In conversation with – Sumitra Singam

You’ve written a poem here, rather than your more typical flash writing. How different did you find that process and are you experimenting with different forms of writing? What are you excited to try?

I find that I get bored easily, and one way to keep the interest going is to try new forms. I am also easily influenced, and am immersed in a lot of poetry at the moment. I’ve been writing less straight fiction, and more CNF or hybrid, and there is something about poetry that lends itself to being in that interstitial space. Previously I felt embarrassed or inadequate with writing poetry, but supportive friends have encouraged me to try, and I am grateful for their guidance.

Describe your writing process. Are you a planner or a pantser, do you prefer to write in quiet or amid noise, do you write most effectively when you are working through a pain or sorrow or when calm and happy? Do you start with wisps or fragments or have a general sense of whole structure before going in?

My process looks a little like going about my day, then being struck by lightning, but being unable to do anything about it for a few hours! I make many incomprehensible notes on my phone, and when I have time, I return to them and see what coalesces. As I write, I very rarely have a sense of the whole thing. If I do, it’s because I have been composing it in my mind for some time. I don’t edit very much, but will take a pass to check for repetition/clunky words, to make sure the structure is sound, the character and plot progression is okay. I also always take a pass for sensory detail. I almost never send work out without a second pair of eyes on it, and am blessed with an amazing community of writer friends who are so generous with their critique.  I always, always write in silence as I have hyperacusis and cannot focus if there is extraneous noise. 

Is there a kind of writing you’d like to see more of?

I love flash because of the sheer variety in the form. There is this idea that there are only a few basic story types, and the challenge for the flash writer is to put some personal slant on it – structure, voice, angle etc. Mostly, in the current publishing landscape, a narrative is still required – some sense of movement. I would love to see more writing that straddles genres between vignette/story, poem/prose. I think there are lit mags that celebrate that, and I love them, but many lit mags will reject stories that don’t have that sense of movement. Sarah Fawn Montgomery said in a recent craft talk via The Writers’ Centre that these kinds of stories often exclude differently abled writers because their CNF stories often don’t have movement or resolution. I agree, as someone living with fibromyalgia and the chronic and complex effects of developmental trauma. I also agree as a person of the Global Ethnic Majority that our stories often do not take a Western shape, and there needs to be more space for that. Those spaces exist, and I am grateful for the editors and litmags who champion that, but it isn’t widespread as yet. Please keep writing your non-majority culture stories and sending them out! They are important and the world needs to read them.

You’re very generous as a writer. You boost other writers, you collaborate with writers on stories, you help others write safely through trauma. Was there an experience you had when someone was generous to you? What inspires you to celebrate and work with others so effectively?

I’m just giving back, Eirene. There isn’t just one experience of my receiving generosity – there’s hundreds. This community is truly the most supportive and uplifting. Some of my best friends are people I know from the online writing community. It feels completely effortless to be around other writers – sharing, collaborating, boosting; and is so different to my experiences growing up where I struggled to connect in any authentic way. I get so much joy from being a part of this community, and am happy to give back in any way I can.

Your professional experience is in both writing and trauma. Is there anything you’d like to say about safely writing through traumatic experiences?

There is quite a lot I have to say! I say some of it here. And people can sign up for my Writing Trauma workshop mailing list here – I’m running Part 2 in July. If you aren’t aware, I am a psychiatrist and trauma therapist. I’m also a trauma survivor and have had conventional treatments which have been really helpful, but the most transformative experience has been writing about my trauma (particularly my collaboration with Amy Marques). Writing traumatic experiences is such an important thing to do, but how do we do it while also staying safe and grounded? Sometimes there is a feeling that there is no way but through, and it will be painful – yes, but – it is possible to learn some gentle somatic techniques to be able to get through without losing your cognitive connections, and therefore any chance of processing the traumatic experience. If you can do that, stay in your body while writing about your trauma, it then moves from something without chronology or words that jumpscares you, to a story about a thing that happened in the past.