Tyrone senior Connor Gority has yet to graduate high school, but as a writer he already has three published books to his credit.

Gority has been working on his Elderquest trilogy for six years, and even though that story line is ending, that doesn’t mean Gority is done writing.

“I have been blessed to have such amazing friends and inspiring people to base my characters off of. I don’t know what I could have done without them,” said Gority.

Of the many people who inspired his characters, seniors Jayde LaRosa and Arian Hicks impacted him the most.

“It took him forever to tell me why I was in his book and to this day I still don’t know how I influenced him… He’s always had a passion for writing and he went for it. Hats off to him,” said Hicks.

According to his father, Richard, his son has always gravitated towards drawing, art, and other creative expressions. 

However, Connor says that initially he didn’t enjoy writing, but in his freshman English class, he started to develop the Elderquest story line and characters into something more than just an idea.

Gority credits his freshman English teacher, Leah Deskevich, for initially helping him through his writing process.

“I’ve done what all Tyrone Area English teachers do, ask and encourage students to write and read…and write and read some more,” said Deskevich, “When writing and reading are daily classroom activities and not occasional course events, students build writing and reading confidence and skills. It’s not usual to find students who’ve been writing on their own for years. It’s a bit more unusual to find someone motivated enough to publish and publicize his own work, like Connor and his Elderquest series.”

Deskevich’s advice to Gority, or any other student that aspires to write, is to seek out like-minded people who also enjoy reading and writing.

“Make them read your work, give you feedback and introduce you to new books and authors. Join the Eagle Eye. Publish your work online. Read about and watch interviews with your favorite authors. Ace your English essays. Volunteer your writing skills in the community, e.g.local newspaper, church bulletin, family newsletter, club minutes, middle or elementary school ELA classrooms,” said Deskevich.

Not only have Gority’s friends and teachers inspired and encouraged him, his parents have also helped shepherd him through the experience.

“I am very proud of [Connor] for being so creative and committed to this project. I have learned so much about his personality from his writing. I love that he has taken pride in his work and that it makes him so happy,” said his mom, Michelle Gority.

In fact, Gority’s mom wrote poems and short stories when she was his age, but didn’t share her work until after he started his series.

Gority’s father has also been there to help Connor to complete his books. He helped Connor with the formatting and production of the books themselves.

“My support over the years has been up and down depending on how much interest Connor has shown in developing his own skills and furthering his abilities through learning and practice. There have been times I have questioned his dedication to the arts, and other times when he has amazed me in what he was able to accomplish on his own. I would always encourage him to find a solution for how to create final, printed pieces, and other moments when I could assist him in getting the publication just right,” said Richard Gority.

Gority looks to further his writing career after high school and created the Elderquest universe and characters to eventually merge them with other stories he has written. According to Gority, the Elderquest universe can be compared to the way Marvel merges stories and characters.

Gority also hopes to incorporate his post-high school plans of graphic design and visual arts to help put his name out in the community.

“For as far as I’ve come with writing the Elderquest trilogy, I also learned about different ways to put my work out there. I am currently uploading to Wattpad, a free online book reading service, and look to put my works up there as well as have ink and paper copies. Book 1 has already been uploaded, and Book 2 is about halfway done with Book 3 not far behind. Anyone can visit and join Wattpad, and it’s a great way to read books, so be sure to go and check out Elderquest on Wattpad,” said Gority.