Conversations with Mentors - Ella

Frederika recently spoke to Oppidan mentor, Ella. Have a read of what they spoke about.

Ella! Welcome to our series of conversations with mentors. I know you’re passionate about writing and literature. Can you tell us a bit about that? 

When I’m not mentoring with Oppidan I spend a lot of time writing. Most recently I’ve been working on my debut novel Rapunzella, Or Don’t Touch My Hair which will be released this July. I also produce podcasts across a wide range of topics but I’m currently working on a podcast called Exactly with Florence Given which is centred around female empowerment. It’s also about trying to have those nuanced conversations that social media doesn’t always allow us to.

The most recent episode is with Jameela Jamil and it’s a discussion about being a woman in the public eye and how the media fuels misogyny. In this podcast we’ve also done a piece about sex education for women in terms of the things we wish we had been taught about our bodies, and we have an episode coming up on Transgender rights.

What do you enjoy the most about your work?

I really enjoy telling stories and it’s always been the thing I wanted to do. When I was at school I did English, Drama and History. I love the ability of giving access to different perspectives and I believe that the art of stories are what feed us.

That’s awesome! So you’ve mentioned what you were interested in at school could you tell us a bit more about your early years?

I grew up in South London and went to an all girls day school in Streatham. The school was quite small but I had great friends and really great teachers. I was the scholarship kid and I think I felt a lot of pressure not to experiment and not make mistakes because of that, but I was fortunate enough that my family always supported my creativity. School is where I learned about poetry and theatre. I did English and Theatre at Warwick University, and the course content was very women dominated which I loved.

I know the creative industry can be quite tough and inconsistent at times. What advice would you give a child who aspires to be a writer?

Firstly, be consistent in your practice. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing 10 lines a day but just keep writing. It’s a bit like being an athlete-you need to train every day. Secondly, be resilient and thorough. Before getting published I was contacting agents by email and I would send 120 emails in one round. I understand that time is a big factor but I went through every literary agency in the U.K and drew up a short list of 20 agencies and the agents within them that I wanted to contact. Honesty is important and so I made sure that my emails were vulnerable and not corporate style. Those were the emails where I would get a response because agents could tell there was a person behind the screen. So be vulnerable and tell the truth about yourself.

I know you are also a passionate Oppidan mentor – why do you mentor?

When I was at school, the idea that I could ever do what I’m doing now just felt intangible because a career in the creative space isn’t linear. It’s very difficult for a schools careers person to give you any advice. I mentor because I believe in breaking through the glass ceiling and extending the ladder behind me.

Final question – where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Writing full time, probably not living in London as I want to live somewhere warm and near a beach. I also want lots of animals-cats, dogs, horses, and chickens…maybe even a goat!