Where are you from? What have you read? How does this impact upon your writing life?

My reading tastes have always been fairly widespread. There is currently no specific author I can pinpoint nor a favourite collection of books that I follow. However, if you were speaking to my 12 year old self, I would certainly have said Jacqueline Wilson. I'm simply a girl from Epsom, Surrey who grew up in a beautiful area with the right mix of city and, on the outskirts, country life. I did not have family issues, nor cripplingly depressive woes, so I did not feel the need to reach out for any books to "ease my pain". I just wanted to read about the lives of other girls my age and how theirs compared to mine, and reading Wilson's work fulfilled that. She would often write from the perspective of the "weird" and "awkward" girl who wanted to be like the pretty and wilder girls. Surely this was felt by almost every young girl out there? It was perfect for me. These books revolved around the protagonist Ellie, who felt she was fat, had bad, uncontrollable hair and wanted a boyfriend. She would spend her time looking at her two friends, Nadine and Magda, envying their beauty and confidence. However, Ellie is creative, intelligent and wise for her age, which she cannot see. Books such as this made me realise that I did not need to sit and watch the world go by, nor feel out of place. Although I read these books at a young age, their influence still lives with me to this day and shaped the teenager I came to be. For that I can only thank you Miss Wilson.

How is it that I became a writer?

Writing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I come from a family of mostly manual labourers, so talks of literature and language have not been particularly common. Neither of my parents made it to A levels let alone university and have most likely never written a piece of creative work in their lives. This often leaves me to wonder where my love of writing and skill for English language came from. Back in those joyful days of school, I would consistently be one of the top spellers in my class as well as one of the fastest readers. I believe this built the foundation for me to become interested in writing. I'll be honest. I was definitely not one of the brighter kids in school and it's safe to say I didn't excel in maths, science, etc. So when I discovered a subject that I actually excelled in more than the majority of students in my class, I knew I was going to grasp onto that gift and try to make something of myself. And so here I am, at the University of Winchester studying Creative Writing and I'm still going stronger than ever. My writing and ability to tell stories is improving with every seminar and I'm enjoying it more than ever. I feel I am making myself and my family proud as I am the first to have achieved such merits. I plan to go the distance by achieving my degree and continuing with my life-long love by integrating it into a career in my future.