Vox Pop: Flash Fiction Finalists

Team Tempo

What does it take to be a flash fiction writer? We asked some of the Flash Fiction Finalists of the recently concluded Reading and Writing Competition organized by BrandMoxie and New York University Abu Dhabi, to share their ideas about writing…

Name: Anastasiya Oleksiyenko

Age: 22

University: New York University Abu Dhabi

Nationality: Ukrainian

Writing is my hobby. Whenever I am overwhelmed by ideas, I pour them out on paper. Writing helps me to structure my thoughts, to hear my inner voice, and to pinpoint what really matters out of all existing ideas. Whether it is an essay, a poem, or a brief note, I take it with full responsibility, because writing to me means imprinting in the real world something that I truly believe in.

I also commit to writing when I need to reach many people, all of whom I cannot physically meet. In this way, my short story is a call to everyone who is concerned about larger issues in our world. The story is a big metaphor, pertaining to every human on this planet. If we all realized the importance of the story, the world may turn into a better place to be for all of us. “The growing separation with my family has cost us all. I thought that through electronic microscopes, satellite images, and ultrasound signals I saw it all, but I only knew the tip of the iceberg.”

For aspiring writers, I would recommend two paths that are not mutually exclusive but rather should be explored together. First, start putting in writing any line of thought that concerns you, and see how far you can go. Experiment with self-expression. Second, read literature on the existing writing styles and become familiar with the writing movement overall. This will not only give you sense about existing structures of expression, but will also help you identify the style of writing that you would like to pursue. However, formal arrangements of writing, again, are only a convention, and you should always feel free to experiment with your own style.

If there is no inspiration to write, go two ways about it. You can persevere for a longer time, because writing is actually a lot about discipline, self-timing, and achieving the set goals. But if it still does not work, the second way is to let yourself be detached from the process for a while. Come back to it when you feel energized with new ideas.

Name: Andrew Wani Samuel Modi

Age: 21

University: New York University Abu Dhabi

Nationality: South Sudanese

TEMPO: How and when did you first learn of your love and passion for writing? Was it something you really studied intensively or just a hobby? How long have you been writing stories?

Andrew: I started learning about writing when I was enrolled in a scholars program called Bridgde2Rwanda in Kigali, Rwandan after completing high school. The program helps competent high school students from different countries in Africa to apply to different American universities in world. There, I learnt the basis and with my admission to New York University Abu Dhabi, I am now advancing my writing skills. Most of the writings we do on campus are academic but some of our professors do ask us to try writing in different ways as another way of leaning more writing skills. This is when I discovered my passion for writing from then I started writing short stories. I is also my desire to be a writer since I was young to because I use to think of ideas a lot but putting on paper was not easy but now I am doing it.

TEMPO: How were you able to come up with your piece? What inspired you to write it?

Andrew: I received an email from the Flash Fiction Program asking me to write a short story at most 750 words based on the theme: SEPERATION. And of course the email indicated that it is a competition with some students within and without NYUAD but all within the UAE. The first thing that came to my mind is the issue of gender inequality in my country, South Sudan. I came from a part of the country where one can say that the only good thing known to come from a girl is the income she brings to his father or brother(s). It is not the income for instance, that a girl brings when she starts working after graduating from college. No! It is the money her parents receive from the girl’s husband – the dowry. And the sad thing is that, girls in my village do not have voice over what their parents decide, whether be it good or bad. Most parents choose husband for their daughters.

More sadly, parents choose people with more wealth as husbands to their daughters in lieu of people who are capable of taking care of their daughters. This disturbs me a lot whenever I think about it and see it happening even now. I know it is a common practice in many parts of the world but this makes me ask myself always, why all that? Why are we being mean to our own sisters and daughters? And if other communities in world do this, should it also be done in my community? Why? Why can’t we stop this? I know in the larger part of world today women are free of such practice but then we are still holding on to it in my community, for instance. Why?

After thinking about this then I decided to write about it. I know that I can’t do anything now to stop such a practice but at least making it known might attract solutions because people then will know that there is a problem somewhere that needs to be address. It is the start and I hope that in the near future we will reach to a solution for such as practice not only in my community but also wherever it is happening in the world today. It is not different from early and child’s marriage.

