Congratulations to Sumitra Mattai from New York, New York for her amazing nonfiction essay titled:
Check out Sumitra's submission, How to write a novel as well as all the other winning entries and then stop back here to read Sumitra's enlightening interview with Crystal J. Casavant-Otto from WOW! Women on Writing.
Sumitra Mattai is a writer, storyteller and textile designer based in New York City. She holds a BFA in Textile Design from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. Her essays have been shared in Huffington Post, Scary Mommy and Lit Magazine, among others. For more information, visit her website, find her on Instagram @sumitramattai, or check out her newsletter, Clothbound, about textiles in art, design and everyday life.
Today's post was penned by Crystal J. Casavant-Otto
WOW: Thank you for writing such a personal essay - I'm exciting to have today's opportunity to find out more! Let's dig in! What is the take-away you'd like readers to gain from How to Write a Novel?
Sumitra: I hope that readers of this piece are encouraged to keep going, despite whatever obstacles are in their path. Being a creative is never easy - not at any age or stage in life. Showing up to do the work can be as challenging as the work itself. For me, scaling my goals has been critical to my practice. I would rather write 750 words than none at all.
WOW: Well if that doesn't make me feel better about my daily writing goals lately - thank you! As I sit at the kitchen table sipping coffee wondering how to get back at it - let me ask you...Where do you write? What does your space look like?
Sumitra: I usually write at night when my family is asleep in the living room on my laptop. Once I have a draft going, I write everywhere - on the subway (when I’m not holding coffee!), in line at Trader Joes, on the kitchen floor. I actually despise writing on my phone, but it’s useful for the in-between times. I just let go of my desk in the coworking space I mentioned in the piece because I wasn’t using it regularly enough. I would love to have more of a dedicated space to write, but for now, flexibility is key. If I wait for the conditions to be perfect, I would never write a word.
WOW: Again - that certainly speaks to me. My office has sometimes been the front seat of my car waiting outside a piano lesson or waiting to haul a sweaty football player. You're right - I should consider myself flexible (instead of messy which is how I usually talk to myself about my lack of a dedicated space).
What’s next for you? What are your writing goals for the rest of 2025 and beyond?
Sumitra: My main goal is just to keep writing. I always have a few ideas in the queue. I keep an eye on pitch all outs from editors (Amber Petty’s “Pitching Hour” is a great resource), and submission dates for literary magazines and competitions. I find it's helpful to have a deadline and/or a theme to work toward. If I’m feeling stuck, I sometimes use prompts from Poets & Writers “The Time is Now.”
When I’m feeling isolated, I take a writing class. Last year, I took a class called “Bending the Genres: (re) Learning the Lyric Essay” with Hillary Leftwich. It really helped me to think about structure, and different ways of storytelling. I think that class probably informed my piece, "How to write a novel."
My other goal is to keep my writing brain engaged. When I say writing brain, I mean observing the world around me, listening for dialogue, being open to inspiration. It’s a state of being, a door in my mind that’s always slightly ajar, even when I’m at work or on the playground.
I would love to publish a book at some point in my life, but as long as I keep writing, I'm proud of myself.
WOW: You have such a great outlook - thank you for saying that last part; you should definitely be proud! You have an impressive bio (and I mean seriously - your website is the bomb! - it begs the ask - tell us more about your professional goals? Long term aspirations? I know nothing about textiles - bring me into your world?
Sumitra: Thank you for the kind words! Textiles are all around us, from the clothes we wear to the many soft goods in our home (towels, rugs, tablecloths, etc). In my work, I design fabrics, wallcovering and trimming for the luxury home furnishings industry. Together with my team, we collaborate with incredible weavers and printers all over the world to create collections used by interior designers and architects in high end residential and contract spaces.
Practically speaking, my work life and my writing life are separate. To bridge that gap, I started a Substack newsletter called “Clothbound,” where I write about textiles in art, design and everyday life. This has been a great outlet for me to share aspects of my industry, art that I find inspiring, and personal stories, all through the lens of textiles.
WOW: Well, when you put it that way I'm less intimidated - thank you! What is your history with writing contests? - tell us what prompted you to submit to this particular contest? What would you like to tell other authors concerning contests and submitting their work?
Sumitra: I’ve been submitting to the “WOW Women on Writing” CNF contest for a few years now. To be honest, I never entered with any expectations. I used the contest as a deadline, and a safe space to try out ideas. The critiques are very helpful to get some perspective without having to take a whole class and weed through feedback. In many cases, I used the comments to improve the piece, and ended up publishing it elsewhere. This is the first time I’ve placed in the competition, and it feels great!
Overall, I have conflicting notions about submitting my work. On one hand, I want the piece to be the best it can be, which sometimes means leaving it for a few weeks/months/years, and coming back to it with fresh eyes. On the other hand, I feel an urgency to continue building my portfolio of bylines.
As long as you're putting out work you're proud of, I would encourage other authors to go for it. Learning to handle rejection is a necessary skill set, and being too precious or too much of a perfectionist about your work can also be problematic. Life is too short to hide our creations.
WOW: Thank you Sumitra for your great advice to others when it comes to writing and writing contests, and thank you for sharing with us in today's interview! You're a bright light for all of us writers and readers! I look forward to our paths crossing again and until then - keep writing (and smiling)!
Crystal Casavant writes. Everything.
If you follow her blog you have likely laid eyes on every thought she has ever had. Her debut novel, It Was Never About Me, Was It? is still a work in progress and shall be fully worthy sometime in 2025...or maybe 2026. She has written for WOW! Women on Writing, Bring on Lemons, and has been featured in several magazines and ezines relating to credit and collections as well as religious collections for confessional Lutherans. She runs a busy household full of intelligent, recalcitrant, and delightful humans who give her breath and keep her heart beating day after day.
Crystal wears many hats (and not just the one in this photo) and fully believes in being in the moment and doing everything she can to improve the lives of those around her! The world may never know her name, but she prays that because of her, someone may smile a little brighter. She prides herself on doing nice things - yes, even for strangers!
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