About writing short stories
About writing short stories
What are your short stories about?
Igrew up in Sri Lanka but left the island permanently as a young lad to work in booming Dubai. From Dubai, I moved to Australia with a young family. My kids grew up in Australia, and this is their country. Some of my kids have children now. My heritage is spanning to three generations in our adopted country. My experiences growing up in the sixties and seventies in Sri Lanka were unique — also, my early experiences in Dubai as a budding youngster out to discover the world. I have a deep desire to write about my grandparents and their stories so that my children and the descendants to come will know their ancestors’ experiences and life journeys, including my own.
Why are short stories your preferred format?
Istarted writing my life story some six or seven years ago. The writing was dull because it was a historic narration rather than a compelling connected story. I wrote from the period I was born but stopped at age fifteen because I struggled to write honestly about my sexual awakening and coming of age. I took a sabbatical from writing to figure out the way forward. As many writers have, I went into writer's block for a few years. I wanted to write again but didn't know how to make my writing exciting. My eldest daughter, who studied journalism and is a great writer, suggested I do short stories. Short stories are self-contained and easy to complete. Then there were Covid-19 induced lockdowns here in Sydney, which gave me the perfect opportunity to write. Now I write every day, balancing my work duties and home errands. Working from home has helped because it has saved so many hours of my work week in the commute. I re-started writing short stories in March this year, and by the end of September 2021, in short, six months, I have written 49 stories.
Now I write all types, whatever I fancy. Stories, photo essays, thoughts, experiences and first impressions. I am experimenting. It is such a pleasure to be open to many a writing possibility. e.g. like this one, an interview with myself.
What surprised you with the publishing process?
The tools. I started writing my first drafts on Apple Notes. Because Notes is on the Apple cloud, it is easy to review your draft on any device, be it my iPad, iMac or iPhone. Once I am happy with my draft on Notes, I bring it into Microsoft Word. I review it on Word with autocorrect. Once I am happy, I copy it to medium. I run Grammarly, which picks grammar errors that I correct. I add a photo or two from a rich collection of photo images, which greatly affects the story’s authenticity and vividity. If the story's subject is a historical event from Sri Lanka or Dubai, I validate the facts. They could be my contacts, brother, aunty, relatives, friends and ex-colleagues. When I am happy with the content, I publish it on the medium.com platform and share it with the close contacts I collaborated with for the factual correctness of the story. I also end up finetuning the article as I go along. After a day or two, the final version is ready for broader circulation. Then I circulate on the appropriate social media, whether it is my readers' group on the Telegram platform, WhatsApp, or my personal Facebook or Facebook group pages.
Tell us about your journey and what was the best result.
Five months after I started writing in March 2021, I had achieved 2331 views and 1477 reads of my stories worldwide. These numbers were for a calendar month in August, four months into my writing journey. I felt stoked seeing these numbers. I did not anticipate 1.5k readership numbers within a short window of 30 days. I used digital marketing (EDM) techniques to promote my stories on LinkedIn, Facebook and Telegram.
What was the feedback like?
Getting real-time feedback helps me to finetune my writing. My readers tell me that my writing is simple and easy to understand. I am brutally honest in my descriptions and narrations. I do not hold back. They love my honesty with me.
Do you have any writing rituals and approaches?
Iam an early riser. Lying in bed is when my mind is at its creative best. So many ideas and stories form in my head. My neighbourhood is where I go for walks several times a day. I listen to impressive storytellers on podcasts as I walk. These evoke ideas or a brief storyline. Within a few days, the idea turns into a strong storyline in my head. I keep a running log of possible stories.
Then I have an influencer, a great friend. He is Rohan Weerakkody, with whom I studied from age five. There is no secret between us. He is a genius in social sciences and literacy. We think alike on many social issues. He lives in Sri Lanka and does not write in English. But he is a creative writer and a reader. He has read many a world-famous book that has been translated into Sri Lankan. I often tell him about my storyline and get his suggestions for the approach. I talk to him in Sri Lankan, although I write in English. He regularly reads my stories. He continues to be a towering strength for my short stories.
What’s it like seeing your medium articles in the wild?
Ecstatic. I am happy that I have a broader audience that follows me. They are from the US, Canada, the U.K., the Middle East, Sri Lanka and Australia. I have made my life stories global. I have made many new friends. Thanks to these stories going wild, I have also reconnected with s from all over the world.
Why do you write?
Ipartially answered this in my first answer above. I am passionate about leaving a legacy for my descendants. Everything I write, I write for them. So generations to come will know a young, fearless lad who left the island of Sri Lanka with just $10 in his pocket to discover the world. But I also write for my dear followers.
Do you have other jobs?
Myfull-time job is as a Digital Project Manager at Transport for NSW. I write in my spare time.
My co-workers are content designers and writers. The majority of them come from journalistic and marketing backgrounds. One of them is an accomplished freelance journalist. By the way, I am their manager, their servant leader. Their natural and engaging skills inspire me.
What type of books do you like reading?
Ihave read many a novel and books. My story on Love of Books says it all. Have a read by clicking on the link above.
What magazines do you read?
Among all the magazines, I love Frankie, an Australian magazine that specialises in art, craft, design, interiors, life, music, society, and photography in its short essays. It is such an inspiring magazine. I get many inspirations from it, including this article from one of its latest issues. I read Womanhood, a progressive magazine from Australia.
What books and magazines are you reading right now?
Atmy bedside, I have two books that I read before I fall asleep. 50 Essential strategies for every writer by Roy Peter Clark and Bird by Bird by Annie Lamott. On my lounge are the two magazines I read intermittently, Frankie and Womanhood.
What is the next step for you?
Iam hell-bent on improving my writing. Write and write. Eventually, a few short books would contain these short stories. That day is far, far out.
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