ILLUMINATION Writers

Interview with Paroma Sen

Featuring creative writers of ILLUMINATION

Purpose of the Story

In this story, I share with you an interview that I conducted with Paroma Sen. I found Paroma an inspiring and creative writer on ILLUMINATION.

I am also impressed by the Paroma’s technical background which I follow on LinkedIn. It was a pleasure to interview Paroma.

Let’s explore her fascinating world!

Tell us a bit about your background, Paroma.

I am of Indian birth and descent, living in the US for almost 20 years. I live in sunny north California. I work in the technology domain, and am a marketing director for a large software company. I deeply believe in the power of technology to transform our world and our lives.

I write on topics like technology, business, AI, customer experience, leadership and management — but my alter ego keeps that kind of writing to other platforms. On Medium I prefer to indulge my creative side — more about this under values below.

Why do you write on Medium?

I write on Medium, because I am Medium. While I have been making up stories in the written form since I was a child, I have only learned recently that the ideas don’t necessarily come from my own head — they come from somewhere else, outside of me. I am just the medium for the words to express themselves in print so they can be read by others.

What are your values as a writer?

To me, writing is a labor of love. I toil over every word, every emotion, and every piece. My ultimate goal is to have the reader experience an emotion through the tales and journeys of my characters.

Taking the reader by hand on a journey where I can have them experience emotion, and doing this through printed word alone — this is the reason why I write.

Another value I hold core to my writing is brevity — I edit every piece multiple times so that it says no more and no less than what the story is destined to be. I also like to leave some things unsaid; here the reader’s imagination plays a vital role, almost an additional character lending itself to the unfolding of the story.

Short stories are how my writing best expresses itself. I do write poetry too, but more so it can improve my art in telling stories.

I also like to wildly experiment with form and format, genre, and emotion. I have enjoyed writing drama, humor, horror, and experimenting with pacing to bring more action when needed, and emotional pain as a microscope to blow things up when needed.

What are the top three books that affected your life?

Every book I have read has affected my life. To keep it to three, I will have to select my favorites.

- Alice in wonderland — A favorite since childhood, even now I find deep learning and relevance through this book. Ultimately, aren’t we all Alices going through our lives like the wonderland this planet is to us?

- Moon tiger — My favorite from all the books I have read this year. I came across it through my book club. A tale told in flashback, it depicts the kind of epic love story that we all covet, yet perhaps such intensity of emotion is not always sustainable.

- Half asleep in frog pajamas — Written by Tom Robbins, who was my favorite author for over a decade. His writing taught me to use madness and humor, and the love of the unexpected, to connect across time and space. This book taught me that the world of imagination is infinite with possibility.

What are your hobbies?

Writing and reading have been hobbies for all my life. I also love volunteering with shelter animals, helping to socialize and make them adoptable.

Since the covid lockdown started, I have embarked on a few new hobbies: running, cooking, tai chi, and so on. I used to try and learn one new skill every year; last year it was Improv. The breadth and dimensionality this type of learning gives me is irreplaceable.

How do you connect with your readers?

I like to connect with readers through my writing — if it can make them feel an emotion, then that is a human connection that no other bridge can parallel.

I have also developed a deep respect for the writing community on Medium. These are brave people who lay bare their souls with the utmost vulnerability — something I am still learning to do. I avidly read their work and maintain correspondence through mutual comments on each other’s work.

Why did you join ILLUMINATION and how do you find it so far?

Like all good things, serendipity had a large role to play. The covid lockdown brought me back to fiction writing. Writing on Medium was always my desire, but other things in life had taken precedence. When covid began I returned to fiction writing. I realized that Illumination was new and growing fast, and the timing seemed to parallel my own.

I love Illumination as a community. I feel heard here and supported by other writers whose opinions I deeply respect. In many ways, Illumination feels like coming home.

Who are the top ten writers you follow on ILLUMINATION?

In no particular order, and apologies to others I may have missed. I am still discovering so many wonderful writers, I have new favorites every day! R Tsambounieri Talarantas, Louise Foerster, Salam Khan, Suntonu Bhadra, Dr Mehmet Yildiz, Gurpreet Dhariwal, Alex Kilcannon, Terry Mansfield, Suzanne V. Tanner, Somsubhra Banerjee.

What are your top five stories that you want to share with your audience and why?

She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not: A story of a girl and a mother, there is a lot of focus in this on ambiance building; paralleling intense emotions with plot action.

Right Angled Love: A love story, written on the prompt ‘plectrum’. My first foray into the world of prompt writing.

How To Relocate A Lizard: A humorous poem that I enjoyed writing. From time to time, writing humor pieces helps me convince myself that I am still sane.

Tea Vigilante: Written on the prompt ‘air’. A suspense / thriller story about blind twins.

Barbie Aunty: An observational poem, that is relatable because everyone knows a Barbie Aunty.

What are the success factors for you as a writer on Medium?

Appreciation from other writers is a huge source of gratification and validation to me. Also, if there is a book in me, then Medium will be where I will be found by a publisher or even an agent. I am against the notion of self-publishing books, not for others necessarily, but definitely for myself.

What do you recommend to the new writers on ILLUMINATION?

Find your voice. It doesn’t matter if you get claps and appreciation, or if you don’t. Only that what you write for yourself, that which satisfies your soul — only that depth and quality of writing will resonate with the world.

It also requires practice. My second recommendation is to park your ego — sometimes you will feel rejected, other times you will feel rewarded. The only reason to keep writing is because you hear the call and the pull of the words — in their hands you are just a helpless medium. Don’t let rejection or reward be the reason to keep going; it has to come from deep within your soul.

What are your future plans as a writer?

I want to keep writing as long as the words keep finding me. Writing can be a painful yet gratifying process. Sometimes when an idea is stuck inside me, I feel I can’t breathe until it comes out. Other times, the ending of a story brings tears that I cannot help.

As long as I am able to translate word to emotion, and there are people out there who find themselves changed through it, even for a fraction of a second, I will keep writing. Because writing is my purpose here. And writing is what helps me feel one with the universe.

Thank you for your time for this insightful interview Paroma Sen. I look forward to reading more stories from your creative pen. Your contribution to our publication is appreciated by our writers and readers. You are an inspirational writer on ILLUMINATION. We enjoy your engaging, informative, and authentic content.

If you are a writer on ILLUMINATION and would like to be interviewed, please send a request via this link with the title of “Interview Request”.

Other Interviews

You may also check other interviews I conducted with inspiring writers of ILLUMINATION recently. These stories can provide a great opportunity to know more about our creative writers and connect with them.

Timothy Key

Desiree Driesenaar

Holly Jahangiri

Dr John Rose

Ming Qian

P.G. Barnett

Jill Ebstein

Bill Abbate

Terry Mansfield

Ann K Frailey

Woei T

Charles Roast

Julia E Hubbel

Aric D Mayer

Chris Hedges

Kevin Buddaeus

You can find inspiring profiles of ILLUMINATION writers from this story.

You can find inspiring interviews with ILLUMINATION writers from this story.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

About the Author

Thank you for subscribing to my content. I share my health and well-being stories in my publication, Euphoria. If you are new to Medium, you may join by following this link. A small part of your membership fee will not only support my writing but your reading times can support many great writers on this platform. I see opportunities endless for readers and writers on Medium. You can join my publications as a writer requesting access via this weblink.

Besides self-improvement, leadership, technology, and health, I also enjoy writing about essential molecules such as alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, CoQ10, NADH, TMG, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, and other nutrients for health and fitness.