Interview with Wicked Young Writers Award finalist, Emma Findley-Wilson

Along with other young writers in the UK, I attended the Wicked Young Writers' Awards in June. It was a fantastic afternoon which inspired me to kickstart this blog -- albeit it took me a while! Luckily, some of these talented writers agreed to let me interview them to get an insight into their motivation and aspirations. Finalist entries can be found here: http://www.wickedyoungwriters.com/downloads/Wicked_YWA_2015_18-25.pdf . And Sugar Scape finalists can be found here: http://www.wickedyoungwriters.com/downloads/Wicked_Sugarscape_Award2015.pdf

Interview with Emma Findley-Wilson

Tell me a little about your writing journey. When did you start? Why? How many pieces have you written so far? Have any of these been published? Where are you hoping your writing will take you?

I think I've been writing for as long as I remember really - I used to adore making up stories for Literature class at primary school, and typed and printed out my very first story on my parents' laptop when I was about ten. 

I always tell people that I write because I need to rather than anything else. It sounds bizarre, but writing is something as natural as breathing to me; I will always be writing something, even if it's as mundane as an essay for university or long emails to friends. Writing is my best way of expressing myself, and losing myself in the worlds inside my head is my favourite form of escapism. 

So far I've written all sorts! I used to write a lot of poetry, though I've stopped of late - possibly because I've begun to realise that a poem is more than "deep thoughts" splashed artily across a page... I have, however, won a couple of awards for poetry in the past. Other than that and a couple of short stories that have either won or been runners-up in competitions, I've never had anything published. When I was thirteen years old I posted a 100-page story to a publishing company with a hopeful heart, but nowadays I'm content in the knowledge that nothing I've written so far (in terms of novels) is actually good or original enough to grace anyone's bookshelves. 

This doesn't mean, though, that I don't intend to publish something one day! I've half-written a few novels, and also fairly recently got into fanfiction, which led me to starting and finishing (over the course of nearly eighteen months) a 121,200+ word monster of a story. This was a huge breaking point for me, and proof that I can actually finish a story provided I put my mind to it and have sufficient inspiration! At the moment I'm happy with my blogging, fanficcing, and occasional short story writing - I have a few ideas swirling around in my head for the next novel, but only time will tell if they'll be useful or not. After all, I have the rest of my life to be the next J.R.R. Tolkien......

Where did your inspiration come from for your WYWA piece? What’s your favourite thing about the piece? What did you struggle with?

As cheesy as it sounds, I do genuinely believe that there is some real gold to be found in the world of fanfiction if you dig deep enough past the badly spelt and completely unoriginal ones! Some people put so much effort into their work and gain such large fan bases that it seems sad it's not recognised as a genuine form of fiction. When I came across the Sugarscape Fanfiction Award, it was like seeing the light - I thought I had to write something for it just because I thought it was important to acknowledge it. 

My inspiration was mainly that I've always thought it would be hilarious to have two of the most unlikely characters - the villain and the hero, for example! - end up in a ridiculous situation and discover that they have more in common than either of them ever dreamed. I like writing pieces with a sense of humour; it's easier to avoid sounding pretentious than if you're writing in total seriousness and with lashings of drama! Snow White was my favourite film when I was four years old, so I thought it was a good candidate for being teased. 

The thing I really struggled with was the word count. I'm generally quite a wordy person, so it was frustrating in the extreme to have to limit myself to 750 words! In the end, though, I was pleased with the piece on the whole, and hoped people would find it as amusing as I did! 

What do you think are the main problems you face when writing? How do you combat this?

Honestly, my biggest issues are time and space! I'm fairly busy, as a blogger, president of a society, and final year student; finding time to sit down and write, especially given that it usually takes me an hour or so to actually get anything decent out, is nearly impossible. I find that I write best at night, around 1am, which is also very irritating because I'm not much of a night owl and would much rather get some sleep... 

Then there's the fact that during holidays, which I always hope will be much more productive, I'm at home. There are seven of us and I share a room with my eight-year-old sister who goes to sleep at 9pm - not exactly conducive towards creativity! And there's nowhere else for me to sit and type without people wanting to know what I'm doing or giving me chores to do which are obviously far more important than whatever you're doing on that laptop, Emma, the screen is probably hurting your eyes, get out in the fresh air once in a while!!

