Returning volunteer, Isaac Cave, discusses his inspiration for his own writing.
Since the beginning of this year I have written ten articles for Label, mostly for the entertainment section. I have been enjoying a great sense of personal achievement that comes with creative writing and critique of film, TV, music and video games.
However, this is something relatively new to me, as prior to joining Label as a volunteer, my writing habits consisted almost entirely of school and academic work. Little more than dry, black and white essays about as deep and interesting as a glass of water and less fulfilling than watching paint dry.
It was about two years ago, in my first year of college that I was struck with an epiphany; I had never really written for myself before. It was always for the purpose of school or to revise for exams. Despite my fondness for English Literature and love for stories, I had let any creativity I possessed be drowned out by a wave of obligations and distractions. No more! I vowed to rekindle my love of storytelling and become proficient in snarky, humorous takes on works of fiction and modern culture, and I like to think I’ve succeeded to a degree.
I began by indulging in novels, reading the likes of “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” as well as several other recommendations. In addition to this, I began watching creative writing tutorials and YouTube videos on writing and character development, but also on critique. A favourite video game critic of mine, (Yahtzee Crowshaw), runs a hilarious series on video games and this was where I learned to love the negative review (taking a pessimistic attitude and exaggerating it for comedic effect) and I’d say I’ve learnt a lot from these.
I still have a long way to go in order to perfect my craft, but I hold a quiet hope of one day using my skills to write my own novel and become a professional author.
Label has certainly had an impact on my fledgling aspirations. Having an opportunity to write and have my writing displayed for all to see still gives me a wonderful sense of accomplishment. I hope to have several more articles out before the end of this year (if the dissertation work finishes up soon) and I look forward to seeing what I can come up with in the future.
Featured image by: Omeiza Haruna
