Georgina Barrowclough

I was born in the small, sleepy town known as Shepton Mallet—a hidden treasure at the heart of South England's Somerset. I moved to Bristol at the age of eight, paving the way for my studies as a Creative & Professional Writing graduate at The University of the West of England. When I’m not busy hunch-backed over my laptop spinning fantastical tales, I spend the majority of my free time with my head buried deep in a book. I’ve been writing actively since the young age of 13, having self-published stories on Wattpad that reached a reading count of over 780k—which has, I'm sheepish to admit—since been deleted by virtue of being fanfiction. This fleeting whim of embarrassment for something that is not my best work is highly undermined by the fact that self-publishing at such a young age (and garnering a huge audience) left me with something I am, in hindsight, proud of.

Now, at 23 years of age, I hope to pursue a career in novel writing and build a name for myself as an esteemed author. Entering competitions such as this one is something I believe can excel work like my own, as well as instil confidence in young writers like myself who would otherwise believe they don't 'fit the mould'. There was a point in time in which I lacked the confidence to put my work out there, and so I was honoured to find myself a Young Writer 2022 finalist alongside such talented individuals. Writing is in no way an easy feat, but I think myself privileged nevertheless to be able to study this art form and meet like-minded writers along the way.

See profile
Award Category
Young Writer Award 2023
The Ballad of the Forgotten Sisters
My Submission

Comments

Holly Davis Mon, 03/07/2023 - 04:11

Beautiful, well-written descriptions and prose! Your writing is so strong! I would've loved more action in this first chapter vs a lot of backstory and history that could be sprinkled throughout the early chapters and shown vs told. But overall it drew me in-- great job!

Maya Grimley Mon, 24/07/2023 - 06:10

I was astonished by your writing, characters, and world-building. Not only does your story have an eye-catching start, but it also has lovely descriptions. Your writing provides a vivid exposition while not being too wordy, which I loved. Maeve seems to be a complex and unique character that I would enjoy reading more about. The world-building was so striking that I was taken aback. I genuinely enjoyed your submission. Great job!

Kenny MacKay Sun, 30/07/2023 - 19:07

Your story starts with a thought-provoking question that immediately drew me into the story. Maeve comes across as an incredibly complex character, one I definitely want to read more about.

Jordan Kantey Mon, 07/08/2023 - 13:34

There is a good sense of place with some very evocative description (e.g. 'The street was swamped by consumers and traders alike, colours of every shade ebbing and flowing into an endless stream of commerce.').

Watch for style that tips the scales from flowery/ornate into verbosity at times (the simplest way of saying sometimes serves multiple other utilities, e.g. pace, flow, focus, narrative drive, etc.). For example the repetition of 'bound' and 'bindings' in the description of Maeve's knuckles.

The story could begin from starting closer to the action of 'Plumes of dust swirled where her feet struck the ground,' as this would avoid beginning with greater abstraction which, though interesting in the question asked, isn't maybe as strong of a hook as when the action gets going.