My best bet for getting writing done is basically to be really inspired. If a scene or a story is really clear in my mind and just begging to be written, I'll write it, regardless of whether I have an essay due or I should be cleaning the bathroom! 

What are you working on at the moment?

Ahh... no... don't remind me of all my unfinished projects!

Currently I'm turning a lot of ideas over. I've just finished that one big fanfic, which left a bit of a hole in my life, so I've started some sequel-ish chapters to follow it up. I also have a bit of a weakness for Frozen - yeah, I know... - so I may one day get round to writing more fic for that. 

In terms of original fiction, I do actually have some very, very basic ideas... but I'm sitting on them and seeing what hatches for the moment. Give me a couple of months, I might have something worth writing!! 

Is writing solely a hobby, or would you like it to lead onto something else in the future?

It's definitely both! Is that okay? I love to dream of writing an instantly successful book and getting rich of the proceeds, but realistically I know that my writing will probably take second place to a lot of my plans for the future. Having said that, I'm really hoping to find a job when I graduate that will revolve around publishing or editing, as I adore working with other people's writing as well and helping them craft it into something beautiful (and get rid of grammar mistakes!). If all goes well, fingers crossed, I'll end up having a bit of my foot in the door when it comes to wanting to publish something. We shall see!

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Interview with Wicked Young Writers Award finalist, Nicol Gibbs

Along with other young writers in the UK, I attended the Wicked Young Writers' Awards in June. It was a fantastic afternoon which inspired me to kickstart this blog -- albeit it took me a while! Luckily, some of these talented writers agreed to let me interview them to get an insight into their motivation and aspirations. Finalist entries can be found here: http://www.wickedyoungwriters.com/downloads/Wicked_YWA_2015_18-25.pdf . And Sugar Scape finalists can be found here: http://www.wickedyoungwriters.com/downloads/Wicked_Sugarscape_Award2015.pdf

Interview with Nicol Gibbs

Tell me a little about your writing journey. When did you start? Why? How many pieces have you written so far? Have any of these been published? Where are you hoping your writing will take you?

I am 17 years of age, and throughout that time period my interests and passions have developed and changed immensely - and still continue to do so - however, my love for writing is something  that has always been there. To this day, I still find notepads filled with stories and poems, even just general recollections of my day, from when I was as young as 4. I think my love for writing initially stemmed from two things:  1) I learnt to write when I was very young and was wont to show off my skills at any given opportunity, and 2) I have an extremely vast and vivid imagination, and love the idea of being able to immortalise my thoughts on paper. I have lost count of how many pieces I have written, or at least started, at this point, and all of them vary drastically in content, ranging from descriptive paragraphs to scientific journalism pieces. In addition to having my WYWA piece published, I’ve been fortunate enough to have some of my book reviews published in The Guardian newspaper, with my ultimate goal being that I’ll one day be able to write for National Geographic, combining my love of writing with my love of science, helping to prove that arts and sciences are not mutually exclusive!

That’s fantastic. I really like The New Scientist. Sometimes their articles inspire me, as do documentaries. Does this ever happen for you?

Absolutely! I am the type of person who just loves to learn, no matter the subject matter or through what medium I learn things through. As cliché as it may sound, I do try to draw inspiration from everything I see, do and find out more about. I am always looking for ways to improve my writing and the scope of my understanding, thus I find that watching documentaries or reading other articles is not only enjoyable, but also incredibly helpful. They can really give you more of an insight into what audiences want to see and hear too, and can provide you with fresh points of view and writing techniques!

Where did your inspiration come from for your WYWA piece? What’s your favourite thing about the piece? What did you struggle with?

This is perhaps the simplest question for me to answer, because for the WYWA I wrote a piece of Hunger Games fan-fiction, so it was definitely inspired by said book trilogy! I really love the Hunger Games world and characters, and thought that they gave me a lot to build on. My piece focused on one of the universally most-loved characters in the book, Cinna, whom I felt still had stories to tell after his official storyline came to an end. I loved being able to develop his character arc further, and mould Cinna into more of the character he was in my eyes, moving away from the original plot line, and essentially giving him the exciting story I thought he deserved. Initially, I struggled with keeping in the spirit of the books themselves, whilst still making the story very much my own, but this was the first fan-fiction piece I’d ever written, so I was quite surprised when it was so well-received!

