Interview with lovetodeviate

This month’s ProsePlease Q&A features Aditi, better known to the literature community as lovetodeviate. A deviant since late 2004, Aditi has been a stand out in the literature community, pushing critique, and organising projects like Writers-Workshop and ‘Advice for a Young Writer.’




How long have you been a writer, and what first got you started?

I used to say that I started writing in the ninth grade when I was asked to write an essay and substantiate with quotes: I was too lazy to research, so I made up a poem and attributed it to some nondescript name, and my teacher bought it. That’s the semi-interesting story I like telling people, but truthfully, I started writing much before that. I distinctly remember a story about two ants who defeated a giant, and another one about a girl who wanted to become a fairy. Since it was a long time back (twelve or thirteen years ago), I can’t tell what got me writing, but whatever it was, I’m happy that it happened.

Where and/or how do you find inspiration?

I don’t like the word “inspiration”, though I’m forced to use it sometimes. It sounds a bit fluffy to me. Stand-up comedians look for “material” – that’s the word they use. I know I can’t be funny, but hell, I’m an artist too, and I need “material”, not “inspiration”. This material could be in the form of images, something I read recently, an interesting incident, or just something I imagined.

What genre do you tend to choose when writing? What’s your ‘style’?

No idea absolutely. I write more poetry than prose, but I love them both. You would be more interested in prose, so I’ll talk about that.

I’ve never really fit into any category, the reason being that I’m unaware of many of the conventions that make up a particular genre. I did start out writing some fantasy and horror, and even a couple of pseudo-intellectual essays, but they didn’t work for me. Now I write about specific characters and how they think of the world, often reducing the importance of plot and dialogue (which I suck at).

I love diary writing – it is something that is underrated, I feel, both in literature classrooms as well as in the publishing industry. You usually only get to read the diaries of people who have already become famous. To me, writing in a diary, and refining the words that get written there, is an important exercise for writers (published or not), so it’s something I do regularly.

What is the most satisfying thing about being a writer?

When I read something I’ve written and edited several times over, and know that it’s pretty much there, that I wouldn’t change much about it, that gives me satisfaction. It’s also nice to be complimented, but genuinely. Seeing my work published gives me a high, too.

Does writing take much effort and dedication?

Yes. People mistakenly think that writing depends merely on talent or genius. Sure, there is something in you that compels you to choose aesthetic ways of expressing yourself, but that has to be honed. You can’t craft a beautiful chair unless you train yourself to be a good craftsman.

Do you write an entire piece before editing or do you go back and edit each paragraph as you write it? Which is better, in your opinion?

I usually write the entire piece before editing, but I can’t say that it’s superior to any other method. I suppose that if you’re not sure, you should experiment with various methods to find which is most suitable to your own style.

What do you find is the hardest thing about editing your own work?

Lack of judgement. It used to be emotional attachment to anything recently written, but now it is simply the inability to decide whether something is good or not. I don’t trust myself until I’ve grown a few months older, at least, to tell whether something is working or not.

Do you tend to encounter "writer's block," And if so, how do you deal with it?

Not really. It’s a psychological rather than a spiritual condition, and therefore easier to deal with. It’s a question of motivating yourself to write, of consciously searching for material when you find yourself idling. I think reading helps, too. Always have a book with you. That’s a little preachy, I apologise, but worth trying anyway.

Who are some of your favourite authors or poets, and what do you admire about their work?

I like William Blake; I find his poems taut and sonically beautiful. TS Eliot is wonderful, even when he’s incomprehensible. A few others I like are Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath (some of her work, at least), Ted Kooser and Michael Ondaatje. I enjoy prose poetry by Arthur Rimbaud and Charles Baudelaire. Vikram Seth’s The Golden Gate (a novel in verse) is to die for.

I’ve begun to like Russian literature a lot:

Gogol, Dostoevsky and Chekhov are favourites. I like reading Virginia Woolf; she’s very entertaining if you forget all the hype surrounding her. I adore Italo Calvino’s work; he renovated the novel, in my opinion. Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett – gods! Albert Camus and Boris Vian are my favourite French writers. Tagore wrote about human beings, which is a delicious change from what so many other Indian writers have done. JD Salinger is my favourite American writer. This is going to be endless, so I’ll just list a few others: Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Kazuo Ishiguro, Franz Kafka, Mahasweta Devi, Marjane Satrapi, JM Coetzee, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and that’s it for now.

What about some of your favourite writers here on Deviant Art?

