Q&A with G. Quaid
Katie Moats, one of our fiction editors, interviewed G. Quaid about her story '“Hidden Dips.” Join them as they discuss the inspiration and intent behind the story, as well as Quaid’s writing journey thus far.
What has your writing journey been like for you so far? What makes you want to write?
My writing journey is one that I have recommenced after a long pause. As a child and teenager, I loved spending my free time writing and sending letters to friends. These were pen pals, but also close friends who I saw everyday. It was a way for me to express myself; usually in the form of silly short stories, fake newspaper articles or recounts of bizarre, imaginary events. My aim was to entertain and amuse. Adult life very quickly took over when I finished school and I found myself less and less inclined to write, although the idea of going back to it always remained at the back of my mind. It was the lead-up to my 40th birthday that made me realise I needed to get back to writing and creating for pleasure, and so I decided to take a leap of faith. I left my job and switched to part-time work to allow myself time to take up creative pursuits. I enrolled in a creative writing course in my local library, which is where I wrote the first draft of "Hidden Dips".
I feel like the inner drive to express myself in a way that I can be understood is what drives me to write, along with the love of making people laugh. As an Autistic person, communicating and connecting with others has always been a struggle for me, as I find it hard to articulate my thoughts and feelings at times. Writing offers me a way to do that and show a side of myself that others often don't see.
What influences your writing? Where do you draw inspiration, and what does your process look like?
A lot of my writing is a mix of personal experience, combined with observations of people and the world around me. I usually start with a prompt and have a general outline of the story in my mind. My stories develop as I write them, I feel as though I am discovering my characters in real time - their emotions, experiences and motivations. I prefer to handwrite my first drafts, as I feel it allows for more of a flow and stops me from getting fixated on writing the perfect sentence with every line. I then expand on elements of the piece when the time comes to type it up.
I really enjoyed how you took these very universal experiences—the nerves surrounding the lead up to a class reunion, love lost—and made it your own. What was your approach with this story? What are you trying to say?
When I began writing "Hidden Dips", I started with a prompt about a school reunion. From there I started thinking about societal expectations that we all experience, but specifically those placed on women. Many of us feel the pressure to meet certain milestones; getting married, buying an house and having children, and can feel like failures if we do not "achieve" these. Women who do supposedly have everything then feel pressure to present themselves as perfect and being capable of doing it all. What I wanted to explore was the idea that "having it all" is actually suffocating for many women, and speaking about that is often taboo. I hoped to convey the empowerment that comes with rejecting social norms and embracing the freedom that comes with living your life on your own terms.
