— Main points
- City Lit catches up with Pieter Dewulf, City Lit Creative Writing Alumnus
- We find out more about the Evening Standard Stories Competition
Find out more about the Evening Standard Stories Competition
Returning for its second year, the Stories competition gives a new generation of voices the chance to tell their stories and receive industry support.
Entries close on 24 July 2022 at 11.59pm
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Q: Tell us about your time at City Lit?
A: I’ve done three courses at City Lit so far. I started with Ways into creative writing: an introduction,to discover whether I could write in a language that isn’t my mother tongue. I’ve always wanted to write, though as I’m Belgian I’d never considered writing in English. The course went really well and the feedback I got from my tutor gave me the confidence to continue writing. Before the end of the course I’d signed up for a second one: Short story writing. I didn’t have a lot of experience with short stories, neither writing nor reading, but the course definitely ignited my love for the form. By the time I finished the course I was hooked, all I wanted to do was write, so I looked for a more intensive course and signed up for the Advanced fiction writing workshop.
Q: What made you decide to enter the ES Stories Competition last year?
A: My desperate need for reassurance?
It was my tutor of the short story course Vicky Grut who posted a message on Google Classroom about the festival’s writing competition. I’d just finished the first assignment feeling quite satisfied with the result and I thought, why not? Nobody has to know. I can enter without telling anyone. And so I did.
I remember being absorbed by the process of writing the piece. I kept rewriting it over and over again. By the seventeenth version (or was it the twenty-ninth?) I thought I’d written a good piece and after getting Vicky’s positive feedback I felt confident enough to submit it. It’s very exciting, sending your piece out into the world. You might be confident enough to enter the competition, but as soon as you’ve pressed the send button you start to fear the jury might hate your piece so much they put you on their black list. At least, I did.
Q: Tell us about your inspiration behind your winning entry?
A: Stay close to yourself, mine your memories, harvest your soul… That was the advice I got from my tutors. When I got the assignment I started browsing through some old pictures and I stumbled upon a picture of my brother and I picking berries. I decided to give it a go and write about my relationship with my brother. Writing the first draft I stayed close to the truth, but with every new draft I gradually started fictionalising the story to create a better structure or to improve the rhythm of the text.
Q: Did winning the Stories Festival helped you with your writing career?
A: Yes and no. But ultimately yes.
First of all, I don’t think I can speak of a writing career. Yet. I love writing and I’m obsessed with it, though I know I still have so much to learn, so far I’ve mainly been trying to write so I think I’d better speak about my tryingcareer. But maybe that’s what writing is – or if we want to go the existential route, life – trying. And then trying again.
Winning the prize felt unreal. I’ll never forget the moment I heard Bea Carvalho, the head of the jury, announcing the runner-ups. This can’t be true! Me? It sounds silly, but I genuinely didn’t expect to win the prize. When I received the email with the message I was one of the finalists I felt so grateful. In hindsight that would’ve been the right amount of recognition to boost my confidence. Winning the prize was over the top. I’d only started writing. Suddenly so many had read my piece. That was amazing, but it also created pressure. That soon I’d publish another great story, or a whole collection, or even a novel, while I was (and am) still figuring out how to write one decent sentence. In reality, of course, nobody is waiting for my next story. But they, the people who read (and liked) the piece, will need less persuasion to read the next one – if I ever manage to get another one published.
Q: What are you currently working on?
A: At some point I want to write a novel. Or two. Or three. And a play. And a movie. Though at the moment I’m focussing on short stories. As I said earlier, I’ve developed a deep love for the form and I believe it’s a good way to develop my craft. How do you build a scene? How much detail do you need? Which perspective do you use? Which tense do you use? And most importantly: How. Do. You. Write. A. Sentence?
It may surprise you, but writing a short story takes less time than writing a long story. And every time I finish a story, I learn from my mistakes. Shorter stories = more stories = more mistakes = more learning = more chance to become a better writer.
But first I need to figure out how to write a sentence.
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