The Interview

Tessa: What do you remember from your days at The School for Young Writers and/or being published in Write On magazine?

Elizabeth: The earliest memories I have of the School for Young Writers are of the in-school workshops which I did in primary school. I think my very first published piece was a haiku about the apple slices in my lunchbox. After that I started attending the weekly classes and I have so many great memories of the friends I made, the wonderful tutors, all our inside jokes, and of course the writing that came out of it. Some highlights are the poetry picnics my group used to organise and the ‘cults’ that always seemed to pop up at the week-long Summer Writing School.

Tessa: Which early experiences/opportunities/classes have  influenced your writing the most?

Elizabeth: Being published in ReDraft for the first time and then seeing it in a bookshop made a huge impact because it’s the first time my writing ever felt real and like something that people would really read. I think that early support influenced my writing because it encouraged me to take it seriously and take some pride in it, rather than just something I did in my free time. The first regular Write On classes I ever attended were after-school on a Thursday and were also super important because it gave me something to be part of and a whole new group of friends to share what I was working on with. That definitely influenced my writing in that I started writing with an audience in mind, not just me.

Tessa; How has your writing evolved over the years?

Elizabeth: For a start, I used to write lots of longform fiction, but I pretty much exclusively write poetry now—the less wordy the better. I still enjoy giving other mediums a go so I don’t get too laser focused, but poetry is what works for me right now. Broadly speaking I think my writing has settled into a more distinctive style. I imagine that just comes with time, although now that I’m aware of it I’m trying to make it more deliberate. My writing used to be all over the place because I would experiment with lots of wildly different tones and formats. Nowadays I still experiment, but I have a better idea of what I like and don’t like in a poem, so my voice comes through more strongly.

Tessa; How do you think being a young New Zealander has influenced your writing?

Elizabeth: Aotearoa has such a strong poetry scene, and so many legendary figures to look up to. And there’s no elitism; you’ll never find a more welcoming environment than an open mic. It’s impossible not to be inspired by all the people around me. When it comes to my own writing, my most recent pieces alone talk about eels, DOC huts, earthquakes, and finding a dead sheep in the Port Hills—so that imagery is always going to come through because that’s what I’ve been surrounded with. But even when I’m not specifically talking about growing up in Aotearoa, I’m sure there are more subtle influences. We have a pretty complicated national identity—colonialism, being so isolated from the rest of the world, the quote-unquote “rugged” Kiwi attitude—it all contributes to who I am as a young New Zealander, which means it definitely ends up influencing my writing. I don’t know if I could put my finger on how at this point in my life, but I don’t doubt that it’s there.

Tessa: Do you think you would be such a keen writer if you had not gone to Write On?

Elizabeth: I’m honestly not sure. Write On has been part of my life from so early on it’s hard to imagine not having that support network for my writing. I think the most important thing was that I was surrounded by peers all the time and I didn’t ever feel like it was a weird or unusual hobby. Stereotypically, writing can be pretty lonely, but there were always people there to offer encouragement and critique. It was a really positive environment for improving your work. So maybe I would still be a keen writer if I hadn’t gone to Write On, but I wouldn’t have been able to improve as much.

Tessa: Why do you write? Do you aim to achieve something or is it self-expression?

Elizabeth: When I find a poem that I like, it’s because there’s something in the poem that makes me go oh yeah, I get that or I feel like that too! No matter how disconnected I am from the author’s identity or the subject matter, the right imagery and language can transcend all of that. When I write I want my poems to resonate with people and tell a clear story. I guess it’s self-expression in that there’s always going to be a whole lot of ‘me’ in my work. But I would say that I always end up with a specific goal in mind when I’m writing a poem: this is what I want to say, and this is how I want to say it. Sometimes I don’t figure that out until months after I’ve finished a first draft, but there’s always a reason.

Tessa: What is your favourite piece of writing that you've written? Why?

Elizabeth: Weirdly this question took me the longest by far to answer. Most of the time I either like something I’ve written or I don’t. And if I don’t like it, it’s because it’s not finished, and there’s something more to be added or changed. If I had to choose, my favourite piece of writing to date is ‘Mr Andersen, you heartbreaker you’ which is based on a poem of the same name by Helen Rickerby. It’s my favourite because my whole creative process kind of just fell into place while I was writing it—I read something that inspired me, I thought I want to tell another side of that story and the idea just worked. I even managed to weave in additional references that I found after doing some research. And it withstands the cringe-test: it’s at least 3 years old but I still enjoy reading it.

Tessa: Do you have any tips or advice for younger writers?

Elizabeth: It’s not an original piece of advice whatsoever, but: let people hear your writing. Even if you feel like your writing is only for yourself, or the thought makes you want to curl up and die. Whether it’s reading aloud or entering it to journals and competitions (literally the worst thing that can happen is they can say no), it makes all the difference to have that external validation. Also, on a similar note, try to break through the fear of public speaking early. A specific tip I once got was to move around as much as possible before you get on stage to get all the nervous energy out. Once you get over that mental block it opens up the door for so many great experiences that would otherwise be overshadowed by you freaking out.

Tessa: Thank you, Elizabeth. That's great advice. And thanks for answering all my questions.