For the second consecutive year, budding writers, Clarice, Year 2, and Kaitlyn, Year 5, have achieved Gold Awards in their respective divisions of the WriteOn competition.
The creative writing competition challenges primary school students to craft up to 500 words of imaginative text based on a photo prompt provided by the State Library. WriteOn provides an opportunity for students to showcase their literary talents and potentially become published authors.
Clarice and Kaitlyn’s exceptional pieces, inspired by an image of camels traversing a desert landscape, stood out among submissions from primary schools across New South Wales.
Clarice’s poem, titled, The Day I Stand at the Front of the Line, offers a vibrant and imaginative depiction of an adventurous journey through the outback. The piece skilfully captures the challenges and beauty of the desert landscape.
“I wrote my poem while I was travelling in Japan on the bullet train. While on the train, I enjoyed being at the front because of the better view. This gave me the inspiration of a camel being at the front of the line,” said Clarice.
Kaitlyn’s poem, titled, Follow the Leader, vividly paints the picture of a camel’s arduous trek through a rugged and unforgiving terrain. The narrator yearns for the opportunity to lead the way, venturing beyond the familiar trails and embracing new exploits.
“I was inspired by the poem, We Wear the Mask, by Paul Laurence Dumbar. It made me think about pretending and hiding our true thoughts. My poem is written from the perspective of the camel, who pretends to be willing and follows the leader, his master, but really what he wants is freedom,” said Kaitlyn.
Clarice and Kaitlyn share a deep appreciation for writing and were thrilled to have the opportunity to demonstrate their literary talent once again in this year’s competition.
“I like writing because you can use your own ideas and imagination. I also like travelling to different places as it gives me a lot of inspiration. When I travel, I write a diary. This helps me come up with ideas,” said Clarice.
“Writing makes me feel free. I can write about whatever I want and express my thoughts and feelings through my words. When I write, it is like playing music; I get to create a world of my own. I also like that I can weave stories from nothing but a blank page and a pencil,” said Kaitlyn.
Clarice and Kaitlyn’s winning entries exemplified their creative prowess and showcased their ability to vividly transport readers into the worlds they have conjured through their words.
The award-winning works by Clarice and Kaitlyn have been published in The Best of WriteOn 2023 which can be purchased here.