TEMPO: Give us an excerpt of your favorite line or two of what you submitted for the Flash Fiction Competition. (One or two lines would suffice)

Andrew: “It is hard for Hikmah to choose a lover. Her father has more influences on her decisions. He decides everything for her. This makes it harder for Hikmah to know who is the true lover her father’s principles define.”

“You, my own daughter, bring me disgrace by marrying a man who has no difference with animals? May you live forever without bearing any child and this alone will make you the ugliest woman on earth.” This is a serious curse but it does not bother Hikmah. She knows that she will not keep living with her father till the end of her life. She joins her lover whom she loves and enjoys his company. Outside her father’s house, they are united in the world of love and beauty. She believes love makes a person precious because its power surpasses the ability of speaking all human languages. It is by then that she whispers good-bye to her father in tears of joy and love.

TEMPO: Name top 5 traits that each aspiring writer should have.

Andrew:

Having an idea(s) of what to write about
Be clear and simple
Picture your writing in your mind
Review your writing all the time
Seek for help

TEMPO: For sure you have experienced what they call a “writing slump” where you get stuck for hours, not knowing how to continue… how did you manage to overcome this situation? What tips could you provide to get over that phase?

Andrew: Honestly, writing is not an easy thing because at some points for hours or even days you will get stuck. But what I do in such moments is that, I take a short break. I relax my mind with things that has nothing to do with my writing. Sometimes it involves chatting with friends or listening to music or watching a movie but importantly sleeps if I figure out that I am tired physically. Then I get back to my work but the first thing I do is reviewing what I wrote to refresh my mind. Then I continue normally from there until when I’m stuck again. It is also very good to always review your writing before finishing it because it helps thing of more additional details to the previous paragraphs and subtract unnecessary things. In this way you won’t have more time to waste when you are editing your writing.

Name: Larayb Abrar

Age: 18

University: New York University Abu Dhabi

Nationality: It’s complicated. I was born in Pakistan but raised between Canada and Saudi Arabia. I don’t feel as though I have absorbed the culture of any of those countries enough to call myself multicultural, so I will settle for a self-coined term, ‘acultural’.

TEMPO: How and when did you first learn of your love and passion for writing? Was it something you really studied intensively or just a hobby? How long have you been writing stories?

Larayb: I think my 7^th grade English teacher really encouraged me to write and lauded my efforts as a writer. My writing was something I would often get praised for, because I was terrible at math. I have been writing stories for a really long time now. I remember making myself write at least one really long story every summer since I was in Middle School. Most of them were not very good, but every now and then there would be a line or passage that I really liked and ended up using them in future stories.

TEMPO: How were you able to come up with your piece? What inspired you to write it?

Larayb: My piece is about a post-apocalyptic world in which human beings struggle to survive. My writing style is very much influenced by writers like Kurt Vonnegut and Cormac McCarthy. I like to write without too much description or flowery language and convey an idea as subtly as possible. I like to look at questions of faith and fate in my writing, and I think that’s what I was trying to do through my piece: putting characters in difficult circumstances and then playing with how much faith they have in themselves and the world.

TEMPO: Give us an excerpt of your favourite line or two of what you submitted for the Flash Fiction Competition.

Larayb: “They slept soundly in their sleeping bags and tents, ignorant of having taken death as their lover. The fire rose and then dissipated into the dark starless sky.”

TEMPO: Name top 5 traits that each aspiring writer should have.

Larayb: Firstly, I don’t think there’s such a thing as being an “aspiring” writer. If you write words on a page and they make sense, or convey anything at all, then that automatically makes you a writer. I think 5 things to keep in mind to continue to perfect your craft is to:
1) Practice
2) Re-write
3) Refrain from judging your own work when writing
4) Write about something you care about
5) Read other novels/stories/poems

Larayb: When I am unable to come up with the next big thing in my story, I like to take a break and talk to people. It really helps to bounce ideas off them. Often times I’ll give people hypothetical situations or pose questions that get me thinking about my own writing. Talking through it helps. I also like to write out in really rough sentences the ideas that I am trying to get across, and then work to refine them.

