Local writers share advice and experience

Times Contributor

 

Whether it is a hobby, a job,or a schooling experience, Strathmore houses some great local artists with a wide variety of interests.

Rebecca Gyulai, a nineteen-year-old student who is earning a Bachelor of Arts with a major in English, says that she “really loves to write” and hopes to get into either journalism, technical writing, or teaching.

“I’m writing a novella comprised of short stories right now and messing with some poetry,” said Gyulai, who considers herself more of an ‘essayist than a novelist’ due to the amount of essays she writes for university. “My novella is a social satire on a wide variety of topics, mostly taboo or social issues that are swept under the rug.”

Gyulai said  that “inspiration doesn’t always come to you” and when it does, you have to go with it. She advises new writers to not stress about inspiration. Gyulai also says it is crucial to draw from real-life experiences in your writing because it can create great work. Aspiring writers should just “ease into the kind of writing” they would like to do.

Andrew Vooys, an eighteen-year-old lifeguard, says that the most important thing for writers-to-be is to “just get out and write.”

He is a poet and a playwrighter, and says that he finds the “sheer depth of emotion and expression” of poetry appealing as well as the passion that poems can create.

While Vooys would like his work published, “having it as an outlet is enough.” 

“I find that writing relaxes me and helps me to keep things in check; by writing down what I think and feel, I can get a much better handle on what I’m thinking of, on what is lying in wait within my subconscious,” he says.

Geoff Vooys is a twenty-year-old student who is working towards degrees in both Pure Mathematics and English and says writing is “mostly a hobby” and a way to express his humour.

“If your readers can relate to something, if they can feel it in their heart, you’ve done your job and written something that matters. If it’s your goal to make people laugh, you need to know what people will relate to in order to make them chuckle,” Geoff said.

While Geoff admits that “at heart I’m a mathematician,” he does enjoy writing and says that reading is also a great way to improve writing skills.

“You’ll find that you become a better writer for seeing how other people write,” he says.

Geoff says he does “a little bit of everything” but focuses on satires, short stories and poems.