Meet Xaivion Liaw, 2025 Pipit winner
Tell us about yourself.
Hello! I’m Xaivion from Labuan. I’m 16 and currently studying in the pure science stream. I have a passion for reading and writing in both English and Chinese, especially poetry. You will most likely find me watching shows and movies or scribbling something in my notebook during my free time.
What do you read? List 5 books and authors.
I really enjoy reading poetry and short stories, both in English and Chinese. I like Minfong Ho and Chua Kok Yee’s works, especially their short stories. My top five writers are Minfong Ho, Chua Kok Yee, Adeline Yen Mah, John Marsden and Devinder Raj. My favourite books are Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah, Dead Poets Society by N.H. Kleinbaum, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, So Much To Tell You by John Marsden and Language Myths, edited by Laurie Bauer and Peter Trudgill.
Have you published any stories or books?
I have had some of my works published in books, and I mainly write in two languages: Chinese and English. Last year, I had the joy of seeing three of my winning works featured in a compilation of winning entries. Two of these were written in Chinese and included in the National Level Chinese Language Creative Writing Competition Winning Works (Karya-Karya Pemenang Pertandingan Penulisan Kreatif Bahasa Cina Peringkat Kebangsaan 2024), where I won first place for poetry and third place for short story writing, both in the lower secondary category. My English short story was also compiled in my state’s Compilation of Young Writers’ Works 2024, where I had won first place.
Why did you take part in the Pipit Writing Competition?
I really need to credit my English teacher, Miss Shai, for this. She was the one who introduced me to this competition, actually, since last year. She has never stopped encouraging me to try. To be honest, I had completely forgotten about the competition this year. Life got busy, and it slipped my mind entirely. But then Miss Shai reminded me of the dates, and my friends started talking about how determined they were to write again this year, which made me feel like maybe I should give it another shot. And honestly, I’m so grateful I did. A very special shout-out to Alex and Eleanor ^^ Thank you both for constantly persuading me and nudging me to write. Couldn’t have done it without both of you.
How much planning was involved for the story?
I didn’t spend a long time planning this story, since I already had an idea that fit perfectly with this year’s competition theme. Actually, I had used this idea before in my state’s Chinese Language writing competition, but it didn’t place. I took my time, reworked it, and tweaked a lot of the original plot, and just like that, the new and improved version was ready! Surprisingly, planning the story wasn’t the hardest part; the real challenge was actually the writing itself.
How long did it take you to write it?
I must admit, I procrastinate a lot. While my friends who had joined this competition were already close to finishing their stories, I was still stuck at the very beginning. I only started writing seriously two days before the deadline! This was also the first time I decided to try something different and tweak my writing style. In my story, I wrote from the father’s perspective, a character who was sarcastic and carefree. Looking back, I really do think that if I had started earlier, both my story and my writing would have been even better. So, please, learn from my mistake and don’t be like me! Start early and give yourself enough time. You’ll thank yourself later.
What were your expectations?
I joined this competition with absolutely no expectations, especially when I started writing seriously two days before the deadline. Honestly, all I told myself was to try my best to finish writing the story before the deadline, and that was pretty much it. I didn’t think about winning. In my mind, if I managed to pour my heart and soul into the story, that alone would already be a huge accomplishment.
How did you react when you found out you won?
I was absolutely over the moon. My friends and I had decided to check the results together at school, and when the announcement finally loaded on the screen, we just froze. It felt unreal. I genuinely didn’t expect to win first prize, especially after reading my friends’ incredible pieces. Their writing moved me so much that I honestly believed any one of them could have taken the top spot. So, when I saw my name there, I was completely shocked and let out a scream that definitely disrupted my classmates. (So sorry if any of you are reading this …) I’m truly grateful for this award. Without the support of my parents and friends, I believe none of this would have happened.
Do you have any advice for young writers?
This might sound weird, but always keep your phone or a pen and paper with you wherever you go. If you have random thoughts or story ideas, jot them down! You never know what kind of story you might craft from them. Also, never feel demotivated or disappointed if you lose in any writing competitions! It doesn’t mean your writing is bad. Sometimes it just isn’t the right time, or the judge’s perspective is different from yours. What matters most is that you keep writing, keep improving, and keep telling the stories only you can tell. Write from your heart; that’s what makes a touching piece come to life.
What motivates Aiza to write
By Huang NingShan
Thousands of children across the world dream of being authors when they grow up. They aspire to be journalists, famous authors, or they simply like to write for fun, sometimes in secret. However, some are brave enough to share their stories with the world, such as Aiza Zahra Elmi Haryadi, 15, the winner of Brigitte Rozario’s 2024 Pipit Writing Competition.
After finding out about the competition one night in early August, Aiza entered the competition because she has always loved writing. She’s been writing since young, whether it was a page in her diary, a poem, or a story. But recently she hasn’t had the time or motivation to write.
Everything changed on the night she found out about the competition. She began brainstorming ideas immediately.
“This competition was perfect for me to kick things off again,” Aiza said, adding that she’s never entered writing competitions before but she’s very glad she did, as she enjoyed challenging herself to produce a story.
The hardest part, according to Aiza, was starting to write. She had the base of the story all laid out, but she was afraid the first sentence she wrote would be the wrong one. So, she delayed writing for a long time. However, as the due date approached, she had no choice but to start putting words down, trying to ensure she didn’t miss the deadline.
“I did get stuck at times because I decided to stress myself out by including a bunch of characters,” Aiza shared, admitting that she struggled to write the different characters, and she also had a hard time trying to make them not sound like each other. That’s understandable; if you had to write multiple different characters, wouldn’t you struggle too?
Aiza also shared how she chose the animals, saying she liked the city setting, so she decided to use animals which could be easily found on the streets. There was little to no research done because she wanted to showcase the cartoony side of the animals. Furthermore, her favourite part of writing the story was crafting the characters themselves. According to her, it was really fun making them unique in their own way.
“To every single one of those who supported me, I am very grateful,” Aiza said, adding that everyone around her would listen to her evolving ideas and give her feedback.
Onto the subject of winning, Aiza admitted that she still can’t believe she won the competition. In her words, she probably “started jumping higher than a basketball player” on hearing she had won. One of her major hobbies is reading, so winning RM600 worth of BookXcess book vouchers was definitely something to be excited about.
Aiza added that when she reads, she imagines the scenes playing out in her head like a movie. According to her, that’s why reading is fun. You can also cast the characters as anyone you want, and the drama and plot twists give you “your daily boost of serotonin”.
“It’s nice to try something new every now and then,” the winner of the Pipit competition revealed, saying that the first books on her list to buy were contemporary fiction books, after mainly reading fantasy.
Hopefully, this won’t be the last we hear from this young writer and aspiring veterinarian.