Emma Wang ’20, was recently commended for her prose in the Adroit Journal’s 2020 awards for prose and poetry. In this brief interview, she shares a little more about her influences and approach to writing. 

When did you start writing?

I’ve always kind of “wrote” stories in my head, but I wrote my first story on paper when I was 11. It was a really terrible retelling of “Alice in Wonderland,” and I’m pretty sure I spelled caterpillar as “catorpilore.”

What genre would you constitute your writing to fall under?

I don’t usually like to categorize writing (because I think it’s really just a marketing tool). That said, I tend to write a lot of stories that would fall under the “magical realism” umbrella. 

What most heavily influences your writing?

The need to process both the world around me and myself. It could be some strange science fact that I learned, or a historical figure that I find interesting. It could be a conversation I overheard, or just simply an image that’s been bothering/following me around for a while. 

Where do you draw inspiration from when writing? Are your stories always based in fact? Do stories always have to be based in something real, something personal?

I like to feel somewhat grounded when I write, so even if my story contains strange/mystical elements, I would always base it on a concrete emotion that I’ve felt, that I might be trying to process, or an idea/concept that I’ve talked about with a friend. 

I think there’s a distinction between “fact” and “truth”, so while I never really base my stories in fact, the story is always “true” to myself. And I never think stories need to be based on anything real, but it’s impossible to escape the personal when writing anything — your experiences both restrict and help discover what you write about.

What do you want to write about?

I’ve always wanted to write about the Cultural Revolution and Chinese families, but have always shied away, for fear of not bringing them justice. However, I’ve had to overcome this hurdle because for me and many others, stories are redemptive instead of definitive, and the simple act of trying to carve space within a world overflowing with texts is sometimes the best we can do. In that spirit, I am hoping to start working on a novel that *features* these two topics.

Where do you see your writing going?

I usually have no idea. My influences change from time to time, but as of right now, I’m hoping to follow in the footsteps of C. Pam Zhang, Toni Morrison, and Ocean Vuong, whose writing styles all differ from one another, but whose heart and bravery and beauty have created the space for historically marginalized groups.

Are you working on anything right now? If so, what?

I’m hoping to start on a novel soon, but with my busy schedule of college classes and sleeping, I’m probably just going to work on short stories at the moment. For the (potential) novel, I’m doing a lot of research on Chinese history, especially during the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward. 

A recent graduate of Springs, Emma Wang ’20 is now majoring in English with a concentration in writing at Stanford University. You can read some of her works here and here. 

CARINA LIM’21  (SHE/HER)

Carina is the Editor-in-Chief of the Woodward Post. She is from Singapore, likes cats, and is learning how to skateboard. Unfortunately, she is not very proficient at shredding and fears the day someone asks her to do a kickflip. Carina the resident poser writes about social issues, books, and anything else that comes to mind.

Contact Carina at carina.lim@indiansprings.org