Every week, we have seven hours of LA lessons. Although this might seem intimidating, they usually go by in a flash. Most of the time, we study mentor texts for writing techniques used by authors. Two writing techniques that are touched on greatly are story pacing and world building.

In unfamiliar, fantastical worlds, world building is extremely important and helps to intrigue the reader. It is important for the characters to interact with the world throughout the story. When creating a world, one should take note of the physical, cultural and societal aspects of it. These aspects not only will affect the world but will also affect the development of the plot and characters.

Story pacing is another essential technique to keep the reader engaged. In SOTA, we are taught to use the 3-Act Structure to plan and pace our stories. The 3-Act Structure ensures constant development of a story’s climax. When editing a story, it is important to remove scenes that don’t help in plot development and instead replace them with more important ones.

Other than learning writing techniques, we also work on projects. An example of this is when we worked on group newsletters as part of our Reportage module this year. This activity was my favourite part of LA as we usually work individually on our writings. Thus, working together in a group was a change from what we usually did. The newsletter contained everyone’s feature articles and had different sections such as advice columns.

Through LA, I’ve experimented with a variety of different writing forms, creating works that I both like and dislike. Looking at those I’m proud of, I realise that those are not only the ones that I’ve put the most effort into but are also those that helped me to grow as a writer.

For example, one work I’m proud of is my portfolio, a compilation of my written pieces from over the years, along with a process reflection. To create the portfolio, I had to design cover pages and reflect on what I learnt. Through this, I was able to see how much I’ve grown. I always find my portfolios a joy to look at as they have been printed into a book, where there are not only words but colourful cover pages that I’ve designed.

Another work I’m proud of is my short story. It is about a girl, Tara, who is trying to overcome her grief, the loss of her father, with the help of her friend Lux. This actually resembles a friendship I know of, making it something even more personal to me. By observing that friendship, I was able to further expand on my story. It still amazes me how inspiration can be taken from anywhere. This story was initially something I drew out and I never thought that I would write it out. Writing it out showed me how much I could develop on the characters and the plot.

Although LA is one of the main reasons I love being in SOTA, there are many other reasons. For example, in SOTA, we have an Integrated Arts (IA) programme. Through various IA lessons, I have been able to learn more about the different art forms and how they relate to LA. In SOTA, there are many amenities to ensure that we have the most effective way of practicing our art form.

Learning in SOTA has been a wonderful opportunity for me to grow as both a person and a writer, as it is an environment where I get opinions on my work. Although it might be intimidating, an important part of being a writer is being open to feedback, especially for your first draft. Writing isn’t a perfect process. With feedback from others, you will improve on your story.

Other than that, I think the most important thing is discovering what writing means to you! To me, writing is a catharsis and a way to communicate. Being able to put my thoughts into a story is something I treasure greatly. During times where I lack inspiration, I try my best to listen to myself and think of what I want to say. Ultimately, writing is something personal to me and I don’t want to lose my passion for it.

With that, I hope that your passion for writing never ceases. No matter what, never give up!