Our Friday Indie Q&A is with our 5th place Napkin Microfiction Contest award winning Author Sophia Therriault. She discusses what inspired her to write her winning micro-fiction story English Ivy. Sophia is a talented artist that creates in multiple mediums who definitely has some sage advice! Take a moment to read about multi-talented Sophia Terriault.
Nonhuman Creature Perspective
Indie: Congratulations on your 5th place winning in our Napkin Microfiction Writing Contest with your story English Ivy! What inspired you to write this winning piece of microfiction?
Sophia: Thank you! When I started out, I wanted to challenge myself by writing something from the perspective of a nonhuman creature. What’s less human than a plant? This particular story was inspired by an actual English Ivy plant that I have sitting on my desk. It must really like the proximity to typing noises because it is thriving.
Cursed to Always Tell The Truth and Other Shenanigans
Indie: I know that you’re currently pumping out a ton of fiction work. Tell us about your other writing and what you’re currently working on.
Sophia: I am currently splitting my time between several projects, most of which are book projects. For the past couple of years, I’ve been working on an urban fantasy vampire trilogy about a 259-year-old vampire who’s been cursed to always tell the truth. It’s all about what it means to be a good or bad person, and what it means to be a monster. I’m also working on a science fiction piece with some virtual reality shenanigans going on, but that one’s mostly on the back burner for now while I finish up book two in my trilogy.
An Exercise in First Pages
Indie: What did you learn about yourself, and the craft, while writing English Ivy?
Sophia: While writing English Ivy I was actually attempting an exercise in writing first pages. The entire story was meant to be just the first page of a story, but a group of fellow writers told me it felt like a fully realized story. The part that made it feel complete at the end was the part about the plant wanting to someday have a bird and a pot like the ZZ plant beside it. I learned to appreciate a piece for what it is, rather than what it was “supposed” to be.
Even If It’s Terrible…
Indie: I know you are a creative in many mediums. I admire that greatly! Can you give us some sage advice about being a creator?
Sophia: I don’t know how sage this advice will be, but I’ve always thought it was important to prioritize my creative outlets. Whether I’ve got a song in my head waiting to come out or a story idea, I write it down. Even if it’s terrible right now, I might come back and fix it later. But if I let the idea go without trying to capture it, I’m never going to remember it when I need it most. I’ve lost many great story ideas in the minutes after waking from a really cool dream.
“I’ve always thought it was important to prioritize my creative outlets. Whether I’ve got a song in my head waiting to come out or a story idea, I write it down. Even if it’s terrible right now, I might come back and fix it later.”
Sophia Therriault, Author
BIG WIN
Indie: What is one BIG WIN that you’d like to share with us?
Sophia: I like that BIG WIN is capitalized. To be completely honest, my big win right now is settling back into some semblance of a writing routine. Before COVID, I wrote nearly every day, and I got a lot done that way. But ever since COVID hit, I’ve been doing other things with my time, which isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s made my creative process that much slower. I know I’m not the only one out there with this problem. But this past week, my schedule has cleared up just enough to allow for a couple of writing days that will (hopefully) put me back on the horse.
A Shoutout To…
Indie: There are so many people who help us along our creative path. Who would you like to give a shoutout to?
Sophia: There are so many people that I would like to give a shoutout to. But for this project, I’m going to have to pick Jalynn Nelson, who read my story and told me about this contest, and encouraged me to submit something. She always has great feedback whenever I’m in need of immediate critique. So thank you, Jalynn. You are the best.
Get Social
Indie: Where can we find you on social?
You can find me on Instagram as @sophiatherriault and on Twitter @sophiet211 or you could take a peek at my brand new website, sophiatherriault.wixsite.com/sophia, which has links to my music on SoundCloud, Spotify, and iTunes.