By Gabbie Burton
Contributing Writer

Starting a new hobby can sometimes be daunting. There’s no guarantee that you’ll be great at the new activity or that you’ll even enjoy it. Some may just dip their toes into the new waters rather than diving headfirst but Will Kleman is not one of those people.

The 22-year-old Landenberg resident recently published his first novel, Bygones Volume I: Jome’s Secret this March while in his senior year at Villanova University. It was his first attempt at creative writing.

“This is definitely my first try,” Kleman said. “I don’t think I thought I would ever want to write when I was younger, but I guess subconsciously, I kind of always really enjoyed stories and creating things.”

Kleman shared that some of his favorite stories that inspired him were from the movies and TV he grew up watching, including the Harry Potter series, the Star Wars series and Lord of the Rings series, and a far as making any similarities to these classics, Kleman said that Bygones can be compared most to the Harry Potter films because of the shared fantasy genre and the coming of age story that serve as key narratives.

The story of Bygones introduces two brothers as they embark on unexpected journeys that both test them and force the pair to question the rules of the land where they grew up. To layer his work, Kleman created an accompanying soundtrack with seven original pieces that follow the plot of the novel.

“I would say the soundtracks are one of the reasons I really enjoy movies sometimes over books because you get more of a feeling of the vibe of where the story is going and the characters,” he said. “I tried to pick scenes that were different enough from each other, so that the songs aren’t too similar, so that you can kind of get a sense of each place that the characters are going.”

Kleman played drums in elementary school and followed by picking up the guitar and piano in middle school from his father Bill and his sister, Abby. Collaborating with his father, Kleman wrote each piece of the soundtrack and then recorded the songs with his former drum teacher and a team of musicians in a studio.

A four-year process from start to finish

Balancing the writing of a novel and creating an original soundtrack while also being a full-time student majoring in economics and computer science took time and dedication. Kleman wrote the novel over four years, beginning in his senior year at Kennett High School to his senior year at Villanova.

“I would usually work on it between either homework or when I had downtime or was in the library after a late class,” he said. “I also like having that contrast between schoolwork and then when I’m not doing the homework, having something that’s a little bit freer and more creative.”

Kleman reflected on the journey of the novel of those four years but also on his own journey in that pivotal bridge of time between adolescence and adulthood.

“I think because the characters I have created are pretty similar to my age, I would say I kind of almost grew as I was writing with the characters,” Kleman said. “I think that it definitely helped my experience that I wrote it over a long period of time, rather than rushing it through in a year or two.”

When Kleman finally finished the novel, he received help from his mother, Jamie, a children’s author, in self-publishing the novel under Amazon’s KDP publishing program, with hopes that it will become available in bookstores.

Moving forward, Kleman has begun the outline for the next novel in the series and hopes to expand the series one day into a movie. After he graduates from Villanova on May 16, he plans on moving back to Landenberg and finding work in his areas of study while still pursuing his creative interests.

Kleman concluded with his thoughts and advice for other young adults who may be hesitating diving headfirst into a challenging and creative project.

“I think it is important to have something that you’re passionate about, and even if you can only work on it for 30 minutes a day, I think it’s important to at least give it that time,” he said. “Starting out I think is the hardest thing, but once you’re in, I think you'll see that it’s not as hard and it’s actually fun to do it as you keep going.”

To learn more about Will Kleman and Bygones Volume I: Jome’s Secret, visit www.bygonesbook.com.