A Full-Circle Moment With Neila Cepulionyte, Junior Graphic Designer

By Young Writers | Alumni Series

Alumni Series - Celebrating 35 Years Of Young Writers

Introducing our first Young Writers Alumni member, Neila Cepulionyte, who is Young Writers' Junior Graphic Designer.

Young Writers: Can you remember how it felt seeing your work published by Young Writers for the first time, and why do you think that moment stayed with you?

Neila: I entered the competition when I was 13, so I was at the peak of writing stories in my free time. The thing about those is that no one besides my sister saw them and I had no way of knowing whether they were good or not. Being able to enter the competition not only gave me a great challenge (100 words), but also the future validation of my skills once I saw myself in the book. The impossible idea of being published suddenly became very real. That feeling, I think, gave me the confidence in my skills to continue being creative.

Young Writers: What role does feedback or recognition play in creative careers?

Neila: Creative careers often come with a healthy dose of imposter syndrome, which I think is mostly because when making something, we look at it for so long that at some point, it all looks wrong. There’s then two ways to counter it – leave it alone and come back later with fresh eyes, or ask and receive feedback. The feedback, whether good or bad, is still a way of moving forward and receiving recognition for the hard work you’ve put in up until that point is a great way to counter the imposter syndrome that often rears its head in creatives.

Oftentimes, the feedback will be the crucial missing piece that you hadn’t thought of which is the whole beauty of it, as multiple ideas turn into one.

Young Writers: When did you realise writing (or creativity) might be part of your future?

Neila: Honestly, I’ve been creative in my free time (or for school projects) since before I even understood what I was doing. My favourite tasks were always the creative ones, either art or writing, and there were pages upon pages of art I had copied from my sister, trying to be as good as her. That slowly shifted into writing once I didn’t have an art-based creative outlet and I’d write stories after school (there was even a time where I’d ask my favourite English teacher for creative prompts to write stories to, as an extra challenge, such as narrate the thoughts of a ping pong ball stashed away in a cupboard).

One way or another, graphic design was introduced to me as an option for a career and all the book covers I had seen when reading books flashed before my eyes. This was the ultimate way to combine the two things I loved most – writing and art.

Young Writers: What skills did writing as a child give you that you still use?

Neila: Patience, definitely! And perseverance. As a creative, the greatest asset is to be able to be bad at something and then keep going until you’re good, because whilst there are eureka moments, they are far and few between. Being able to push through anyway is something I learned through the numerous drafts that were rewritten and updated and shuffled and then deleted and rewritten again.

Young Writers: When you look back now, why do you think opportunities like Young Writers matter?

Neila: For me personally, it all came down to validation and being able to say I’ve been published as opposed to just writing drabbles in my free time. Somewhere out there will be a child who will have no confidence in their writing or creative skills and have no way of knowing they can keep going and that what they’re doing now is great. Through Young Writers, that confidence can grow and translate into other aspects of life. Now that I think about it, it’s also an awesome conversation starter!

Young Writers: Is there a moment from your Young Writers experience that’s stayed with you all these years?

Neila: As great as it was to see my name and my story in black and white, the initial introduction of the competition and the subsequent mental mindmapping of the story I’d want to write and fit within 100 words was my favourite. That process hasn’t changed one bit since, and I still go through the same steps now when coming up with new ideas, whether they are written or art/design based. That also definitely fuels the passion in creating new competition packs now that I’m working at Young Writers myself, to hopefully give another child that same feeling I experienced when seeing the competition for the first time.

Young Writers: What does it mean to you to be part of the Young Writers legacy?

Neila: Being here feels very ‘full-circle-moment’, considering how young I was when I entered (exactly 10 years ago, actually!) and now participating in the creation exact thing I experienced. Seeing how much goes into it all behind the scenes, let alone working alongside the very person who created that competition in the first place, is somewhat mind-blowing (and a huge honour). I can’t wait to see what else I can learn from people around me and implement that knowledge into my designs to hopefully create a competition that will have the same effect on children as it did on me!

Young Writers: What would you say to a child seeing their name in print for the first time today?

Neila: This is only the start of what you can achieve. If you choose to continue pursuing creativity, whether it be writing, design or anything else, embrace the waves of uncertainty as they are the exact thing that makes us realise just how good we are at what we do once we’re out the other end. Believe in yourself and your skills, don’t let others tell you otherwise. And most importantly, don’t be afraid to be bad at something when you first start; practice makes improvement!