My Path: Who I Am and What Drives Me
My name is Ekaterina Kakurina, and I am a writer, narrative lead, and creative writing tutor based in London.
This blog is my way of sharing my love for creative writing techniques and storytelling.
I wrote my first book, a detective story, when I was just six years old. The culprit in the story was a parrot. I published it in a hardcover format, using my own notebook, and illustrated it with drawings made with a blue pen.
During my teenage and young adult years, I reached the finals of several literary competitions. I received positive feedback on my work and encountered new concepts such as “plot.” By the time I was twenty-three, I realized that life was clearly suggesting that while I had an innate talent, mastering the tools of the trade would be beneficial.
That’s how I ended up attending evening classes for aspiring writers. I enjoyed being surrounded by like-minded people, learning literary tricks, and engaging in thoughtful discussions with a very serious face. I decided to continue on this path and pursued a master’s degree.
To this day, the master’s program has been one of the best experiences of my life. There, I met my mentors, brilliant teachers, and skilled professionals. The knowledge I gained not only helped me win a literary prize for my manuscript and publish my first book but also provided me with a diverse, cross-media education that allows me to work in any field involving storytelling and words.
My creative horizons expanded to include scriptwriting, which was the first passion ignited by my master’s program. I developed two additional passions: fairy tales and teaching. I have always loved fairy tales, but it was during my studies that I explored them more deeply and gained the ability to quote Vladimir Propp by heart.
During my studies, I also discovered a love for teaching. A fellow student and I organized a summer literary workshop for children, purely out of curiosity. It turned out to be such a rewarding experience that we developed two original programs, which we successfully taught for several years. One program provides children with tools for creative writing, while the other teaches teenagers how to express deep emotions.
Currently, I work as the narrative lead on the game Bylina, offer individual creative writing classes for children, and develop my own method for creating original fairy tales.
The world of Cat and Chick, which you can explore on this site, is my great love. I am happy to open Fairy City to you and share the secrets of the magic of animal wizards.
Now you know me a bit better. I’d love to get to know you in return! Write in the comments who you are, what interests you, and what you’d like to read about in my blog. Or just ask any question. I love questions.
If you’re interested in collaborating, simply fill out the form on the site — I’ll make sure to read your message and get in touch.
That's it for now. To finish off, I’d like to share a quote with you that has guided me for many years (it’s not just about writing — it’s about the importance of finding what drives you in this life):
"If the notion is good enough, if it truly belongs to you, then you can't forget it — it will haunt you till it's written." — Truman Capote
