Interview Q&A with Teodora Vamvu
@teodora_vamvu
We offer our first and exclusive Q&A Interview with Teodora Vamvu, a writer whose literary works have been featured on our Spillwords pages as well as being Author of the Month of August 2024.
- What does it mean to be selected as Author of The Month?
Firstly, as it was my third (or fourth) nomination thus far, it was most anticipated, coveted, and wished for. Secondly, it’s a big milestone in my writing journey, a journey that began four years ago, in Anno Domini 2020, the best thing to ever come out of that dreadful period I’m guessing we would all wish to be allowed to forget. And lastly, it’s a testament of my writing touching upon people and the writing communities I am part of, which are steadily growing, so much so that they all took their time to vote for me, for which I am beyond grateful, and which humbles me immensely.
- How have your friends and/or family influenced your writing?
Well, a lot of my writing has its roots in my personal experiences, of which family and friends are a huge part; from a longer CNF (creative non-fiction) piece I wrote at the beginning of the year, to short prose or flash fiction stories that stem from memories but have been given a fictional spin. So, I’d say their influence is in and around everything I write, even if my parents, for example, can’t really understand what I write (their English is not that good; my Mom’s non-existent). My friends, on the other hand, are hugely supportive, both in my personal life and on their social media channels, so that helps a lot.
But one of the most amazing things writing in English has brought to my life is my army of beta-buddies, as we fondly refer to each other. They are writers from across the world that I got to meet due to beta-exchanging reading and writing feedback, and they are a terrific and creative bunch. My short stories and drabbles are actually part of two anthologies self-published through Amazon alongside these lovely peers, and our Messenger chat is my go-to space for sharing every writing accolade, every new idea, feedback, and encouragement. Sometimes, we just take friendly jabs at each other, and that is priceless in itself too. After all, humor is food for the soul, isn’t it?
- What inspires and motivates you to write?
Inspiration I find everywhere: people, books, movies, TV shows, music, and all life surrounding me. What motivates me to write is another matter altogether. Here, a big part is played by the aforementioned inspiration: if an idea comes to me, I will not rest, quite literally, until I have put it down. A perfect example of this is actually The Story of Us, a piece previously published here; one day, as I was lying down for a nap, the first sentence came to me and I was not able to fall asleep until I rose, went for a smoke and flushed the whole story out. This sometimes happens. Then there are the writing challenges, prompts, and contests I want to take part in. And, lastly, my writing buddies pushing me; all of these are big motivators for just sitting down at my desk and putting pen to paper, or as you’d have it in this day and age, fingers on keyboards. Being published and getting recognition is also a strong motivator, if I’m to be completely honest, so please, Spillwords, do continue accepting my out-there ideas.
- Can you tell us about the catalyst that sparked your writing journey?
This is actually a story in and of itself. I work at a national radio station in Bucharest, Romania; it’s called Radio Guerrilla, and I’m the online content manager, and a marketing specialist and copywriter; part of my job is managing media partnerships. One day in the spring of 2020, a request for a media partnership with the radio came from the Cambridge School here in Bucharest, and it was for an essay contest. The age limit was 18 years, so it was intended for children and students, but I felt like I would have loved to take part in an English-written essay contest. So I just started googling “creative writing contests,” “English writing contests,” and the like. I just wanted to write in English 🙂 It’s how I stumbled on an amazing writing community, activating online and on Facebook, of which I am a part of, called Globe Soup. GS constantly organizes contests, writing challenges, monthly micro fiction, and themed contests, and their prompts and challenges are the backbone of my first proper creative prose in English. Globe Soup is how I found my writer friends too, whom I can now call my little creative family, so that’s amazing too.
- Please share a glimpse into your writing process.
