If you haven't done so already, check out Sudha's award-winning story "Where I Come From..." and then return here for a chat with the author.
WOW: Congratulations on placing third in the Fall 2024 Flash Fiction Contest! What excited you most about writing this story?
Sudha: This story was born in an online poetry workshop. I don't write poetry, but I find that poetry workshops offer great fodder for my stories. The instructor prompted us to think of where we come from, to start writing from those very words and voila the story came to me. I marvel at this ignition of an idea from just a few words. And that's what excited me about the story, how a prompt took me back to my younger years, to a time and place that nests within me but hadn't found expression.
WOW: What a great idea to use poetry as inspiration for flash fiction! What did you learn about yourself or your writing while crafting this piece?
Sudha: I learned I remember more than I believe. I learned I carry images in my brain from long, long ago. I learned, yet again, that relationships are complex. I learned, in terms of craft, that I can use the title as my first line, that I can repeat the concept in every paragraph. I learned I can zigzag through a sweep of time in a few short paragraphs.
WOW: I love that phrase and idea of being able to “zigzag through a sweep of time.” Please tell us more about your recently published novella-in-flash, Nose Ornaments.
Sudha: Nose Ornaments was a runner up in the Bath 2024 novella-in-flash contest. Because the book is a novella-in-flash, each chapter is flash length, under one thousand words. The book started as just one story which took root when I heard family stories about women who were expected to pierce their nostrils before they could get married. The thing that struck me is that while women mostly acquiesced, this wasn't a matter of choice. Of course, all this happened a long time ago and customs have since changed and today, girls have their noses pierced because they want to.
After that first story was published, I stayed with the character in the story, Lakshmi, and built some chapters around this strong woman who forged her own path in life under hostile conditions. When I felt Lakshmi had surmounted her challenges, I shifted the focus to her daughter Savi and illustrated her trials and tribulations and finally arrived at Savi's daughter, Mini, a woman of our current times, whose life is far different from that of her grandmother's.
The book is segmented into three parts reflecting societal changes over the decades. The arrangement evolved quite naturally. The segments are interlinked, for they are three women from the same family, but the challenges they encounter are hugely different because times change and with it, society.
WOW: Thank you so much for sharing that! That sounds like an exciting project, and I find it fascinating to learn more about the lesser-known genre of novella-in-flash. What are you reading right now, and why did you choose to read it?
Sudha: I'm reading Stone Diaries by Carol Shields who was a brilliant Canadian-American writer. I chose this book since I'd read her book Larry's Party decades ago and it left an imprint on my mind. I'm loving Stone Diaries, a Pulitzer winner, and deeply admire Shield's ability to delve deep into her characters.
WOW: If you could give your younger self one piece of writing advice, what would it be and why?
Sudha: I'd tell my younger self good writing takes time. Don't be in a hurry to finish a story. Instead, dwell, let the story marinate, allow it to develop the way it should. And, finally, understand that writing is really re-writing.
WOW: Excellent advice! Thank you so much for sharing your story and your thoughtful responses with us. Happy writing!
Interviewed by Anne Greenawalt, founder and editor-in-chief of Sport Stories Press, which publishes sports books by, for, and about sportswomen and amateur athletes and offers developmental editing and ghostwriting services to partially fund the press. Connect on Twitter @greenmachine459.
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