During our Friday Indie Q&A, author Sherring Dartiguenave, discusses being forced to ‘trim the fat’ from wordiness. She shares with us her work and service in The Women’s National Book Association founded by female booksellers restricted from joining men’s organizations.
Personal Experience
Indie: Congratulations on your honorable mention win in our 2nd Annual Microfiction Contest with your touching story Green Gold. How did you come up with the idea for this beautiful story?
Sherring: Thank you. I’m proud to have my story selected. The story is based on a personal experience. I’m an essayist, so I decided to write about the elation of a true and recent grocery shopping experience.
Trim the Fat
Indie: What did you learn about yourself and the craft of microfiction while writing Green Gold?
Sherring: I learned/was reminded that I’m a wordy writer. Because of the word limit, I was forced to trim the fat from Green Gold, while also trying to be as descriptive as possible.
I wanted the reader to truly experience the character’s nostalgia, happiness, culture, and identity all from a simple fruit that happened to be on sale! I learned that my roots run deeper than I thought.
Sherring Dartiguenave, Author
Women Unite!
Indie: In your bio, you mention being a blog writer of the New York chapter of the Women’s National Book Association. Tell us a little bit about this organization for those that are unfamiliar with it, what you’ve written for them, and why you decided to dedicate your time to this NY chapter.
Sherring: The Women’s National Book Association was founded in 1917 by female booksellers who weren’t allowed to join men’s organizations. A century later this community of book lovers is made up of women writers and readers who support each other in literary events such as networking, panels, book clubs, and workshops. I learned about the WNBA during a panel featuring an author I admire at Strand Books. After speaking with the Membership Chair, I decided to join the New York Chapter as a Member. I wanted to be surrounded by like-minded people. I later became Blog Manager. During the organization’s centennial year, I wrote articles for a series called WNBA 100 Books List Spotlight, featuring and highlighting books written by women that impacted society. I now serve on the Board as the Treasurer.
Personal Essayist
Indie: What other stories do you have out in the publishing world that you’d like to share with us? Tell us about them.
Sherring: I write personal essays, book reactions (I don’t call them book reviews), and random thoughts on my blog justsherring.com. I have an essay published in the anthology 2020: The Year That Changed America. Those works are officially out. I’m a newbie, but I have ideas for both nonfiction and fiction that are scrambling about in my brain. I even wrote a children’s book as an undergrad that I’d love to revisit. The goal is to sit down, WRITE, then finally share with readers.
Ignore Imposter Syndrome
Indie: Please share with us some sage advice about being a creator and what that means to you.
Sherring: I don’t hesitate to call myself a reader, but for the longest time, I struggled with calling myself a writer. I studied writing as both undergrad and grad but felt like I didn’t deserve the title. The advice I repeat to myself and share with others is to ignore Imposter Syndrome. Easier said than done, I know, but believe in your skill and your craft, especially if you truly love writing, or at least love the results after writing.
About the Author
Sherring Dartiguenave is a writer and editorial professional with over twenty years of experience in book, magazine, and digital publishing. She earned a BA in Writing, Literature & Publishing from Emerson College, and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing from The New School University. A Brooklynite by way of Boston, she serves on the Board and has written for the blog of the New York chapter of the Women’s National Book Association, and has been published in the anthology 2020: The Year that Changed America. Follow her musings on justsherring.com and @justsherring.