My process is no process, if you will. Writing in a language that’s not native can be trying, but I love it. Someone asked me just the other day when I’ll be writing in Romanian, and I said that I don’t think I’m going to because I love writing in English; I read exclusively in English, so the ideas also come to me directly in English. But there isn’t a process, per se. I don’t have a schedule or fixed timeline in my every day when I sit down in front of my computer and, come hell or high water, I just write. No, I write when an idea doesn’t let me out of its grip, when I stumble upon a prompt that sparks my creativity, and sometimes, when my writing buddies pressure me for a new piece for our upcoming anthology, ha ha. It happened recently: I was asked by our lovely volunteer editor, Kerr, to come up with a new poem that week, and I just opened a blank Word sheet, telling myself I’d write a very short one. An hour later, I had a medium-length poem, a short one, and a lengthier one, which also rhymes, and is my very first rhyming poem. So, sometimes, asking me nicely will prove fruitful. Sometimes 🙂
Another thing that helps tremendously is the fact that I’ve been reading exclusively in English since 2007, and this, for a non-native speaker, is a Godsend. I have a Word document on my computer where I note down phrases and words that I stumble upon in my reading, followed by their dictionary definition. Having it helps me elevate my writing.
- What do you find most fulfilling about the act of writing?
I have to say, the feeling I get after finishing a piece and rereading it, it’s something that almost always gives me goosebumps. It’s a mixture of pride, fulfillment, excitement, and actual awe that little me came up with that. It might sound pretentious and flaunting, but, more often than not, I surprise myself with what I’m able to come up with. Then I edit, edit, edit, ask for feedback, edit, edit, edit, give it a breather, come back to it, marvel again at my creative prowess (ha ha), edit some more, and finally sigh a contented sigh. It’s an amazing feeling. Oh, and also, getting recognized and published… not bad at all.
- How does the use of imagery contribute to conveying your story?
Well, as per one of my previous answers, English is not my native tongue and therefore, I always seem to be struggling to come up with what I feel are important aspects of conveying imagery: rich language, showing and not telling, good metaphors, strong adjectives, novelty language. I sometimes suffer from impostor syndrome, feeling like I’m cosplaying at being “fancy” in my writing, and I always think that I’m bound to get discovered. And that’s something I strive to overcome. But I have learned an important lesson: sometimes less really is more, and a story told in a simple manner, but a good story, gets the point across as well or even better than a flourishing one. To concretely answer the question though, I feel like imagery is the most delicate and important tool that we, as writers, have at our disposal to be able to transport the reader smack in the middle of our imagined world, and we should use it carefully and consciously. So, in short, imagery is the key that unlocks the gateway to the writer’s labyrinthine mind, and it’s not to be thrown around haphazardly.
- What is your favorite reading genre?
I don’t have a favorite genre, but I can tell you what I don’t like reading: I don’t particularly care for fantasy and magical realism. I guess I’m more of a grounded-in-reality type of reader, although I will not shy away from horror, or a good dystopian novel with a penchant for the universality of the human condition.
- What human being has inspired you the most?
My parents are my biggest supporters, and my harshest critics; namely my father will cheer for literally any word that comes out of my mouth or pen, whilst my mother will critique me mercilessly, but never just plain meanly. I think this equilibrium is what shaped me as a human being, not just a writer, because, whilst I strive to impress my mother, I cannot fully trust my father’s opinion, since it’s gravely biased. And so, when I want my ego tickled, I go to my Dad, but when I want to be really sure I’ve done well, it’s my Mom’s feedback that seals it.
- What message would you have for the Spillwords Press community that voted for you?
Do you know the theory of a tree falling in the forest and nobody being there to hear it? Did it really make a sound? It’s exactly like that with writing: the people who read your work are the ones who breathe life into it. If not for them, they would only be words strung together. So, thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
- What would you like your legacy as a writer to be?
I would like my writing to reflect investment in one’s passion, being relentless in following a dream no matter the moment in your life or otherwise language limitations and barriers, and love for a craft that hopefully will never, ever end. I cannot imagine a world where people stop reading, so I don’t even want to contemplate a world where writers won’t have who to keep writing for.
- Is there anything else you would like to add?
Just thank you, again, and again, until there isn’t any paper left to print it on, or Internet space to display gratitude. Also, huge congratulations for creating one of the web’s most welcoming writing communities. Keep up the amazing work, Spillwords, and writers everywhere, rejoice! Indeed, it’s a wonderful time to be alive and writing.
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