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About Me

I am a French writer living in Cambridge for the past ten years. Writing is my passion and I like nothing more than giving myself a challenge with a new novel, whether it is weaving different voices in the same story, using the challenging first person narration or dealing with a particular theme that I am both interested in and slightly scared of. If I knew what to do every time I started a new novel, I would have given up writing a long time ago! I love the fact that while I am very organized in my practical life, I am happy to let my characters and plot develop in my writing without feeling a need to control anything. Writing for me is spaciousness. And what fun it is to go and explore...

Location:
United Kingdom, Cambridge
Current role:
writer
Gender:
Female
Areas of expertise:
Publishing, website development, Fiction writing, Language Teaching
I am:
Buddhist, Single, Writer/Editor
Languages:
English, French, Italian
My website links:
Caroline Jestaz/Ecrits, LinkedIn Profile
Universities:
Trinity College Dublin, Nanterre Universite, Glasgow university
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More About Me

I'm passionate about

words, writing, languages, cinema, sculpture, music, painting. Any form of expression.

An idea worth spreading

How does language affect identity?
In what way does the language I acquired as a child born and raised in Paris, the language I use to write novels in, define me compared to the language I have chosen and made my own for the past twenty five years, initially travelling to, studying in and, ultimately, living in the UK? Is the choice of another language to some degree the denial of one’s own? Where does identity sit in between two, three or even more languages?

Writing is interconnectedness
Writing is eight, nine, ten hours a day, or more, of solitary exploration, yet it is pure interconnectedness. I write because I feel the need to identify with other lives whether real or imaginary. Writing happens through absorbing the world around me and reformulating it in my own words. More importantly, writing is the practice of compassion, for myself when doubting my skills or the process, or both. And, as a result, writing is compassion for others, even when I least feel like it!

Talk to me about

creativity, writing, communication, self-awareness, bold ideas and initiatives.

People don't know that I'm good at

Swimming and sewing

My TED Story

I have just discovered TED two weeks ago through a talk by Elizabeth Gilbert on creativity which made me laugh and inspired me. I immediately emailed all of my friends to tell them about the website which is a first for me. I admire TED speakers for their willingness to share their experiences, be it failures or successes, and for their eloquence and passion. I am endlessly curious of the world and could very well spend entire days watching TED talks where it not for work and for my biggest passion: writing. I am now hoping to somehow contribute to TED in one way or the other...

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