Member Spotlight: Ekta R. Garg

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? For me, writing is where the world makes the most sense. It’s where I work out my deepest frustrations and share my greatest joys. It’s where I discover my truths and fears, my delight and my shame. Studies have shown time and time again that when we write, we process ideas, experiences, and emotions differently. Of all the arts, it’s also one of the most private. If you don’t want to share your writing with anyone, you can keep scribbling away in a notebook or pecking at your keyboard and people usually won’t be the wiser. Other artistic media — painting; dancing, music in any form — inhabit bigger spaces. Writing is where you can discover yourself and reveal your life’s greatest truths. When we’re able to do that, honestly and without hesitation, I think it makes us better people. Being better for ourselves means we can be better toward others. We can make the world a better place. Does that sound a little idealistic? Probably, but so many issues in the world — so many challenges and wrongs — happen because people feel trapped. They don’t have a way to express their needs, and they don’t have viable ways to solve their problems. If they had that freedom of expression, if they had a way to reach others and get the help they needed, maybe the world would be a different place today. Writing can go a long way toward that.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block?

*Switch genres for a little while. If you write poetry try writing prose, and vice versa.
*Read a favorite book/article that inspires or informs your creativity. Read 10 if you have to.
*Go back and re-read something you wrote that you absolutely loved.
*I strongly believe all writers should have a dedicated place — a favorite notebook or app on a device or doc on your computer — where you keep story ideas. These can be bullet points, a stray sentence, anything. If you’re stuck on one story idea, go to that story idea bank and start writing one of those other ideas, even if it doesn’t go anywhere.
*Pick out your favorite book/article and copy the first paragraph out by hand or on the computer. There are studies that show that the act of connecting with a beloved work in this way can spark creativity.
*Take a favorite story and rewrite it from a different perspective. Loved “Beauty and the Beast”? Write what a shopkeeper thought Belle’s taking her father’s place. Fan of “The Hunger Games”? Gives us what Prim felt when Katniss volunteered as tribute. Fan fiction is about filling plot holes, but it’s also a way to pay homage to the stories that we’ve all come to love.
*Take a familiar fairy tale, like Cinderella, and try to set it in current times. Would she be putting housecleaning tips on TikTok? Would her stepmother run a “I hate my stepkid” forum on Reddit?
*Go for a loooong walk. :>

What is your favorite time to write? I love the mornings and afternoons. Almost 10 years ago, when we moved into a new home, I got my own writing studio. It’s not a big space by any means, but I adore the way the morning light streams through the windows. There’s something special about that time of day, and I have the most energy in the mornings and afternoons. By the evenings, I’m doing more utilitarian writing (emails, book reviews, etc.; essentially things that are less creative than my original stories.)

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? “Write as if your loved ones were dead.” In other words, no fear. Don’t worry about what the world will think of your story, your character, the point of view, the topic of the story/article/book. Listen to that inner voice and give it room to fly in your words. You can always revise things later — smooth them out or edit out ideas that you’re not completely comfortable sharing with others (if you intend to be published. If not, lay it all out on the page!)

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? The internet is often a problematic place, but if you use it correctly and thoughtfully it’s the best thing that has happened to writers. In addition to democratizing publishing and making things like writing prompts available, having so much access to experienced authors and newer authors alike is WONDERFUL. I love chatting with the writing community and try to do so almost every day. For me, the camaraderie and encouragement I get from reaching out to others in the writing/publishing community make this solitary craft so much easier. When we have new works to share, we can cheer each other on. I have writing friends all over the world, and access to the internet gave that to me.

Ekta R. Garg’s The Witch’s Apprentice and Other Stories is out now with Atmosphere Press.