Name: Leen Ayman

Age: 18

University: Zayed University

Nationality: Jordanian

TEMPO: How and when did you first learn of your love and passion for writing? Was it something you really studied intensively or just a hobby? How long have you been writing stories?

Leen: I started writing a diary in primary school (grade 3), and I got into writing stories in grades 5 and 6.As a very talkative child (that hasn’t changed) writing felt like an outlet for all the talking my parents didn’t feel like hearing (thanks mom and dad!). I started getting into writing seriously in grade 10 when I took English as a first language, where I had to write lots of essays and short stories. I’d say that writing was both a hobby and part of my studies, and I think that it will develop more in both areas as I progress in the university courses.

TEMPO: How were you able to come up with your piece? What inspired you to write it?

Leen: My story has been in the back of my mind since a very long time (since 11^th or 12^th grade), but it started taking a clearer image after I saw the current events that happen to the Syrian refugee crisis. The story is inspired by the current events of the Syrian crisis, specifically the hardships faced by the Syrian refugees when moving to European shores, by sea. I hope to be able to write a full novel about the Syrian crisis in the near future.

TEMPO: Give us an excerpt of your favourite line or two of what you submitted for the Flash Fiction Competition.

Leen: “Sudden silence engulfs the boat –excluding the sound of the crashing waves and the creaking of the ship- before the crowd diverts their cries towards the approaching ship.”

“I look at the silent chaos with a strange detachment, not really seeing it, not fully comprehending the situation. Something shocks me out of my numbness. No, this can’t be happening.”

TEMPO: Name top 5 traits that each aspiring writer should have.

Leen: Who am I bto know theagt (when I can’t even spell) –> Joking!

Patience
Optimism
Logical (don’t make the story overly fictional, make sure to link it to real world concepts)
Open minded (to criticism, and new ideas)
Perfectionist (improve your work continuously)

Leen: I would get over my writing slumps by taking a long break (which could vary from some hours to days), and let the story churn at the back of my brain. That usually works really well, and by the end of the break, I develop some good ideas and inspirations for the story. If that doesn’t work out, then outlining the story’s events would help, as it would give the writer a zoomed out picture which will in turn help the writer notice important events or discard unimportant details.

Name: Michael Ttappous

Age: 23

University: New York University Abu Dhabi

Nationality: South African / Cypriot

TEMPO: How and when did you first learn of your love and passion for writing? Was it something you really studied intensively or just a hobby? How long have you been writing stories?

Michael: I got into writing before coming to university here in Abu Dhabi. I faced a hard, transitionary period that made me want to put pen to paper and to tell stories that I thought other people could empathize and engage with and enjoy. I spent my last year before joining NYUAD working as a freelance writer and I released my first book, Deferred: My Extraordinary Journey to New York University Abu Dhabi, in June, 2015. The wealth of courses and professionals guiding me now has only served to increase my love for the craft.

TEMPO: How were you able to come up with your piece? What inspired you to write it?

Michael: My ‘avalanche’ was inspired by the idea of trying to capture just a few seconds of activity, of drama, in an extended piece of writing; in this case, 750 words. It was about bringing to life the inner emotion, panic, and moments of realization in an experience that is over in the blink of an eye. My intention was to build this drama through language and pace and a heavy human element in the words being shared.

TEMPO: Give us an excerpt of your favourite line or two of what you submitted for the Flash Fiction Competition.

Michael: “For the first time, I heard nothing but a single beat of my heart before blinking a lonely tear down my cold, rosy cheek. I was about to be separated from my own life.”

TEMPO: Name top 5 traits that each aspiring writer should have.

Michael:

Must be patient;
An effective planner;
Disciplined to write and edit;
Confident in the words that escape the mind;
Hungry to learn new styles and techniques.