It’s funny that you found writing existing characters so interesting; I always find it more difficult to write someone else’s characters than my own. I think that’s probably because I know for sure that I know everything about them because I made them. Do you think you’ll write more fan fiction now that you know you enjoy it?

I think fan-fiction is great because it gives you a starting point, and as with a lot of things, starting can sometimes be the hardest part of writing a story! Fan-fiction can also give you the opportunity to further refine a near-perfect world or ending and make it into something absolutely perfect according to your standards. However, I can't resist the appeal of having the opportunity to create my own world and characters, knowing that I'm the only one with the rights to put limits and constraints on all aspects of a story, so whilst fan-fiction for me is a great starting point and way to practice creative writing, I don't think it will ever really be my main outlet.

What do you think are the main problems you face when writing? How do you combat this?

One of the main writing-related problems that I encounter is simply finding the time to practice and hone in on my craft. As someone who only studies one essay-based subject, I can sometimes grow accustomed to bullet-points and a limited vocabulary, so I’ve started to allocate myself time to just sit and write. I find that reading extensively definitely helps as it subconsciously refreshes my mind as to grammar rules and sentence structures as I go along. Whilst reading is definitely my main tool in helping to develop my writing in every sense, sometimes I find that the stories forming in my own mind can be a bit too heavily influenced by the worlds other authors have created, and so I make sure I read as wide a variety of texts and genres as possible.

Finding time to write is always the difficulty! I have enough problems trying to find time to reply to emails, never mind work on stories or novels! How long do you give yourself to write, and how often? Do you stick to it?

My writing schedule has, sadly, been a little up in the air for the past few months due to the pressures of exams etc. but over the summer I have tried to get myself back on to a bit more of a regular timetable. I try to make sure I allot at least an hour or two to writing each day, although often it is more appropriate for me to tell myself that I will try to get a certain amount done that I'm happy with as opposed to a certain amount of minutes, due to some of my writing commitments having deadlines. Personally, I find my best writing comes from me in the morning when I'm feeling fresh and alert, or late at night when I am distant and utterly sleep-depraved.  I am of the ever-optimistic opinion that if you can't find time, you should make time, and that is exactly how I approach my writing for most of the year, as even squeezing in 15 minutes of writing between study breaks is invaluable.

What are you working on at the moment?

Currently, I am very excited to be working on my first children’s story, which I also plan to illustrate myself.  Sparked by the realisation that there were little to no picture books, or young children’s books, where there were examples of mixed race families or relationships, I decided to take the task of writing one upon myself. As a mixed-race child, I definitely would have liked to see more examples of such situations, and still would now! I am also in the midst of writing a review of “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” for The Guardian newspaper, a book I only read very recently but one that moved me deeply. In addition, I am working on a few creative-writing pieces for various competitions, and hope to start a literary club for the younger students when I return to school in September.

Sounds like you have big plans for September. I’m also mixed race and completely agree with their not being enough books about mixed race children. It’s the same with cards – have you noticed? I hate buying my brothers birthday cards that have white children on, because clearly it’s not them! To be honest, there isn’t much on any ethnic minority. How are you incorporating culture into your stories?

I know exactly the problem you are talking about, and no matter how many times I see birthday cards or book covers depicting strictly Caucasian children it continues to shock me how few images of ethnic minorities are out there. This is all the more surprising, because as a Londoner, I live in arguably the most culturally and ethnically diverse city in the world. Culture and ethnicity should by no means be something that defines you, but as a lack of diversity in the media prevails, ethnic minorities continue to feel alienated. This is why, in my writing, whilst culture will definitely be an element of the story it will not be all it's based on, as I believe integrating it into a more standard plot-line will help to "normalize" different cultures, instead of promoting further segregation.

Is writing solely a hobby, or would you like it to lead onto something else in the future?

