Erini Loucaides, London Independent Story Prize 3rd Round 2024 Short Story Finalist, 'The Roots of Things'

London Independent Story Prize 3rd Round 2024 Short Story Finalist, 'The Roots of Things', Erini Loucaides

-Can you please tell us about you and your daily life?

My newlywed parents were refugees  after the 1974 invasion of northern Cyprus.  They moved to Australia where I spent the first 16 years of my life.  I then studied in the UK where I obtained my B.A in English from Royal Holloway.   I now live in the wilder landscapes of Cyprus with my husband, raising our feisty teenage boys and teaching English in high schools. 

When a story isn’t coming through or the words aren’t falling into the right places, I hit the local shooting range for a few rounds. To strike that moving clay, you need to empty your mind of absolutely everything. Very zen.  As such, it’s a wonderful antidote to the frustrations that creep in with writing, editing and teaching.   

-When and how did you get into writing? 

I’ve always been writing, finding escape and wonder in words.  Since I was a kid, I’d get very excited with blank paper pads and lovely full pens  - I’m the one that swipes them at conferences. 

At age 15, I began sending off short stories, receiving my first distinction for the Sydney Morning Herald Young Writer Prize.   However, in my early twenties, when the first rejections came in, I retreated like a prodded snail, not submitting until the beginning of the next decade even though I never stopped writing. A decade later, when I hit forty, longer in tooth and tougher of hide, I continued submitting when the rejections trickled in.  Then the good stuff came. This includes quite a few shortlists like Bridport, Bournemouth, and publications like Mslexia Best Women’s Fiction (twice) amongst others.    I’ve also been accepted for some fantastic mentorships like the Oxbelly Writers Retreat directed by Chigozie Obioma and where my mentor was Rebecaa Makkai as well as the Commonwealth Foundation Summer Mentorship with Jennfer Makumbi.

- How often do you write? Do you have a writing routine? And what inspires you to write?

Every day, pretty much. My writing routine: a few paragraphs during free periods at school, go home, cook, clean, sort out boys, write a few more paragraphs or revise a short story. Weekends:  write more except now add four loads of laundry, ironing and mopping to the mix. 

Greek mythology is a great inspiration, its gaps, its ‘what ifs’. Asking these questions is how my work-in-progress, an adult fantasy novel, took seed. And of course, living in Cyprus, with so many ancient temples dedicated to Olympian gods, is a rich source of inspiration.   

My short stories tend to revolve around characters who feel emotionally misplaced, society telling them this is where they ought to be but inside, they’re about to combust with the unsaid and undone. I like to explore these characters’ coping mechanisms.  

- How does it feel to have your work recognised?

Wonderfully buoying!  That email saying ‘congratulations’ is an oasis in what can sometimes feel like wandering the deserts of publishing. 

- What's the best and most challenging thing about writing a story? 

The journey, the exploration, the growth that comes as a writer and yes, the excitement at a re-draft when you’ve got that second wind.  

The most challenging is when your sails are flat, there’s no wind and you have to get the oars out and row alone. And of course, time, time, time to finish it all.

-  How did you develop the idea for your LISP-selected story? Is there a story behind your story? And, how long have you been working on it?

I confess, I love reading online celebrity gossip but I also love pushing myself to understand things that I don’t easily understand like physics.  So in the summer of ’24 there were various articles on single women having affairs with married men and consequently, having children with them.  These women came from all walks of life from models, presenters, to dentists and university professors. I was fascinated by the explosive intricacies. At the same time, I was reading about the Higgs field, its unusual behaviour of trapping passing particles and spinning them in the opposite direction. I could see a parallel between love affairs and the Higgs field, albeit tenuous, but enough to explore the metaphor in a short story. 

- Can you please give us a few tips about writing a Story?

*  There are writers who love being fired up with external prompts. But if you’re on a writing course and the prompts fall flat for you, that’s ok.  Your own spark for your story will come.  

* Create a winning stories’ file, digital or actual hard copy. I have one spanning many years and from many different types of competitions. We can learn so much from reading the winning entries (or finalists) especially in the competitions we’ve entered.  

* Something else you could try that seems to work for me: when I have received say, 4-6 rejections for a story, I stop submitting and try and see the story from what I call, ‘The Rejectioner’s Eyes’ (I know, sounds like executioner!). It really helps imagining I’m the reader/jury and why I’m rejecting the piece.  Most of my stories that end up being accepted have first been rejected, re-worked through The Rejectioner’s Eyes then sent out again.  

* Find a robust and honest critique buddy or group. Invaluable.

- What's the best thing and the most challenging thing about competitions? 

Best thing:  the pump and preparation to meet the competition deadline.  This of course can be challenging when there’s a great deal going on in your life.  Another challenge is creating various versions of a story for different word limits.

- Lastly, do you recommend the writers submit to LISP?

Absolutely - and I love LISP’s motto: Writing is Re-Writing! A beginner writer would do well to jot that on a post-it note in bold gold glitter.