Sita Brahmachari is a YBA Award winning author and a champion of reading and creative writing for young people. In this blog, she discusses why she believes in the ‘Then & Now’ competition and gives lots of excellent advice to young people on how to develop their entries.
So, what made Sita accept the invitation to be a judge in the competition?In her book Phoenix Brothers (2025), one of her characters Amir enters the George Orwell Public Speaking competition even though as a refugee survivor from Iraq, he has only been in school for one year. The subject of the competition is ‘liberty’ and Amir believes that if anyone can speak about this subject he can. The story looks at the ups and downs of sharing his story and may well shed light for writers in this competition. It’s a tale about the complexity of writing stories and the freedom it brings Amir as the reader sees him stringing words together, ‘necklacing’ words to reach for meaning and to express the swirl of emotion in his belly about having to leave his homeland and start life in a school in the UK. Amir bravely enters his writing into the competition – and his speech is chosen.
‘When I was asked to support a competition for young writers it felt like art and reality coming together… I am excited to discover how many talented writers like Amir will emerge.’
Sita is passionate about the benefits of both reading and writing for pleasure. In a recent report, National-Literacy-Trust.pdf#. research shows that there has been a steep decline in young people reading and writing for pleasure. This is deeply worrying as the act of writing helps you understand how to see the world, where you belong in it and to re- imagine it and explore your own voice. Concerns about the use of AI as part of the act of writing a poem, story or essay is being debated everywhere. Sita believes that the most rewarding aspect of writing is first to dig deep into your own consciousness, to explore what it is to feel, think and reach for knowing. Sita identifies the act of writing as a moment of magical distillation –
‘When you meet yourself and others and, in this connection, new horizons are opened up.’
We hope that the competition will inspire young people to discover the sheer pleasure of writing and Sita has some techniques she loves to share. Sita’s advice to young writers entering the competition is to start by writing for themselves.
‘You could start by doodling and put pen to paper and write a word- flow – whatever comes into your head, just make a mark on the page to express your feelings. Have fun seeing what words, ideas, characters and landscapes emerge. Most of all enjoy stitching together your writing into a patchwork of storytelling and be creative. The only thing that will make you feel stuck is if you want to look for the cleverest way to write or a word that will Impress. Go for what is true to you. Creativity is about release, the need or wish to express and letting your random imagination take over!’
Writing is collecting and piecing together, it’s also about discovering your anchors and what sets your imagination sailing – look out for writing prompts and catalysts e.g. Someone saying something like ‘ ‘Forget about the past, only today matters’ or note down something that makes you laugh or something that you noticed or reacted to in life or on the news: it could be something as random as capturing the waft of a leaf falling, a phrase someone used, finding the words to describe a particular light filtering through trees. Once you know you are going to write, start collecting – get the sense of what you want to feel, see and express and see what comes. Don’t feel you need to live up to anyone’s expectations, what emerges should be true to you and your voice.
Then, gradually, work out what story or poem or story seems to want to emerge from you? Keep revisiting the writing and by reading it in different drafts, keep drawing closer to what is it you want to communicate. Sometimes we don’t fully know until we start to collect the patchwork pieces of our thoughts and feelings and imaginative leaps. It may be that there is something deeply personal in the writing and you may, like Amir in ‘Phoenix Brothers’ decide you want to share this, or you may discover a metaphor (like the charm that represents the layers of the heart) in Artichoke Hearts. Possibly your writing will take you through time shifts (into the future like in Where the River Runs Gold) or back into the past like in When Secrets Set Sail(). You may find yourself drawing on ancient global mythologies, songs or folktales or magical objects or beings, like ravens, sea creatures, shells, or charms to help sew together your storytelling. Once you get going with the patchworking in your notebook – you start seeing clues and ideas for your poem or story everywhere.
‘Writing is your very own treasure hunt of your imagination… shared with others.’
a banner made by Friday for Futures Protestors showing the banner from Sita’s near future set book ‘ Where The River Runs Gold’
As part of this ‘treasure hunt’ Sita loves the process of research that can be done in many ways: reading books, going to the library, online … but her favourite way is either to speak from her own heart (often in poetry) or to speak to people a little like the characters she wants to write about. There may people in your family or ancestors whose stories, connected to events in history, landscapes and voices that will inspire you like Sita’s father’s storytelling voice inspired her growing up.
In Phoenix Brothers Amir’s writing changes his life. It allows his school mates and everyone around him to hear his voice and what he dreams of for our world. The same for Mira in Artichoke Hearts – who may be shy but through her writing can let her thoughts and feelings flow. For eighteen-year-old Kai King, excluded from school, writing is his way of thriving and restoring his balance. It can be deeply empowering to read out your own work or hear your work read to an audience. Who knows where entering our competition might take you? Now and then – back when she was your age Sita has been hooked on writing and sees it as powerful way of navigating the world. One thing is for sure; Sita would love to read your work and celebrate your creativity.
To enter the competition, go to: Competition | TogetherInTheUK