Writing is very much an integral part of me, so it is a lot more than just a hobby. From a practical standpoint, being a good writer is a very valuable skill no matter what you study or what career you go into. Personally, I would absolutely love to have some more creative writing published, and would love to release a book in the fantasy genre in particular. I also hope to get involved in writing research papers upon entering university, and would ultimately love to become a scientific journalist, but, for now, I just plan to follow wherever the writing takes me in the hope of even more amazing opportunities!

What is it about fantasy writing that you enjoy?

Growing up, almost everything that I went through a "phase” of was in some way related to something fantastical - fairies, dragons, Lord of the Rings - thus, I'd like to think my love for fantasy was something I was born with. I have also been fascinated with Greek myths and folklore from a young age, and love their ethereal nature. Fantasy is what pushes our imagination to its absolute limits, and I love writing about the most extreme aspects of it. There is also great appeal in being able to create a world where there are no boundaries, where you can make all the rules!

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Interview with Wicked Young Writers Award finalist, Jessica Birch

Along with other young writers in the UK, I attended the Wicked Young Writers' Awards in June. It was a fantastic afternoon which inspired me to kickstart this blog -- albeit it took me a while! Luckily, some of these talented writers agreed to let me interview them to get an insight into their motivation and aspirations. Finalist entries can be found here: http://www.wickedyoungwriters.com/downloads/Wicked_YWA_2015_18-25.pdf . And Sugar Scape finalists can be found here: http://www.wickedyoungwriters.com/downloads/Wicked_Sugarscape_Award2015.pdf

Interview with Jessica Birch

Tell me a little about your writing journey. When did you start? Why? How many pieces have you written so far? Have any of these been published? Where are you hoping your writing will take you?

I've been scribbling in notebooks for what seems like forever, when we went to restaurants when I was a kid I used to bring a notebook and not speak to whoever I was with and just write until my food came, at the time it was just something to do. As I got older ideas would hit me, like when I was swimming or in the shower. When I was in year 5 I got a poem published in a children's laureate book with a poem called "our school" and then the same thing happened a year later with a poem called "the fog" writing creatively became my favourite kind of lessons. When I was in secondary school I used to write instead of listening to the teachers, I swear I didn't actually start doing work till year ten. I have so many ideas half-written, or stories on my laptop that never got anywhere. I have some pieces published on my Wattpad account. There's a trio about a girl who was killed by her father, a story about a girl who was killed on the underground and most recently a story about finding your soul mates. At the moment I just write because I enjoy doing so.

So do you ever plan to finish any of the pieces that you’ve half written? Do you see it as a problem that you don’t always finish things, or is it just a part of the learning process?

I don't plan on finishing any half done pieces, I think if I stopped writing them then my heart wasn't in them and there is no point going back to them.

Where did your inspiration come from for your WYWA piece? What’s your favourite thing about the piece? What did you struggle with?
I went and saw wicked with my grandparents in March of this year and there was an ad for WYWA in the programme my grandad is very supportive of my passion for writing so told me to have a go. I kind of dismissed it, but that night I couldn't sleep. I modified an old story, adding in subtle references to the show and shortened it down and sent that in. I struggle with spelling so bad! I don't think I even read over the piece before I sent it in, the final piece that was published on the website had been severely edited. I think my favourite thing was that it was drawn from something that I've been thinking about and working on since I was fourteen, so I was happy that this character was going places.

Why did you decide to modify something old instead of starting something all over again? Did you have this character in mind when you’ve been writing other things, or did it just come up when you wanted to write something for Wicked?

I wrote lots of stuff when I was younger and so I like going back to them so make them better as I feel as I get older I become a better writer. The character that I used for Wicked has been with me for four years, so I felt she was developed enough to be put in for a competition. 

What do you think are the main problems you face when writing? How do you combat this?
Spelling is an issue...sometimes it's so bad that spell check doesn't know what I'm saying. I get my best friend and my mam to read over stuff and mark it with a red pen! I also struggle with following through with my writing...like I'll have a brilliant idea but no idea how to start, middle or end it. Most of the time my writing ideas stay a bullet point in a notebook or a thought in my head,

Do you ever go through your ideas and try to force yourself to write something? You might have more luck if you try to make an exercise out of it.

