When Lucinda Davies walked through the doors of Story Factory in 2018, it was as a student in Story Factory’s Year of the Novella, a year-long program where students commit to writing a novella for professional publication at the end of the year.
She was in the second group to participate in the Year of the Novella program. Being involved allowed Lucinda to write about her interests, and the experience became a defining part of her writing and learning journey.
“I’ve always been a fantasy writer, and my book, Taleweaver, is something akin to The Neverending Story, which was a big influence for me at the time,” she said. “I would write for Story Factory during my English classes at school – I would be writing big excerpts for my novella.
“I felt very accomplished and very empowered when my book was published. I’ve been writing since I was 5 years old, and for me it was really a feeling of ‘I’m actually a writer, I can get things done’.”
Now a Master of Research student, Lucinda has been volunteering for the past three years in the same program she went through at Story Factory, helping current students realise their full potential and express themselves through creative writing.
“For me, writing is as natural as breathing, I’ve always done it and I use it to express myself,” Lucinda said.
“Now as a volunteer, I love being able to give back and see the confidence of young writers grow. If I can help any young people who struggle to write, then that’s a success. With writing, you’re always refining your process, there is no ‘right way to write’, you just do what works for you.”