I’m already afraid that I’m going to miss someone out, but here goes: I love reading *wordworks - her prose is always beautifully crafted. ~barnabus writes fantastic plays. There is something very attractive about *apocathary’s style. I recently began re-reading `GunShyMartyr’s work, and am enjoying myself immensely. `GeneratingHype is another favourite.

Among the poets, I would say:
*Adeimantus,
`PoeticWar,
*salshep,
*venturus,
~LazyLinePainterJohn,
~manchaliaina,
~TheHungerArtist,
*fllnthblnk.
=MSJames,
`AbCat  and
=Keraness

are my favourite haiku poets.

*Negated and *Amberlouie are extremely talented writers as well. My most recent favourite is *tightwhitepants - he can make me laugh in an instant.

Does what you read inspire your own writing?

Sure, I get a lot of material from reading. I have to be careful about it, though: after the first time I read Virginia Woolf, I started using semicolons shamelessly. I had to remind myself that I wasn’t Virginia Woolf and never would be.

What do you find yourself learning when you read others’ work?

Craft. After a while, I stopped reading just for the story or the pretty words; now I like thinking about why I instantaneously liked something, and after some thought I discover how beautifully a metaphor has been used, or how well stream-of-consciousness has been woven into a third person narrative, and that’s when I learn how to do something new. It makes me eager to try new things.

Do you consider writing as a possible career for yourself? If not, what do you plan to do?

I will always write and I will always try to get published, but to not have any other plans is irresponsible. It’s not easy to make it big. I’m studying literature, media and psychology currently. Eventually I think I’ll teach, which will pay me nothing; I’m so convinced that I will die tragically poor that I’m actually optimistic about it.

Would you like to see your works published in the future?

Oh yes! I already have some poetry published, but it would be great to see my prose in print as well.

Do you consider self-publishing, or sending out manuscripts to publishing companies to be the better option?

To be boring, it’s an individual choice. I would send my work to an agent, if I wanted to make it big. Self-publishing is a good option, too, but you have to think about it carefully. If you want to self-publish a book for friends and family, and maybe the random stranger, then it doesn’t matter what you publish. But if you plan to self-publish rubbish and expect to make it big, then you’re in for a lot of disappointment. Even good self-published writing disappears into oblivion because of the kind of marketing that’s required. `alienhead is an example of a good writer who has self-published after establishing himself in the internet writing world. I admire the work he’s put into his website. He’s probably the best person on deviantART to ask about self-publishing.

Do you have any advice or tips for other writers, especially beginners?

I feel presumptuous giving advice, but anyway: I think it’s important to throw away your ego without losing yourself, your own ideas and opinions, in the process. Be humble, but don’t be self-deprecatory. It’s a fine line, and I know I tread it very often. Humility will come from two things: one is reading; the other is critiquing. Reading will show you how hard it is to compete with centuries of excellent writing. Critiquing will show you that you can’t get it right every time, and that no matter how talented you are, how deep-seated your urge to write is, you have to work hard at honing your skills.

Can you recommend us any good writing resources out there on the Internet?

Oh yes. At *Writers-Workshop, we’ve been working on collecting writing resources and have come up with a pretty comprehensive list thanks to the contributions of many: [link] The first half features resources on deviantART, and the second half features articles at other sites.

What’s the deal with this critique stuff? Why do you do it, and how is it beneficial?

Heh, I get the feeling that whenever people read “lovetodeviate”, they think, “critique”, because I’ve been harping on its importance for the past few months.

It’s obvious enough why it’s useful to receive critique, so I won’t go there. Critiquing other people’s work is beneficial because you start thinking critically. The biggest challenge you face as a young writer is probably the inability to think in a critical mode; once you get there through reading other people’s writing, you’ll start noticing flaws in your own writing. You won’t be as defensive as you used to be; you will be willing to not just edit, but to rewrite something from scratch if it isn’t working.

I also think critiquing is fun. It’s not dreary, as some people like to think. When you critique, you’re essentially interpreting texts and discovering new meanings. It’s a creative exercise.

Do you encourage people to critique their own writing before they show others their work?

Hmm, I’m not sure what you mean. It’s definitely important to proofread your work before you post it anywhere. I’ve also learnt that you should wait. If you just wrote something, your judgement of it will be clouded for a few days at least. Keep it safe for a while, come back to it, read it carefully, correct any flaws you notice, and then show it to everyone, if you think still think it’s worth it.

And last, if you could sum up what being a writer is like for you, how would you describe it?

Wow, that’s a hard one. So far, I’ve realised that writing allows me to say things that I would ordinarily never say. It’s easy to couch meaning, to use symbols and metaphors and fiction to avoid admitting the truth. Being a writer means I get to live as comfortably as possible while never losing interest in the world around me.