I don't often force myself to write, I have seen those 1000 ideas for wrong books in Waterstones so I may get one and use that.

What are you working on at the moment?

When I was in Spain I was in the pool and was hit by a story idea. It entails babies having their fingers pricked when they are born and blood and sliver are formed to make a pendant. It is believed that your soulmate is the person who has the same pendant of you. My character loses her pendant and her family in a fire but gets it back and uncovers a truth about these pendants and who your soulmate actually is. I wrote it up whilst on holiday and edited it when I went to London, I'm now in the process if taking advice and correcting spellings. 

That sounds like a really interesting story. How long is the current piece?

The story about pendants is currently around 50 pages, I keep thinking I'm done but it's growing! 

Is writing solely a hobby, or would you like it to lead onto something else in the future?

I just finished my A-levels and didn't get into my chosen university to do speech and language, I went through clearing and got a place for script writing at another university, I was tempted but since then decided to try again for the speech and language. But if it doesn't work out again I think I will try and pursue something with writing further. But for the moment it's just a hobby that I really enjoy.  

So are you going to retake your A-Levels to get into that university? Which university is it?

I'm retaking Biology and English Language, it's at Newcastle University.

Wishing Jessica Birch the best of luck with her studies this year in the hope that she gets into Newcastle!

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Interview with Wicked Young Writers Award finalist, Grace Haddon

Along with other young writers in the UK, I attended the Wicked Young Writers' Awards in June. It was a fantastic afternoon which inspired me to kickstart this blog -- albeit it took me a while! Luckily, some of these talented writers agreed to let me interview them to get an insight into their motivation and aspirations. Finalist entries can be found here: http://www.wickedyoungwriters.com/downloads/Wicked_YWA_2015_18-25.pdf . And Sugar Scape finalists can be found here: http://www.wickedyoungwriters.com/downloads/Wicked_Sugarscape_Award2015.pdf

Interview with Grace Haddon

Tell me a little about your writing journey. When did you start? Why? How many pieces have you written so far? Have any of these been published? Where are you hoping your writing will take you?
I am a Leicester writer of fantasy short stories. Growing up, I always loved fantasy books the best: Chris D’Lacey’s The Fire Within series, Georgia Byng’s Molly Moon and Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart trilogy to name just a few. However, it wasn’t until I was twelve years old that I started to think seriously about a writing career. In 2008 I saw Doctor Who for the first time and it completely blew my mind. One episode a week simply wasn’t enough so I did what any writer would do: I wrote fanfiction about it! The positive reviews I received online prompted me to write more, and I eventually wrote a novel-length adventure story in which the Doctor visits the dinosaurs. Nowadays I’m a creative writing student at Nottingham University and just as big a whovian, but instead I write fantasy short stories and I’m working on two novels. Only this year I’ve made a serious effort at getting pieces published, and already I’ve had some success. My first published piece was a YA horror in Growing Pains (Horrified Press). I also won Malorie Blackman’s Project Remix competition in April this year and was shortlisted for the Sugarscape Fanfiction Award. I’m sending out new stories all the time, so I hope to build up some more publication credits whilst working on my novels, which is my real love.

That’s fantastic. How many novels are you writing at the moment? Do you find it difficult to have more than one project going on at once?
Just two at the moment, though I’m working on vague plans for two or three others. There are definitely drawbacks to working on multiple projects: it can seem like none of the stories are coming along fast enough, and if there’s a short story deadline approaching then I have to prioritise. On the other hand, it’s nice to move between things so I don’t get bored very often. It means that I don’t spend every day editing, as I would if I was only working on one novel.

Where did your inspiration come from for your WYWA piece? What’s your favourite thing about the piece? What did you struggle with?
I entered the Sugarscape Fanfiction Award, which ran alongside the Wicked Young Writers Award, so my first decision was to choose a book series that had potential for a short story. I eventually settled on Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, which is a gritty but comedic urban fantasy series about a wizard detective in Chicago. I wanted to write a character study for Harry Dresden, the protagonist, so I wrote a short prequel about how he finds a cat in a dustbin and adopts him. The books are quite dark, so I really enjoyed exploring a lighter, softer side to Dresden’s world. The competition had a 750 word limit which I struggled with; I have a habit of pushing towards the limit regardless of how many words I’m allowed! It was also tricky to find a plot that was compact enough to fit into those 750 words. A useful exercise in cutting words, nevertheless!

