{"id":15364,"date":"2024-08-30T08:25:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T22:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/?p=15364"},"modified":"2024-08-29T19:24:42","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T09:24:42","slug":"exploratory-advice-for-emerging-writers-myal-mosmanlibrary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/exploratory-advice-for-emerging-writers-myal-mosmanlibrary\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploratory Advice For Emerging Writers! #MYAL @MosmanLibrary"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-winners-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"604\" src=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-winners-1024x604.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15380\" style=\"width:502px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-winners-1024x604.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-winners-300x177.jpg 300w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-winners-768x453.jpg 768w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-winners-1536x906.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-winners-2048x1207.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-winners-150x88.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier this week, I appeared at the Mosman Youth Awards in Literature at the amazing <a href=\"https:\/\/mosman.nsw.gov.au\/library\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mosman Library<\/a>, where I spoke to an eager crowd of 150 writers and their supporters. As my 9th year judging the awards, I wanted to share one central piece of advice about writing, applicable to emerging writers of <em>any age<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a world where AI can sort through the billions of words online and predict the most likely response to anything, it\u2019s becoming more and more important to be <em>unpredictable<\/em>, and writers can do that through writing <em>original<\/em> stories, inspired by unique thoughts and expression. To find those unique thoughts and expression, I advised writers to continually explore the world around them, then experiment with words <em>and<\/em> how to use them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Indeed, when you&#8217;re developing as a writer, it&#8217;s important to soar as high and free as you can on the wings of your <em>own<\/em> inspiration; and not to let yourself become grounded or limited by what others <em>think<\/em> might achieve awards, money, literary praise, or even high marks at school. Before you set ink to page:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u2013 Really consider what <em>you<\/em> think about the world.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 Ask \u2018what if\u2019 questions and come up with your <em>own<\/em> answers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 Observe those around you, assess their flaws and defects, then decide <em>for yourself <\/em>what that might mean for the future.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 Generate poignant reflections on society and life that resonate <em>for you<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 Delve into questions such as what it means to live, what it means to struggle, and what it means to die.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because story is the best place to explore all this. Story is the best place to imagine and experiment freely with your self-expression; and if writers do this, in return storytelling can set <em>them<\/em> free, in ways they\u2019d never imagined!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It certainly did for me. The other day, I found an old portfolio of my published work \u2013 from between the ages of 11-19 \u2013 and it evidences how I continually reflected on life experiences, then experimented with words and explored how I could use them:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Shapter-Portfolio-\u2013-The-Milestone.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"747\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Shapter-Portfolio-\u2013-The-Milestone-747x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15370\" style=\"width:141px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Shapter-Portfolio-\u2013-The-Milestone-747x1024.jpeg 747w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Shapter-Portfolio-\u2013-The-Milestone-219x300.jpeg 219w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Shapter-Portfolio-\u2013-The-Milestone-768x1053.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Shapter-Portfolio-\u2013-The-Milestone-1120x1536.jpeg 1120w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Shapter-Portfolio-\u2013-The-Milestone-1493x2048.jpeg 1493w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Shapter-Portfolio-\u2013-The-Milestone-109x150.jpeg 109w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Shapter-Portfolio-\u2013-The-Milestone.jpeg 1755w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 747px) 100vw, 747px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Shapter-Portfolio-\u2013-Comp-winner-1991.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"476\" src=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Shapter-Portfolio-\u2013-Comp-winner-1991-1024x476.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15371\" style=\"width:194px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Shapter-Portfolio-\u2013-Comp-winner-1991-1024x476.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Shapter-Portfolio-\u2013-Comp-winner-1991-300x139.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Shapter-Portfolio-\u2013-Comp-winner-1991-768x357.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Shapter-Portfolio-\u2013-Comp-winner-1991-150x70.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Shapter-Portfolio-\u2013-Comp-winner-1991.jpeg 1358w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u2013 I wrote, illustrated and produced a (very politically incorrect) magazine for my classmates, testing boundaries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 I wrote experimental poetry and prose for the official school magazine, The Milestone, experimenting with reader engagement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 I founded a writers\u2019 society and invited unconventional guest authors, learning from resilient industry experience.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 In Year 11, I won a writing competition about <em>a tortoise<\/em> that wanted to improve itself, expressing the transient nature of life.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 As well as volunteering in the school library, I co-founded and was Vice Chairman of a European Society, and wrote annual reports for both.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 Outside of school, I co-founded the youth section of a local political party and wrote its magazine, the PPB.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 In school holidays, I organised work experience at two local newspapers, a daily paper and a fortnightly paper, exploring the world of journalism, if only to know it wasn&#8217;t for me.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 And all the time, I was writing reams of original poetry, short stories and song lyrics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-winner-booklet.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"680\" src=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-winner-booklet.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15381\" style=\"width:278px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-winner-booklet.jpeg 1000w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-winner-booklet-300x204.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-winner-booklet-768x522.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-winner-booklet-150x102.jpeg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Which is why, when reading the senior entries for this year&#8217;s competition, at times I felt a little sad that so many entries felt uninspired. It was almost as if the writers had allowed their imaginations to become overwhelmed by the pressure of writing <em>good<\/em> English for their HSC, and succumbed to a kind of creative anxiety that impeded their enthusiasm for the exploratory nature of story and creativity. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-shortlist-names.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"851\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-shortlist-names-851x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15383\" style=\"width:249px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-shortlist-names-851x1024.jpeg 851w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-shortlist-names-249x300.jpeg 249w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-shortlist-names-768x924.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-shortlist-names-125x150.jpeg 125w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-shortlist-names.jpeg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 851px) 100vw, 851px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most entries were well-written to an impressively high standard, but lacked the originality of thought and passion writers need to have in their own words in order to connect with readers. It put a barrier between us, as writer and reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I made sure to commend those on my shortlist! Even if they did write a story inspired by a school-set task, they had layered their response with unique thoughts and expression, and thus pursued originality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I want to encourage emerging writers <em>everywhere<\/em> to do the same \u2013 be unique, and keep experimenting with words <em>and<\/em> how to use them. Do that, and you\u2019ll not only stand out from the crowd who don\u2019t, but you\u2019ll be doing your future selves a huge favour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now I&#8217;m going to enjoy re-reading the MYAL 2024 winners! Congratulations, everyone!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-booklet-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-booklet-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15382\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-booklet-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-booklet-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-booklet-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-booklet-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-booklet-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-booklet-150x113.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier this week, I appeared at the Mosman Youth Awards in Literature at the amazing Mosman Library, where I spoke to an eager crowd of 150 writers and their supporters. As my 9th year judging the awards, I wanted to share one central piece of advice about writing, applicable to\u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"continue-reading-button\"> <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/exploratory-advice-for-emerging-writers-myal-mosmanlibrary\/\">Continue reading<i class=\"crycon-right-dir\"><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[2592,2593,2195,2194,1969,2538,2595,2596,1563],"class_list":["post-15364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookish-inspection","category-writer-advice","tag-2592","tag-emerging-writers","tag-mosman-council","tag-mosman-library","tag-mosman-youth-awards-in-literature","tag-myal","tag-original","tag-unique","tag-young-writers"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/MYAL-2024-Zena-Shapter-winner-booklet.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15364"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15405,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15364\/revisions\/15405"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}