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Say It Louder

Imagine being in a movie theatre. Velvet seats; maybe they recline (if you’re feeling fancy), a bowl of popcorn, the vacuous sound of a projector, and on the screen: life. Life in all its colour and noise and diversity. A car-horns-honking, running-in-the-rain, swimming-in-the-dark kind of life. A second-hand clothing, tears, poetry, and music kind of life. A ‘don’t wear makeup just to please him’ kind of life. It’s beautifully vivid and yet, in the theatre, it is dark and empty. There is a room where words form and link arms, like I made paper chains as a child.

There is that man on the New York subway, dressed entirely in gold. There is a finger tracing the shell of someone’s ear and look, there is love; a pulse through every scene. How delicate that word is. You cradle it in the palm of your hand as you sit in the movie theatre, trying to distinguish its multi-faceted, multi-coloured shape. Occasionally, you throw it at the screen and then think “no, that’s not right; you don’t belong there”. Sometimes you can’t hold it tightly enough and it leaps out of your grasp; sometimes you barely even notice as it creeps into the movie until love is all that fills the screen.

And all this time, you write. Pages and pages of sentences surround you. You can’t help but notice where the movie inspires words and soon, they’re caught on paper, like black ink butterflies in a white net. This is how I imagine my mind to be.

Someone asked me recently “Do you write?” and my response was “How could I not?”. Since being young I have always noticed things – tiny things – and these things need an outlet. They crowd in on my brain, buzz around me demanding to be heard. Asking me questions; how can sadness be held within a pebble? What does loneliness look like? Can empty paint cans tell a story?

“Yes” I say. I say it louder. Everything can tell a story if we imagine one for it.

My grandma told me stories as a little girl and now, here I am, telling my own, and one day maybe my grandchildren will tell stories about me. Families narrate their own paths through history, winding and unfurling from generation to generation. Fiction is not an imitation of life; it moulds it and shapes it and acts within it. Odysseus moved people to tears with his stories. We cry out of pity for the stories of fictions, strangers, and animals and when we talk about ourselves, we create our own narrative.

I don’t want to give you something you’ve seen before; a catalogue of where I was born, my hobbies, my degree. Creativity isn’t born at the point where I tell you ‘I read and play piano and study English’. I want to give you my words and the freedom to add your own voice. I want to tell you ‘I have no identity’ because life is always changing and we inevitably change with it. I want to be vulnerable because I believe that it is the moment of vulnerability where beautiful things happen.

Lastly, I want to encourage you to write. Write about everything: the empty mug on your table, patriarchal structures, grief, love, and the colour of the sky. Write loud and write bravely and write yourself or you’ll find that the world writes your narrative for you, and where’s the fun in that?

Emily Warner
Emily Warner
I am an Undergraduate at the University of York studying English and Related Literature and an intern with Beauty & the Beast Publishing. I have experience in many areas of the creative industries, including but not limited to journalism, editing, ghostwriting, academic writing, proofreading, and marketing, all of which have developed many transferable skills. I completed sixth form with four A*s in my A-levels and at university, I hold an editorial position for the student newspaper, Nouse. I am conscientious and eager to tackle challenges in innovative ways. I’m passionate about collaborating with people from a range of backgrounds with different life experiences, to enrich myself and enable me to represent more voices in my writing. I have excellent writing skills, both academic and creative, which I have developed by writing for various publications including Aurelia and SINK magazine and BOOT Music. I bring creativity to every role I undertake and continue to seek opportunities to do the thing I love; writing.

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5 CONVERSATIONS

  1. Emily,

    Welcome to the BIZCATALYST family! Your writing is a tribute to the art of story telling. You weave the beauty of imagination, teasing us to consider deeper perspectives while looking beyond the ordinary. I believe you have a bright future ahead in writing, creating and inspiring in a generation that has opportunities to be the difference bringing the creative arts into the fold of everyday life. I look forward to reading more. Cheers! Eileen

  2. Welcome to the family, Emily. I love your aspirations to write. Never let life come between you and your writing. I hope you keep your focus and let all your distractions be minimal. You have the talent, interest, ambition, and sincere desire to use your gifts. You have all you need to be successful. Bizcatalyst360 has a broad platform. You’re in good hands.

  3. Emili,

    Truly wonderful to read. Apart from popcorn and old fashioned projector, I resonate so much with your descriptions.

    Essentially I just love your writing style, topics and more.

    Welcome to the BizCatalyst36O – a platform of like-minded individuals.

    I have requested that you accept my invitation to connect on LinkedIn.

    Simon Lever
    Winchester

    • Hi Simon,
      Thank you so much. It is amazing to be part of such a supportive writing community.
      I have accepted the LinkedIn connection.
      Best,
      Emily

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