What do you think are the main problems you face when writing? How do you combat this?
Funnily enough, it’s the plot that I find the hardest! Almost invariably my story ideas begin with a character and I have to then figure out the plot that would work best for them. It’s a real pain when working on longer projects such as novels. My solution is to write scenes as they come to me patchwork style, and then stitch them together at the end. Motivation is also an issue when you’re running the writing marathon, so I like to make YouTube playlists for each project which I can listen to when the writing gets slow.

Oh that’s interesting. What kind of things are in your motivation playlists?
Anything that fires up my imagination, really. I enjoy noisy drum and bass music, so there’s plenty of stuff on there to wake me up in the morning! For the days when it’s hard to concentrate, I have quiet background music and the sound of crashing waves to block out noise. If I’m writing a scene that requires some research, I might find informational videos that I can refer to when I’m stuck. It’s a bit like creating a soundtrack for a film; if I find a song that fits a character or a scene it can be very helpful when planning or drafting. I was inspired by my favourite author, Sarah J. Maas, who uses a similar technique of creating imaginary soundtrack playlists for her books. Music can be very effective at capturing a mood or idea, and I highly recommend it as a writing technique.

What are you working on at the moment?
Quite a lot! I’m determined to make the most of my time at university, so when I’m not busy with coursework I have my own projects. At the moment I’m working on a science fantasy short story and planning out a few others for submission to anthologies (in the holidays I can send out two or three per month). The rest of the time, I’m working on my novels. One is the first in a YA trilogy, which has become something of a headache now that the first draft is finished and it needs a LOT of editing. The other is a comic fantasy standalone which I’ve been having an insane amount of fun with (probably because it’s still in the planning and drafting stage). I try to keep up with new calls for submissions, though sometimes it’s hard to divide my time between so many projects.

What is your YA novel about? What are the problems you’re finding when editing, and do you have any support networks for motivation or help with editing?
The YA project has been very close to my heart for two years now. It’s an urban fantasy (trilogy, hopefully) about a university student who discovers that she’s a pyromancer, only she’s terrified of fire. It’s very much my first novel and I made plenty of mistakes along the way, but it is slowly improving with each edit. I do find that editing restricts my creativity. It’s not as fun as the writing part, and I’m also a bit of a perfectionist so it’s hard to decide when a project is truly “finished”. At university, I have a lot of supportive friends who can sympathise with my pains and my tutors have been invaluable for all kinds of advice, but it’s my mum who has been my ultimate beta reader. She’s read just about everything I’ve written and I can always rely on her for constructive criticism and support. Of course, ultimately it’s up to me to stay motivated and to decide what changes to make, but she certainly helps me to put things in another perspective and gives me encouragement when I’m having doubts about my writing. My family have been nothing but supportive of my choice to write, so I’m very grateful to them.

Is writing solely a hobby, or would you like it to lead onto something else in the future?
Writing is the core of my life. It’s what I think about on the train, in the bath and even when I’m drifting off to sleep. Obsession might be a better word! I’m not certain where my writing will take me – university is a means of exploring different options and honing my skills – but I know that it will be with me for the rest of my life. It’s something I love doing, so I will always do it. Who knows, perhaps one day I’ll even have a few published novels of my own...

You can find Grace over on her website: www.gracehaddon.com or on Twitter @GraceHaddon 

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Interview with Wicked Young Writers Award finalist, Shannon Smith

Along with other young writers in the UK, I attended the Wicked Young Writers' Awards in June. It was a fantastic afternoon which inspired me to kickstart this blog -- albeit it took me a while! Luckily, some of these talented writers agreed to let me interview them to get an insight into their motivation and aspirations. Finalist entries can be found here: http://www.wickedyoungwriters.com/downloads/Wicked_YWA_2015_18-25.pdf . And Sugar Scape finalists can be found here: http://www.wickedyoungwriters.com/downloads/Wicked_Sugarscape_Award2015.pdf

Interview with Shannon Smith

Tell me a little about your writing journey. When did you start? Why? How many pieces have you written so far? Have any of these been published? Where are you hoping your writing will take you?

