Writing is even tied to Dawson’s pending college degree. He is majoring in journalism at the University of Central Florida. Being a reporter is one of Dawson’s job options.

“I'm still exploring,” he said. “I only just finished my second year of college. That will be the degree that I'm going to get. I'm not going to change my major now. I've been in contact with this one social media company trying to get a job with them, writing a newsletter for them. it would be nice to have a new, refreshing take in journalism because it is going away. People are not prepared for interviews. They don't know what they're writing about necessarily. I would be thoughtful with things that I'm writing. That's why I've always found an interest in journalism.”

Education is another possible route for Dawson.

“I've thought about being a teacher, but that seems kind of worrisome,” he said. “My mom's a teacher and so is my brother. I would be very interested in writing books full-time. Obviously, that's a lot of work, a hard thing to crack into. But if somehow that was possible, I would definitely take that up. I would definitely love to be a teacher. It would be cool to just give my thoughts to young people that are growing up, but I don't know.”

Dawson became more motivated to write as the novel progressed.

“When I was first starting to write the story, it was obviously very hard to stay motivated because it was nothing at first,” he said. “I would say around chapter 4 is when it got big or it was becoming a bigger thing. I was seeing the story form and I was seeing how this could end. That's when I got motivated. I was feeling just very excited about the way I could make this end. It was fun to always think when I'm not writing the story, these characters exist in this world. But they're not doing anything because I'm not there to give direction or finish the sentence and let them know what they're doing next. I always found it exciting to sit down and write because I was continuing the story and it was motivating to know that there was definitely a finish line upcoming and that I could do whatever I wanted with it.”

Once the book was completed, Dawson read up on publishing.

“I self-published it through Amazon Kindle direct publishing,” he said. “I finished the book in January, and then I was thinking of the best way to do this. The story was done. It sat with me for a very long time. I knew that if I didn't put it out immediately, that I would nitpick it and ruin the story completely because I wanted it to be as fresh as possible. I put it out in May. I was just reading articles like easiest way to self-publish a book. I heard or I read good things about Amazon. It was a very simple process. You just submit your transcript, the book cover, and they send you a copy to see if it's what you like.”

Dawson encountered a problem many people might not consider.

“That did take a couple of times to figure out the proportion size of the book that I wanted, because I wanted it to be not that big of a book,” he said. “I wanted it to look like a journal because in the story, that's what the main character is doing, writing in a journal. I feel I succeeded in the correct size that I definitely wanted. But it was hard putting everything together, making sure it's formatted correctly. If one thing is messed up, then it would bug me for my whole life.”

“Don’t overthink it, because there were definitely a lot of times where I was overthinking the story or a sentence that I just wrote. Use any words that you want. It’s your story.”

Dawson’s first attempt did result in the wrong dimensions.

“I was using The Catcher in the Rye as reference for the size that I wanted it,” he said. “I measured that book and I submitted it through Amazon, that same size. But I somehow got messed up. The book that I did was like a tiny little square. I was freaking out, but I figured it out eventually. That was very difficult to get together.”

Dawson dispensed advice to aspiring authors.

“Just go ahead and write this story the way you want,” he said. “Don't overthink it, because there were definitely a lot of times where I was overthinking the story or a sentence that I just wrote. Use any words that you want. It's your story. You're the one that's writing it. No one's there with you. No one's telling you what to do. It's all you. Never force yourself to write. I never found anything good came of that. If you haven't experienced something that you're writing about, it might come off as too surface level. If you have experienced this thing, then the writing you'll notice is definitely more vivid and more beautiful imagery. I would say get out there and experience some stuff.”

Dawson’s book: a.co/d/79uV6ZA

Dawson’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dawsontherre/