Wednesday 17 January 2018

What's in My Writing Portfolio?


Like a lot of people I've met in the blogisphere, I want to be a writer someday. My absolute dream is to be published, and while I have already technically written a book for NaNoWriMo, it is nowhere near where I want my writing to be. However, I have just started my creative writing class at uni, and have started writing again after over a year. Here's what I've been up to:

So in order to get into my creative writing program which starts next year, I have to submit a portfolio. I'm pretty nervous because I don't really have a backup plan if I don't get in.  For my portfolio, I have submitted 10 pages of writing from various stories. I'm really excited about them and wanted to share what they're about.

My first story is a 2-page long excerpt from a potential YA fantasy that I worked on a lot a year ago, but kinda lost touch of. It's about a girl named Ely, a fortune teller who lives under a tyrannical monarchy and must go undercover in the palace in order to kill the ruthless king. It is probably my most developed story, I have 16 pages already written along with storyboards and even a query letter, because when the time comes, I would really love to finish and submit it to an agent.

My second piece is a character portrait of the ruthless king Kyle from the story above. I think he is the character I have the most clear picture of in my mind and I really love writing him. He's a terrible person, but he's also broken inside and really needs to be shown some sort of love.

My third is something completely different, it's an introduction to a dystopia about all the world being condensed into a single country. Basically, there has been only one survivor of each country in the world after the apocalypse, and so they all band together onto one piece of land and have to learn to cooperate. I don't think this story will go anywhere but it was fun to write nonetheless.

I finally got around to writing an ancient history retelling! This is about a girl who is trapped under the rubble of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in Pompeii. She recounts memories of her past life before the eruption and tries to make her way out of the rubble. I know there were no survivors of the eruption, but I wanted to have a little fun with a "what if?"

The last piece I've submitted is a short story about a woman driving to work in heavy downtown traffic and she talks about her anxieties about driving and ponders how fast moving society is nowadays. This was by far my favourite piece to submit because it has a plot twist in the end, and I have never written a plot twist before. I also don't really write short stories so it was a good change.

That's all that's in my creative writing portfolio! If all goes well, maybe I'll share some of the pieces I submitted later on, because I do feel like I need to be more open with sharing my writing.

Have you ever had to submit a writing portfolio? Do you have any tips?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

11 comments:

  1. Best of luck with your writing portfolio Emily! Your stories have really interesting premises and I would love to read more about them if you ever decide to share more! I have written personal narratives, but aside I don't do much creative story writing, but it's definitely something I'd like to try.
    claire @ clairefy

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    1. Thank you Claire! My university has a creative non-fiction class too that I think would be really interesting. It goes to show that creative writing doesn’t have to be just fiction anymore!

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  2. Good luck, Emily!! I've never had to submit a writing portfolio (for my minor in university I chose English Critical Studies and not Creative Writing but sometimes I wish I had chosen Creative Writing) but personally, I'd want to read every single one of the stories you just described! You've got this :)

    Laura @BlueEyeBooks

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    1. Thank you Laura! English Critical Studies sounds really interesting! I think my school offers something similar to that :)

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  3. Good luck Em! I hope you get into the programme thingummy! :)

    Even if you don't (which you will - Dear Universe, I demand you let Em into the thingy!) keep writing, ok? There's more than one route to being a writer. :)

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    1. Aw thank you Cee! Hopefully the universe will take your call :)

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    2. It better - it owes me a lot! ;)

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  4. These all sound super interesting - especially the Pompeii one! I'm interested in what the plot twist in the final short story is, too, so if you ever get the chance or feel ready you should definitely share some snippets! Good luck for getting on the course and for your future writing :)

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    1. Thank you Charlotte! I think I will share some of my writings soon, I’m getting more confident so I am open to getting feedback on my blog!

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  5. Good luck Emily! These all sound so compelling. I especially like the sound of the Pompeii one! Maybe I can read it one day... ;)

    Really hope you get into the program <3

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