An Interview With Rhea Anglesey
This article was first published on Coffee Times Substack
Dear Coffee Writers and Readers,
I hope this has been a pleasant week for everyone. We’ve just got another writer to share insightful thoughts with us in another interview.
We often see writing advice online given by experienced online writers, fellow creators, people who love writing, and some are even language teachers as well. We have Rhea Anglesey with us here today, who is a junior high teacher, teaching English, teaching writing as part of the syllabus.
Dear Rhea, you’re an English language teacher, teaching writing as part of the syllabus. What are some of the common problems you see your students face as they start writing, and what solutions would you suggest to these problems?
The most common problem I see students face is getting hung up on grammar, spelling and accuracy. Especially true for those who are used to mathematical precision and accuracy. They also worry if their ideas are ‘right’ or ‘good which is not conducive to writing creative pieces.
The best solution is to do quickfire creative thinking and writing exercises, like finding connections between unlikely objects, writing nonsense poems, micro stories etc. This opens their eyes to the infinite possibilities of creativity. It takes away the fear of being wrong or being judged.
Poetic licence is a versatile tool for such writers as it enables them to write without constraint. I would recommend this for all writers regardless of age. I do some fun writing when I feel stagnant and lacking inspiration.
What are some things you’ve seen students neglect or have misconceptions of when they first have thoughts of pursuing a writing career?
The answer to this is very similar to that of the first question. I find my students who are capable writers, still hesitate to put themselves forward on public platforms. They sometimes lack the confidence to enter writing competitions. There is an inbuilt fear of rejection and judgement amongst adolescents.
I feel the sooner aspiring writers put themselves out there the better. It will help them deal better with negativity or even constructive feedback.
I particularly love one of the responses you posted as one of your stories. ‘The biggest impediment to success in writing is giving anything else precedence over ideas.’ Do you perhaps have any tips for writers to organise their ideas, and how do you teach your students to generate them?
Organising Ideas- Here are the Steps my students use and I do too.
1. Do what I call ideas vomit: write down every idea that comes to mind without trying to rationalise or control your thoughts.
2. Group similar ideas using a highlighter/numbering.
3. Think of category names/subtitles for each group of ideas.
4. Take a closer look at all your ideas, cull and choose the best ones for that category, re-assign categories and shift ideas around as you see fit.
5. Organise the categories so the ideas flow. Flow is very important in writing. The ideas need to run from one category to another with a logical progression of thought without a jarring effect.
Generating Ideas: I will say to begin helping yourself by choosing a topic you are passionate about or interested in. if I try to write about crypto, I might gather facts and write an informative article. But, it will not have my personal voice because it is a topic I am completely disinterested in. Of course, that is sometimes not possible, especially for professional writers who write what the clients ask for.
So the generic advice I will give is not to get hung up on originality.
To quote the famous British scholar of yesteryear, William Ralph Inge,
‘What is originality? Undetected plagiarism.’
What makes a piece of writing original is the way you write it. It’s your unique style, your voice.
1. Read quite a few pieces on any topic you need to /want to write about.
2. Note down ideas you like
3. Put your own spin, add your own voice, own analogies, anecdotes.
4. Know WHO your target audience is. What would they want to hear?
5. Tweak the ideas accordingly.
I understand you write both fiction and non-fiction, with non-fiction focusing on personal essays. But I’m curious, what are some of your writing inspirations when writing fiction and what inspires you to become a novelist?
I grew up in a literary environment. Both my parents were educators. There were always lots of great books at home in both languages, English and my mother tongue Bengali.
My father was a professor of English. So, I grew up with all lots of British classics. I began to read independently by the age of 3 and write by the age of 4. We read stories out to each other and discussed what made a story or a poem great.
I did my Master’s in English Literature, which led to my reading some top literary writers from the 14th to the 20th century.
My biggest inspirations are the following authors- Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gilbert, JK Rowling, Jhumpa Lahiri.
However, I absolutely must mention Hergé, the creator of Tintin, Tagore the Nobel Laureate Poet and Author from India, whose writing had an indelible influence on me as a child.
I read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice for the first time when I was 14 and fell in love with the storyline. You can say the seeds of writing a novel with a strong woman character as the protagonist were sown back then. I wrote a short form on Medium about this a few weeks ago.
You cover a range of writing genres and styles — which genre do you love writing most?
I like writing personal essays the best in non-fiction and short stories in fiction with a female as a central character. I love the freedom of being able to use my writer’s voice and to instil my personality into my writing. Factual and prosaic pieces have limited opportunities for that.
As a Jane of all trades, you’ve had a wide range of interests, explorations and experiences. How do you think each of these reflects in the way you write and what you write? How about the way you teach writing?
I think having such a wide range of interests comes with its benefits and downsides.
But the benefits are greater, in my opinion.
My brain synthesises myriad experiences and creates unique perspectives that are my own. It helps me generate ideas as I can draw from different areas of life. This synthesis and coming together of ideas is a very organic process. I do not do it consciously.
It just happens. For example, I can draw from the creative process of art quite a bit in using different perspectives to look at situations. You can say I think in colours even though my writing is black on white :)
My way of teaching writing is full of examples and anecdotes. I encourage all my students to look within for inspirations and to draw them from their own areas of passions, interests etc.
My goal is to make the experience of writing natural and enjoyable. Experimentation with words, phrases, sentences are a big part of it too. again, to make it into an organic process rather than a formulaic one.
Besides writing online on several platforms and publishing a novel someday, do you have any other writing projects you wish to venture out to someday?
I would like to launch online writing courses in the future for aspiring writers. I feel there are many courses on how to succeed on blogging platforms, how to publish on Kindle etc.
But sometimes, writers need to go back to the basics of the actual nuts and bolts of writing. The craft of writing sparkles the more it is polished.
But adult writers may be reluctant to admit even to themselves that because of the false assumption that the craft of writing should have been mastered at school.
I would like to break down that barrier and teach the basics of writing to those who need it.
I was asked by a Medium writer couple of years ago to start a YouTube channel for writers who has English as their second language. I was mentoring this writer who had great ideas but needed help with formatting them correctly in English.
I actually love to teach and to write. A course will combine both my passions.
Do you have any advice for budding writers, both young and seasoned, who are starting to write professionally for the first time?
I have not written for clients a lot as I have not put myself out there as a freelance writer for hire. The writing clients I have had have come through word of mouth. So, I cannot give any seasoned advice in that area.
But, I have been writing on Medium, Vocal Media, Simily, Substack and on Facebook groups for the last couple of years. I will share some principles I follow while writing on public platforms. The first is that of finding one’s author voice and coming across as authentic and true to oneself. This helps build one’s author brand.
Secondly, to value all readers/customers and establish relationships. Be friendly and responsive yet professional. A delicate balance to strike that comes with practice. I respond to each and every comment a reader leaves me. I know it is not feasible for writers who have thousands of comments each week. but, when a writer starts out, putting time aside for interacting with one’s readers is essential.
Lastly, to believe in one’s self and always remember one’s WHY. I am a big fan of Simon Sinek and his Golden Circle. As a writer, keeping the WHY in the forefront is important because that is the compass that keeps things steady and unwavering. We all know HOW to write and WHAT we want to write. But WHY we want to write is something that needs to be determined first so we build our own, unique author brand.
The WHY doesn’t have to be anything hugely complex. For example, I write because I want to make a difference in the lives of my readers through my words.
I would like to thank
for taking the time to share her insightful thoughts for this interview. It’s been a pleasure working with her, and she has indeed shared many helpful writing tips for us fellow writers as well!