Wordsmith Interview – Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar

Meet a CTS contributor and discover the methods and the madness behind her work.

The Basics

Age: Not as old as the Galapagos tortoises

Location: Ohio, USA

Education: Electronics Engineering, Masters in Business Administration

The Writer

What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment as a writer?
A Best of Net nomination and Pushcart nominations for two consecutive years

What is your ultimate goal as a writer?
To see a book in the library with my name on it.

What is your greatest challenge as a writer?
Since English is not my first language, often the perfect words/descriptions occur to me in Hindi and sometimes their essence is lost in translation.

The Work

Tell us about your work in Crack the Spine.
My micro “I Wait” is a story of a woman waiting endlessly for the sea to return her lover who has long been taken by the waves.

What inspired “I Wait?”
This story is inspired by The Girl in a Wet Suit, a bronze sculpture set on a rock in the water along the north side of Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada. When I saw the statue, my first thought was that the woman is waiting for someone.

Tell us about another project you have published or are currently working on.
“I Watch It Happen” is another story centered on the grief of losing a loved one to the sea.

Where can we find this work?
Spelk Fiction

The Methods

Where do you write?
My atelier is my bedroom, my side of the bed with a cozy blanket covering my legs. A table-chair makes me feel as if I’m at work.

What time of day or night makes you most productive as a writer?
Sunday afternoons are when I download stories written during my work commute from my head to the disk.

How do you react to editorial rejections of your work?
All palates are different. Some like sweet, some like salty, others like tart. I send rejected pieces to other places.

What is your best piece of advice on how to stay sane as a writer?
Trudge along, one story/chapter at a time.

The Madness

What is your favorite book?
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

If you could have dinner with one fictional character, who would it be and why?
O-Lan from The Good Earth because I see my mother in her steely fortitude and her daily sacrifices for the family

What makes you cry?
My lacrimal cells are very active. Anything emotional ─a book, a movie─ triggers them.

What’s in that cup on your desk?
Black coffee sans sugar

Rain or Sunshine?
Sunshine

Beach or Mountains?
Mountains

Cats or Dogs?
Cats

Additional Reading on Sara

Personal website/blog

Twitter

Instagram