Michael: My approach has always been to write in sections rather than a coherent flow from the beginning. I feel that once you get some of those main ideas and thoughts onto paper, you are then able to edit and connect and introduce more once the framework has been set up. Sometimes you need to know where you’re going, where you’re going to end up, to be able to see what type of path you need to take. And having signposts at certain percentiles along that journey makes it easier to connect and plan the entire piece. It’s a lot like playing Texas hold ‘em poker: If you know you want to bluff the river to win the pot, you need to plan accordingly on how you’re going to bet on the flop and the turn. But not knowing what you want to do at the end of the hand will leave you second-guessing yourself every step of the way—and nobody likes folding.

Name: Nadia Ghaleb Al Breiki

Age: 22 years old

University: United Arab Emirates University

Nationality: Emirati

TEMPO: How and when did you first learn of your love and passion for writing? Was it something you really studied intensively or just a hobby? How long have you been writing stories?

Nadia: I started writing when I was 16 years old, for the simple reason that I wanted to create my own dark world. I’ve always been captivated by horror movies and The Goosebumps book series that I decided I would start writing my own stories for fun.

TEMPO: How were you able to come up with your piece? What inspired you to write it?

Nadia: I’m a Psychology and Counseling major, and the week before learning about the competition, I learned about separation anxiety in my abnormal psychology class. Once I heard about the competition theme being separation, my idea almost formed itself.

TEMPO: Give us an excerpt of your favourite line or two of what you submitted for the Flash Fiction Competition.

Nadia: “They’re coming for me”
The very first sentence in my story, it just sounds so ominous.

TEMPO: Name top 5 traits that each aspiring writer should have.

Nadia: Patience, creative energy, empathy, eloquence and the unwavering desire to be remembered.

TEMPO: For sure you have experienced what they call a “writing slump” where you get stuck for hours, not knowing how to continue… how did you manage to overcome this situation? What tips could you provide to get over that phase?

Nadia: When I’m going through a writer’s block, I have the habit of watching a completely random documentary. A documentary about an infectious disease, about an ancient civilization or even about a specific type of poisonous plant can help me open up my mind to new and strange ideas worth writing about.

Name: Sara Al Hussien

Age: 18 years old

University: Paris Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi

Nationality: Jordanian

TEMPO: How and when did you first learn of your love and passion for writing? Was it something you really studied intensively or just a hobby? How long have you been writing stories?

Sara: Before the second semester of eighth grade I was what would be called “a book scoffer” you wouldn’t catch me dead reading a book, one day my English teacher broke it to me saying: Sara, if you don’t start reading books, you should expect failing this year. That was my wake up call. I started reading, got hooked. By the time tenth grade came around I was writing, and suddenly the IGCSE second language English’s word limit was torture, I went for first language, always wanting to write more. I haven’t studied English or writing ever since that year, but ever since it hasn’t left my life.

TEMPO: How were you able to come up with your piece? What inspired you to write it?

Sara: I was leaning towards submitting another piece, one that I already had written years ago that fitted the competition’s description, however with after giving some thought to it and some friendly advice, I decided against it. The idea and the concept came to me on the bus on my way home from the university one day, the first scene that came to me was that of Octavia and her mother’s separation, it was the stretch of hands just before Octavia was thrown into the van. The concept was inspired from my childhood. I remembered how my mother and my aunts would always warn us not to go out into the streets because there are bad people who would kidnap children and sell their organs on the black market, hence the name of my piece.

TEMPO: Give us an excerpt of your favourite line or two of what you submitted for the Flash Fiction Competition.

Sara: “she replied while rolling her eyes at her mother silliness.”

“A curse left his mouth”

“she positioned the saw across Octavia’s chest and began forcing her way through the soft layer of skin as blood oozed out”

I chose these three lines because, not only did It feel right to write them, but also because I feel like they most describe the three places of power Octavia was in during the course of the story. First, Oblivious and giddy, then in the trance of having her life flipped, trying to regain the balance of what it once were, and the last: complete helplessness as she lay slowly and painfully dying.

TEMPO: Name top 5 traits that each aspiring writer should have.

Sara: Imaginative, curious, understanding, able to put themselves in other people’s shoes. Someone who doesn’t easily give up, breaks are allowed though.

Sara: Take a break and go eat something. When you come back reread the last sentence, paragraph, or page. Find out where you went wrong and where you want your story going. Be prepared to erase pages and chapters of words.