My writing journey started when I was a child learning to read. I used to read a series of fairy books and stories, and once I’d finish them, I’d write my own. I remember my very first story was about half a page about a girl finding a jewel in a fountain! I loved daydreaming and if I was bored, I’d just imagine doing something else and having adventures that I read about, then just put them on paper. 

I haven't had a lot of publishing experience: a few poems in analogies in primary school, and articles for my University magazine. I also had a travel piece published in my village’s local newsletter as well as my schools, based on my school exchange to Kenya. Nowadays, my writing is mostly articles. 

I don't really know where I want my writing to take me: I study Tourism Management in University, and to have a job that means I could do some travel/historical writing would be amazing. I love creative writing, but it’s always been more of a hobby due to family commitments.

Travel writing is something I’d really love to do, but I imagine it’s difficult to get into. What was the travel writing piece for your local newsletter about?

My travel piece was around my school exchange with Kenya: mine was the last trip that would be funded by a grant we were given, and so my teacher wanted us (there were three of us on the trip) to write a piece about it to raise awareness of it in the school and the community. The others pretty much told me that they weren't good at writing and asked if I'd be happy to do it: I was!

I wrote it on the plane home and tried to make it almost like a diary entry: I wanted people to read it and think: "I want to go there."

Where did your inspiration come from for your WYWA piece? 

I said above I love creative writing, and my favourite thing to write is probably historical fiction, despite how difficult it can be. My WYWA piece is about a gay man going in to a Nazi concentration camp, and it was inspired by a conversation I had with a gay friend who studies history. He had wanted to do a report on the treatment of homosexuals in WW2, but was unable to due to the lack of primary sources. This stayed with me, as it bothered me that there was a lack of literature on the subject, and so I wanted to challenge that, even in a small way.

Wow, that is a very poignant thing to write about. Do you enjoy doing the research that comes with historical writing?

I love doing research if I have the time! I love history, and being able to imagine what life was like back then is brilliant. The best thing is that sometimes sources don't agree or just don't know enough: so I can almost make the history fit around my characters and plot: because there's no proof it didn't happen!

What’s your favourite thing about the piece? What did you struggle with?

 My favourite thing about the piece is that I wrote it! In all seriousness, it was difficult to write, and I was so proud of it when I’d finished.

It was difficult for a number of reasons: the obvious one being a girl writing in a man’s point of view, as I was worried I would make it less believable if it was ‘girly.’ The second was the ‘cliché’ - there is a lot of material around concentration camps in WW2, and I didn’t want to make it similar to other pieces. Finally, I wanted to do it justice: I was writing a story about a population that had been imprisoned even after the war, and whose suffering had been ignored for years: and I wanted my story to give them a voice, even if it was through WYWA.

What do you think are the main problems you face when writing? How do you combat this?

The main problems I face are easy: lack of knowledge, lack of time or lack of inspiration. I have a job, University and family, so sometimes it’s difficult to find time for writing. Lack of inspiration is of course, writers block: I can get it really badly, and sometimes for a long time. If I am struggling, I do a lot of research, and reading, to try and get ideas to form. Music plays a big part as well: I’ll set my IPod on shuffle and try to write a story based on whatever song comes on.

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m actually working on a crime piece, which isn't my usual genre, but I was watching Criminal Minds and got inspired!

What is your crime piece about? I’ve always wanted to write crime fiction since it’s so popular, but I don’t think I have enough knowledge about the law and criminology apart from the obvious.

My crime piece is a bit different as just like you, I have no idea of criminology either: it's actually from the point of view of a criminal’s family during the crimes, his arrest and conviction/sentencing: in a lot of crime dramas, focus is of course on the police/FBI/CSI etc and the criminals, so I wanted to do something a bit different. 

Is writing solely a hobby, or would you like it to lead onto something else in the future?

I would love to have a job which would allow me to write even part time, like travel or historical writing for tourists: and if I could one day publish my own book, it would be a dream come true. I don't even mind if it’s a bestseller: just to hold a copy of my own book, or see it in libraries: it would be amazing.

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