Miriam El Abbassi | Arts Editor
Featured Image: Daniela Ruso is a third-year screenwriting student at York. | Franca Ruso
Daniela Ruso is a third-year screenwriting student at York. She is a writer and masterful storyteller, who weaves her own personal experiences into the stories she shares.
At the age of 10, Ruso found she had an eager need to share stories with everyone around her. Whether it was family, friends or classmates, she would share her tales to anyone who would listen. Such an imaginative young child eventually grew into an even more inquisitive teenager, which was when Ruso decided to start writing her ideas down. This lead her to start exploring the possibility of turning what was once a hobby, into something more.
“I’d say my grade 12 writer’s craft class was when I realized that I enjoyed writing. The realization was like a new adventure. I flew through so many novels that year just to see what techniques and guidance I could glean from the authors,” Ruso says.
The mind of a writer is always racing, always bouncing around ideas and various ‘what if’ scenarios. Writers are always creating, whether they chose to put pen to paper or not. Currently, Ruso is working on a coming-of-age piece, which will most likely draw from her own personal experiences.
When asked about the challenges she faces as a writer, Ruso replies: “The most challenging part about writing is feeling limited to what you can write about. The general saying is, ‘write what you know.’ That can be a struggle when you want to work in new genres, or worlds far from your own,”
This perceived limit may inherently stop writers from exploring unfamiliar topics, as their scope of knowledge and what they want to write about may not line up, but Ruso does share one tidbit of advice for that scenario: “Write what you don’t mind learning about. If your search history isn’t a hot mess of random questions, you’re not researching enough!”
Ruso’s program has also been influential in helping her expand her knowledge of writing. Screenwriting focuses on collaboration, allowing Ruso to essentially access the minds of other writers, and see a variety of unique viewpoints.
“Working with other writers is such an advantageous and enjoyable experience. There is creative magic that happens when writers brainstorm together,” she says.
The collaborative process is where many great ideas are born, and working with so many different writers can help foster the kind of ‘magic,’ and sense of community that encourages great storytelling.
The various film courses she takes allow her to express herself creatively in a controlled space, using feedback from her professors to build upon, and improve the stories she writes.
Ruso continues to write and create on a daily basis, drawing inspiration, not only from the world around her, but from her incredibly personal experiences.
