At the Young NZ Writers annual Day Out in June we caught up with Beyond Expectations finalist and contributor, Izzi Anderson a Y8 student from Raroa Intermediate in Johnsonville, who’d come all the way to Tauranga to participate in our workshop. She kindly agreed to answer some questions for us. Hi Izzi – thanks so much for joining us.
 
So, you’ve come all this way; does that mean you hope to be a writer one day?
—I hope so. I’ve always considered that I’d like to write for a career, but I doubt my ability to concentrate long enough to write a book. Maybe I’ll do veterinary science…but writing is my dream.
 
How did you hear about the competition?
—I’m in an extension writing group at school and our teacher Miss Dunn told us about the competition and gave a presentation about the kinds of stories we could write. I really enjoy writing, especially horror and science fiction, so I thought I would enter the competition.
 
Why horror and sci-fi? What draws you to this genre?
—I feel it’s mainly about the books I’m reading. I’m currently reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee at school, but my favourite story of all time is The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud. It kept me up all might. It was really scary.
 
“I feel the books you read influence the stories you write.”— Izzi Anderson
 
Is this the first writing workshop you’ve attended?
—I went to another one once in Wellington. It was part of our extension writing class and we met some other New Zealand writers. One of them was Mandy Hager and there was a slam poet, too. It was almost as good at this one. I’m glad I convinced my parents to let me come to Tauranga to come to this one. It’s been really cool. I’m going to go back and show some things to my writing teacher, too. She’ll be so excited to see what I’ve learned.
 
So, you said you’re not sure if you have the concentration to write a novel? Does that mean you’d like to have a go?
I filled a lot of exercise books with nonsense stories when I was younger. In some ways I feel writing short stories is easier, but at the same time harder: you don’t have to spend so much time to write a short story, but you have to suggest what happened in a short amount of words. It’s the concept of show-not-tell; you don’t tell the readers what’s happening exactly, instead you suggest it.
 
Thanks so much for chatting with us, Izzi, and thanks for coming to our Day Out. [Please give our thanks to your teacher Miss Dunn for supporting our programme, too!]

At the Young NZ Writers annual Day Out in June we caught up with Otumetai College student Angus Heay, who kindly agreed to answer some questions for us.
Hi Angus – thanks for joining us.
 
This is the first time you’ve attended one of our workshops. Why did you decide to come?
—I’ve always loved writing. I tried writing a fantasy book, but it really wasn’t good enough to be published, so. I thought I’d come to learn some techniques for writing better – especially some tips about how to write characters; I’m not so good on character.
 

You would have enjoyed our session on Characters and Conflict by Jean Gilbert and William Dresden, then?
—Yes, definitely. I liked the other sessions, too. It was helpful to learn how to write yourself into a short story too; getting an idea for a book using setting, theme, and personal experiences. Sometimes, it can be really hard to think of anything.
 
What about competitions? Will you enter some now?
Yes, I think I’ll try and enter more competitions.
 
What’s your favourite genre to read?
—Fantasy. Because so many things can happen with fantasy. You can write what you want without limits. It’s intriguing and captivating.
 
What about your favourite books? What authors do you like to read?
—My favourite all time book is Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh. It’s classic 1920s comedy. My favourite writer of all time is JK Rowling. Her world building is so amazing; believable and quirky. I also like to read books by Michael Grant. His characters are so believable and realistic with so many different layers.
 
Thanks for stopping by to chat with us Angus and for attending our Day Out. We hope to see more of your writing in the future.

Congratulations. Your short story was a finalist in this year’s Beyond Expectations (an anthology of NZ intermediate school writing). Tell us about your story. What inspired it?      
I was in class and noticed a square of metal on the floor. It looked like a trapdoor, and I thought I could use that for the Beyond Expectations writing competition. Later I changed it to a manhole.
 
You’re a student in your spare time. So tell us really, how important are writing competitions?
I love writing, but I haven’t entered many competitions like this before. I was thrilled to get published!
 
What is your opinion on receiving feedback?       
I think feedback is important. If no-one gives you feedback, you won’t know what to improve in your writing.
 
Name the writer (dead or alive) who you would most like to have dinner with and tell us what you would like to ask them?          
I am reading the Lord of the Rings at the moment, so I think I would like to have dinner with J.R.R Tolkien. My questions would be:
What inspired your story?
Was it hard to come up with the Elvish language and the other languages?
What was your favourite book growing up?

YA fiction, of all the genres, is addressing the real issues. Discuss your favourite genre.
I like books which are set in the real world, with fantasy involved. The Hobbit is a good example.      
 
Where do you see your writing taking you in the future?
I would like to enter a few more competitions, and if I get a good idea I might try to write a book.
 
Anything else you would like to say about being a writer?
Anybody can write! 
 
Thank you so much for your answers. We look forward to seeing your writing in print in the future.

Congratulations. Your short story, A Warlock’s Wish, was a finalist in this year’s Beyond Expectations (an anthology of NZ intermediate school writing). Tell us about your story. What inspired it?    
My story was inspired by my love for mythology and mythical creatures.

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You’re a student in your spare time. So tell us really, how important are writing competitions?
I feel that writing competitions are quite important. I love reading and writing and so competitions are a fun way to express my ideas.

What is your opinion on receiving feedback?    
Feedback is always good to receive because there is always room for improvement, I am always happy to hear what someone else thinks of my writing.

Name the writer (dead or alive) who you would most like to have dinner with and tell us what you would like to ask them?    
Rick Riordan (because I've read all his books). I would ask him how he gets ideas as he has a great imagination, and in fiction imagination is always needed.

Tell us about your work in progress.
I am working on more short stories but they are still in very rough drafts.
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YA fiction, of all the genres, is addressing the real issues. Discuss your favourite genre.
My favourite genres are fantasy and mystery because I love the element of magic and something to get your brain ticking.

Where do you see your writing taking you in the future?    
I am not sure where my writing will take me in the future but hopefully it will take me far.
    
Anything else you would like to say about being a writer?    
I think that writing (for this competition) is a fun experience.

Thank you so much for your answers. We look forward to seeing your writing in print in the future.

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