Sarah Feng (United States) made her mark on the WtW community not only as a young writer but also as a Peer Review Ambassador. She’s now taken her passion for writing and building a literary community into her new role as the current editor of the literary journal Counterclock. We caught up with her to talk about how she continues her writing practice post-Write the World, the benefits of a writing community, and more!
What did you learn from Write the World? How have you carried that into your current writing practice?
Write the World taught me a lot about giving feedback! I was lucky enough to be a Peer Ambassador, which gave me a stronger eye for detail and a more critical perspective on any piece I read. I also started thinking of how different pieces could be improved. This was really useful when I became friends with more writers in real life, and we decided to trade feedback. It’s also helped me be more critical of my own writing and be unafraid to change big parts of it. Especially when editing pieces for Counterclock, I still fall back on the WTW’s guiding questions: What’s your favorite part of the piece; How do you think this piece could be strengthened further? What is the piece’s greatest strength? I’m grateful to WTW for giving me a space to grow my own craft through giving advice to others.
What writing projects are you working on at the moment?
I’m writing my own prose on the side! I’d love to write something experimental, something that plays with the traditional syntax of narration, a la Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury. I’ve been trying so far, although whether or not it’s succeeding is a whole other story. I’m also working on some prose poetry about my experience as a Chinese-American artist.
Counterclock is a journal which I helped create in 2017, along with two of my good friends and writing workshop classmates, Rachel Sucher and Claire Lee. Rachel had this great idea for a journal that would feature voices that we don’t typically see in the mainstream media and uplift the stigmatized, and Counterclock was born! We publish online issues three times a year, featuring creative writing and visual art. We do not consider factors like age or experience when looking at submissions; everybody is eligible to send in their own work for publication.
How do you stay inspired to write when faced with lots of other commitments? do you have any tips or disciplines that you follow?
I have a few!
- Write down the random sentence or image that popped into your head during math class and try it. Chances are, if it grabbed you and wouldn’t let go, there’s something there.
- Handwriting helps a lot! And sketching out your characters or images! I am a full proponent of investing in large packs of high-quality ink pens, because those run out quickly when you get into your groove.
- Some people like setting out a schedule for them to write. I know that works for them. Personally, I like having binge-write sessions where I shut out everything else and just write for a good five-six hours, and then don’t write for another month-long stretch.
- I keep a diary, and it helps me vocalize my emotions every day. Sometimes my daily memoirs turn into creative pieces.
How do you find your way as a young writer? Do you think there needs to be more space for emerging writers?
Places like WTW, online summer writing studios, Facebook groups for young writers, and real-life summer writing studio alumni networks have made it easy for me to connect with like-minded young writers, as well as trade pieces and receive feedback! I definitely think there should be more awareness surrounding these opportunities as well as a stronger system of financial aid so that more writers will be able to attend.
At Counterclock, we recently created a free, online summer program to support young artists. The Counterclock Arts Collective brings together creative writers, musicians, and visual artists under the age of 22 to create interdisciplinary projects together and receive guidance from mentors, as well as become eligible for a $100 prize. Our journal also welcomes submissions from high school and college students.
Other organizations aiming to carve out a space for young writers include the Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship, the Glass Kite Anthology Writing Studio, the For the Sonorous Writing Workshop, The Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop, and the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio.