Interview with Textploit: Part II

Last month, I learned about Textploit, a new literary journal that exclusively publishes work by young people (writers and artists under age 20, to be precise.) I was blown away by the talent, variety, and sheer bravery of the work in their debut issues. Earlier we had two of Textploit's Editors-in-Chief, Natasha Lasky and Ella Bartlett, on the blog -- you can read their interview here if you missed it. Today I am pleased to feature an interview with Textploit's third Editor-in-Chief, Siqi Liu!

How would you describe Textploit, and what gave you the idea to start it? Could you give us a peek inside your path to founding this journal?

Siqi: Textploit is an inclusive platform for young writers and artists to share their voices. After being an editor at other literary magazines, I became very passionate about the process of creating high quality literary arts productions. When Natasha and Ella told me about the initial idea of starting our own magazine, I became enamored, and I knew I wanted to be a part of that.

I'd love to hear more about your various writing projects. What inspires you?

Siqi: I’m always starting one short story or another, and I’ve recently been venturing into poetry. I’m also thinking about starting a novel this summer, so I’m excited about that. I’m usually inspired by personal experiences; I like taking bits and pieces of my own life and extract something beautiful and coherent out of the banal chaos.

What made you want to become a writer?

Siqi: I love people, and I think my desire to get to know people better was and still is why I write. I’ve always had an impulse for telling character-centric stories. By writing, I can try to understand human nature.

Could you give us a sample "day in the life"? In particular, when/how do you find time to write?

Siqi: I’m kind of a seasonal writer. I’m most productive during school breaks because I find it difficult to be creative under stress. However, when I do write, I tend to sit down for a large chunk of time (at least several hours) on the weekend and try to churn out X number of pages. But I don’t really set a goal for myself. Sometimes I can write five pages in two hours, sometimes only five paragraphs. And that’s okay.

What is your biggest advice for writers submitting their work, and facing the inevitable rejection that comes along with that? Any tips for submitting to Textploit in particular?

Siqi: As someone who has been rejected plenty of times, I would say that it’s more important to think about the journey than the result. Every piece we produce as writers came from somewhere within, and during the process of spilling out that chunk of our soul on paper, we have grown -- both as writers and as people. Don’t regret or dwell on rejections because the journey is always worth it. As for tips for submitting to Textploit, I would say to submit the piece that has your bravest voice. We love fresh styles, experimental forms, and daring tales.

Why is it important for young people to have a voice in the publishing landscape?

Siqi: Grownups are constantly trying to get into teenagers’ heads. Adults write about us, sing about us, make art about us. So why aren’t we hearing from young people themselves? I think it’s important for teens to have a voice so the world stops thinking of us as projections from the imagination of thirty, forty, fifty year olds and start seeing us as who we really are.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Siqi: We are currently looking for art, music, and film editors! Contact us at admin@textploit.com if you are interested.

Interview with the editors of Textploit, a new literary journal for teens

Last month, I learned about Textploit, a new literary journal that exclusively publishes work by young people (writers and artists under age 20, to be precise.) I was blown away by the talent, variety, and sheer bravery of the work in their debut issues. Two of Textploit's editors, Natasha Lasky and Ella Bartett, were kind enough to answer some questions here on the blog today. Their words will no doubt inspire you -- perhaps to submit some work of your own!

Ella

Natasha

Textploit is a literary journal unique from anything else being published today. How would you describe Textploit, and what gave you the idea to start it? Could you give us a peek inside your path to founding this journal?

Natasha: I was drawn to Textploit for one simple reason: most publications for teens are lame. They either feel condescending, like a talent show where adults showcase “teen voices” instead of actually listening to what teens have to say, or they feel dry and elitist, as if a teen writer has to act like a mini-adult in order to be taken seriously. Neither type respects the fact that teens view the world in a unique, raw, even beautiful way, and that they deserve to speak for themselves. Not to mention that most publications only accept writing and art while ignoring music, photography, film, and all the other ways adolescents express themselves. I wanted to help create an online space where teens can be represented with the passion, seriousness, and sense of humor that they deserve.

Ella: We wanted to create a magazine that allowed teens to publish their work without judgment on whatever topic they chose. To echo Natasha, we want teens not to feel like they have to write (or draw) about “proper” adult things. We publish quality work, and we focus on letting teens write what they want to write about. In that vein, we also are online only, which makes all our work easily accessible to our target audience.

In addition to being editors and publishers, you are all writers too. I'd love to hear more about your various writing projects. What inspires you?

Ella: I am inspired by the smallest thing: a conversation on the subway, the way someone holds a pencil, a cool European accent. I take these things and create characters out of them. The stories form kind of on their own from there. Most of my stories are flash fiction, but I attempt poetry when I am in a certain mood, and I love the satisfaction of working on a longer short story.

Natasha: I am inspired by discomfort. Relationships I see, thoughts I have, stories that people tell me -- if it makes me uncomfortable in some way, I can write about it. I wish there was a better word for it than simply “discomfort,” but I’m talking about that area on the emotional spectrum between contentment and extreme suffering, the subtle kinds of pain that we experience every day but that there really aren’t good words for. It makes sense why nobody has come up with the right words for them, because those feelings are the most complicated feelings, and therefore moments of discomfort are the most interesting for me to write about. In terms of genre, I don’t have the brain for poetry, though I enjoy it. I prefer to write essays, fiction, and screenplays. Fiction is the hardest, but I love it the most.

What made you want to become a writer?

Ella: My third grade teacher, Mr. Barloon. We did a mini writing workshop in his class, and I found I loved it. Then, once I began to read great writers like Hemingway or Carver or Lahiri, I began to realize how serious and influential the craft can be. When you share your writing, be it in the form of reaching out for edits or even publishing, you can change someone’s life.

Natasha: This will sound weird and cliche but I feel like writing is part of who I am. I never really wanted to be a “writer,” and I still don’t really know what that means, exactly, to “be a writer,” but I know I’ve always wanted to write. I read obsessively as a kid, and I liked (and still like) that writing has the unique ability to speak to us in the same way we speak to ourselves. When you read a book you can get out of your own mind and live inside the mind of Humbert Humbert or Holden Caulfield or Katniss Everdeen for a while instead. It’s a tool for empathy, in a certain way. I also like spending time alone, in my own head, and writing definitely suits that disposition.

Could you give us a sample "day in the life"? In particular, when/how do you find time to write in your busy schedules?

Ella: That’s tough. I write when I can. Especially for teens now, with all the other pressures we put on ourselves academically and socially, it’s difficult to find a specific time of the day to dedicate solely to the craft. I journal every single night, sometimes for ten minutes and sometimes for half an hour, depending on how early I have to get up the next morning. I also often prioritize writing before other items on the long to-do list, especially when I need the release it gives me.

What is your biggest advice for writers submitting their work, and facing the inevitable rejection that comes along with that? Any tips for submitting to Textploit in particular?

Ella: All art (writing, painting, film, etc.) is so subjective. We are dealing with humans and human experience here. Writing is often so personal that you have to not take rejections personally. Just keep writing/drawing/etc. You’ll find a way to tell your story in a voice that is able to touch more people the more you write. As for Textploit, just be honest. We look for art that speaks to teens, and chances are you’re going through something that another teen is going through. If you illustrate your mind through a haiku, a watercolor, or anything else -- just make sure it tells the truth.

Natasha: Rejection sucks. There’s no way around it. If you really care about your writing, it will feel terrible when it gets rejected. And so I guess my rejection advice would be to feel the sad feelings that come with rejection, but recognize that those feelings are a good sign -- since it means that you love your piece and want people to see it. Then funnel that energy into making the piece better. As for submissions to Textploit, I will just reiterate what Ella says, since she is completely correct (as she often is). Follow that old (perhaps cliche) adage: write what you know. Don’t try and be H.P. Lovecraft or Hemingway or Emily Dickinson or Toni Morrison, just be you and be honest. We’ll love you just the way you are, I’m sure of it.

Why is it important for young people to have a voice in the publishing landscape?

Natasha: The fact is: teens see the world differently, and it’s cool. The liminal space between adulthood and childhood is inherently interesting, and that’s why YA is such a powerhouse genre, that’s why The Fault in Our Stars makes millions of dollars, that’s why we still read Romeo and Juliet. Teen issues are everyone’s issues. And that’s also why it’s so frustrating to me when teens feel like they have to write about “adult things” to be taken seriously. We should let teens speak for themselves about their experience, and respect them for that.

