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Institute of Continuing Education (ICE)

 

In May of 2018, the ICE Creative Writing team asked their first year Master's (MSt) students to write down what they hoped to achieve throughout the rest of the course and beyond. Their hopes and dreams were sealed in an envelope, to then be reopened after completing the course. 

Now, over five years later, those envelopes have been sent back to their authors. We spoke to five of the now alumni to find out what was in those letters, and to hear if their dreams have become a reality. 

Sarah Sultoon is a novelist and journalist. She worked as a CNN journalist for 15 years, before coming to study with us, with hopes of becoming a novelist. In her letter, she mainly told herself to resist going back to the news business until she had completed a first draft.  

Sarah said: “I gave myself very strict instructions not to get divorced nor mess up my (three) children in the process. Happily, I succeeded on all fronts. Just don't ask my children what they think! 

I never imagined I would not only complete a first draft before the MSt was over but would also get an agent and secure a publishing deal. I have since got four political thrillers into mainstream bookshops, had one optioned for TV, and have a fifth in train for publication next year. Every time I see one of my books on a shelf it is an indescribable thrill. I just feel so lucky to have benefitted from the advice and guidance of some incredibly generous and talented professionals.” 

Jo Turner is another student who wrote a letter to her future self. She worked as a journalist until her 40’s, then retrained as a secondary school teacher, before leaving in 2016 to pursue writing full-time.  

She shares how she made some ‘very ambitious’ demands within her letter, imagining that she would have completed her first novel by the end of the course and would be on the search for an agent. She didn't, in fact, complete her novel until the following year. 

 She also expressed a wish that she would continue to write poetry and that not all of it would be sad and hoped to have 'got her writing head together', by which she believes she meant that she would not be agonising all the time about whether her writing was good enough. 

Jo said: “I feel enormously satisfied that I finished the novel that I started while I was on the course, albeit a little late. I am glad to report that I still write poetry but it has not improved in mood, I'm afraid. I still find writing a painful process but I have made friends with that little voice in my head that continues to try and persuade me to stop. Studying at ICE has given me the confidence to broaden my writing to include subjects that I never dreamed I would be capable of writing about.” 

We also spoke to Raf Santana, who worked as a two times BAFTA nominated screenwriter and producer. In his capsule letter, Raf set himself the goal of writing at least two drafts of a novel. He has achieved his goal ‘many times over’ since writing this. 

Raf said: “I think that my confidence as a writer has really blossomed and helped me understand many of my strengths and weaknesses in the craft; in particular, the critical thinking skills that Cambridge equips you with has been invaluable to my work. ICE has really broadened my horizons on so many levels. I enjoyed every single minute of it and would do it all over again in a heartbeat.” 

Elena Croitoru had different motives for studying with us. As a software developer who loved maths growing up, she shares how stories have provided many lifelines for her, whenever reality got too complicated. 

In her capsule letter, she wanted to have completed her first novel. She has now finished several drafts of her first, several of her second, and is currently in the process of writing the first draft of a third. 

She said: “I've formed a daily habit of writing, though since the birth of my daughter that has been challenging because I sometimes need to catch up on sleep. 

Studying at ICE has given me confidence at a point when I really needed it. My tutors were great writers themselves and could tell us what made a piece of writing work. I also learnt from the work of each one of my peers who were all writing with unique and interesting voices.” 

Finally, we spoke to 32-year-old Annabel Steadman, who trained as a lawyer, with a dream to become a writer.  

 In her letter, she told herself not to be afraid of sharing both the adult novel she was working on at the time (which got her first agent but didn’t sell), as well as her children’s fantasy novel, Skandar and the Unicorn Thief (which got her my second agent and did sell). 

She said: “I was so delighted to read the letter as I feel like I really have achieved those goals I set myself. My first book in the Skandar series, Skandar and the Unicorn Thief—the one I was encouraging myself to share with at least one other person— was released in 2022 and was a global bestseller, hitting both the Sunday Times and New York Times Bestseller lists among others. Skandar and the Chaos Trials which was released earlier this year (the third book in the series) was a No 1 Bestseller, and a film of the first book is in development.” 

She also hoped in her letter that she would cherish and keep the friendships she made with fellow students on the course. Sharing how she was bridesmaid at a fellow MSt student's wedding, Annabel certainly shows she has achieved this.  

Could you be next to follow your passions and achieve your goals? Find out more about our part-time Master’s in Creative Writing, and apply now. 

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