Ella: When young people are able to get their work out “into the wild” so to say, it is not only exhilarating for the artist. It is essential for others to understand what it is/was like being a teen. We want to make an imprint on the world by sharing these stories, to remind people that no, it’s not easy to be in this age group. I agree with Natasha: we think differently. Things that seem insignificant are not. They’re real.

Connect with Textploit:

• Website
• Twitter
• Facebook

Creating -- and Re-creating -- the Past

One interesting thing about being a writer is that each day sparkles with potential for delightful surprises and wonderful news. At any given time, I have short stories and essays submitted to a dozen different journals; my collection of short stories submitted to two or three book contests or small presses; and queries for my novel manuscript out to a variety of agents. With each submission I send out, my heart leaps with possibility. I carefully choose where I submit individual pieces and projects, and I take the time to read publications and research editors who seem to be a perfect aesthetic fit for my work. When I click the "submit" or "send" button, I always feel excited, dreaming that maybe this will be the one that gets the response of YES.

But, inevitably, most of the submissions I send out are rejected. It's the name of the game; simply part of being a writer. Still, when I get a rejection, it stings. It is disappointing, every time.

Usually, I shake it off and find another journal or editor or agent to submit to. Keep things moving along, keep pushing forward, keep hoping. Every "no" is one step closer to a "yes." Get knocked down seven times; stand up eight.

But sometimes, on low days, or days when the writing isn't going well, or days when something else annoying or upsetting happens, it can be hard not to let one more rejection -- one more disappointment -- steamroll my thoughts towards all the other rejections I have gotten over the years. When you put them all together in a row like that, it can feel overwhelming and hopeless. It's easy to think, Why bother submitting at all? Why go through the trouble of putting my work out there, if it's just going to get rejected again?

Of course, when my thoughts go down this rabbit hole, I'm choosing not to think about all the acceptances and good news I've received over the years: the contests won, the stories and essays published, the nice emails and praise from readers and editors alike. If you could reach back through time and tell my writer self of five years ago where I am now, she would giddily jump for joy at all the excitement I've been fortunate to experience.

In his book Genership 1.0: Beyond Leadership Toward Liberating the Creative Soul, David Castro calls this type of selective remembering "Creating the Past." He writes:

"Those not trained as historians may find it difficult to come to terms with the idea that we create the past. But modern psychological experiments speak powerfully to this concept. Mental models or mind maps exert a palpable, constructive influence on perceptions of the past; we tend to see evidence that conforms to our mental maps while we discount or omit whatever does not. An experiment conducted by Brewer and Treyens (1981), one among many, asked each participant to wait in an office for about 35 seconds for another laboratory room to be prepared. They were then moved to another room and asked to recall everything in the office. Participants showed a strong tendency to recall the presence of objects consistent with a typical office. Nearly everyone remembered a desk and the chair next to it. But only eight of the 30 recalled a skull visible in the office, few recalled a wine bottle or the coffee pot, and only one called up the picnic basket. Some recalled items that had not been there at all: nine remembered specific books not present in the office. These findings, consistent with many others on the subject, show that people tend to project their ideas onto the record of the past, thus creating narratives and imagined incidents consistent with their mental modals and beliefs. We construct the past in this way." (pgs. 138-139)

As a writer, I believe wholeheartedly in the importance of stories. I believe they connect us to one another, expand our empathy and knowledge, and help us understand each other and the world around us.

What I sometimes forget is that the stories we tell ourselves are just as powerful as the stories we tell each other. We choose the past we create for ourselves. We choose what details to emphasize and what to leave out of the telling. Just as the people in the experiment were most likely to see the things they expected to be in the office, we are most likely to see and remember the past events that fit into the narrative we are telling ourselves about our lives.

So: are you telling yourself a positive story, or a negative one?

Are you seeing the skulls and wine bottles and picnic baskets, as well as the chairs and the desks?

Are you sliding some books onto your past bookshelf that were never even there in the first place?

Next time I get a rejection, I am not going to give it more power by adding on all the past rejections I have received. Instead, I will purposely choose to remember all the acceptances and successes I have experienced. In this way, I am creating a past that is empowering for my future. I encourage you to do the same!