An Vu, LISP 2025 Short Story Finalist, The Canvas of Darkness

- Could you please tell us about yourself and your daily routine?

 As a Vietnamese French American, my identity is often a source of intrigue for most people I meet. I am invariably asked the question: where are you from? I never know how to respond. I could answer with what people usually want to hear: I am Vietnamese. Or I could answer the actual question: I was born in France, where I spent my childhood, followed by my teenage years in America, and I now live in the U.K., with my husband and young children.

During the day, I usually split my time between work (I lead teams to build software for care homes) and taking care of my children – as any working parent will know, this is juggling two full time jobs. It’s only in the evenings when I can carve out the peace to write. Of course, it often feels like trying to go workout after a long day, especially when the couch and next book on my reading list look so inviting. However, I remind myself of how fulfilled I feel after every sprint of writing, and I can usually convince myself to plop down in front of my writing computer (I have a laptop dedicated to writing) and start creating.

- When and how did you start writing?

I’ve cherished a secret dream to be a writer from the moment I learned how to read. My five year old self came across a quote from C.S. Lewis saying he wrote stories he wanted to read, and my little heart leapt in response: “Yes! Me too!”  But as a child of well-meaning and pragmatic Vietnamese immigrants, creative pursuits were not encouraged. For the next three decades, my desire to write novels was nothing but a dream that I held deep inside of me – so deep, that I almost forgot about it.

As an adult trying to find purpose, I accomplished many things. Some of which I was expected to do, such as become a doctor, lawyer or engineer. I became an engineer – and even though I was proud of graduating from MIT with three degrees and landing a job in the UK, I couldn’t shake the niggling voice in the back of my head saying something was missing… Later, in pursuit of finding fulfillment, I achieved things I never thought I could physically do, such as earn multiple belts in martial arts, run a half marathon and give birth (twice!) without any pain relief. Yet I always felt that I needed something else, finding restless solace during my spare time in enchanting stories by writers such as Phillip Pullman, C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L’Engle, Orson Scott Card and Audrey Niffeneger.

After much soul searching – thanks in large part to my postpartum therapist – I allowed myself to accept that there were only a few things I truly wanted out of life, and one of them was to write my own books. I knew to my core that I wanted writing for myself, and not what society and generational trauma had made me believe I wanted to achieve.

I finally found the courage to take writing seriously in 2021 and was quickly buoyed by several successes. I have placed and received positive feedback from writing competitions (winning & being longlisted for Mslexia flash writing competitions, reaching the finals rounds of the NYC Midnight writing competitions). I was accepted in the Faber Academy Writing A Novel course, which I completed in 2022. I finished a draft of my first fantasy novel and am currently editing the manuscript. My ultimate ambition is to have my novels published and continue to fulfill my lifelong dream of writing the stories I want to read.

It is only fitting that the novel I am currently working on was inspired by a dream I had when I was child. I spent the dream playing with a young girl, frolicking about the empty halls of my elementary school. I recall a vivid sense of sadness and urgency as I felt myself waking up, manifesting as an invisible force lifting me away into the sky. As I floated upwards, the girl reached out, begging me to “please remember!” She has been with me for the past thirty years and is the inspiration for my novel about a young woman discovering her power in the world of dreams.

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

I try to write every day (key word: try), and I also try not to beat myself over it if I don’t (key word: also try). I’ve heard from enough writers to know that we each have to find a routine that works for us. The trick is finding out what works…

After much trial and error, I find that I prefer writing at night when I’m at my creative peak (shout out to my fellow night owls). I also have two young children, so my days are usually filled with spending precious and chaotic time with them and/or work. I also find that I respond well to writing sprints or challenges. For example, I finished the final third of a novel during NaNoWriMo one year. I knew that I had to be prepared, so I planned out all the scenes that needed to be written by Oct 31st, and then I spent each night in November finishing one scene.

My multicultural upbringing has shaped my voice -  both in my unplaceable accent and in my writing. I’m drawn to writing stories where characters who feel “othered” find themselves living extraordinary adventures.

Being raised with different languages, I’ve developed an appreciation of how idioms translate. Each night, I whisper “sweet dreams” to my children in French - “fait de beaux rêves” - which literally means “make beautiful dreams.” That phrase has been an inspiration for my current novel set in the world of dreams.

- How does it feel to have your work acknowledged, whether through being a finalist in a competition or having it published?

What an unexpected thrill! I saw the email pop up as a phone notification, and at first, my brain didn’t process the message properly. Who on earth would be emailing me about loving something I wrote?! Then I read the email and was delighted!  Thank you London ISP for loving my short story!

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

The idea for the story was a result of my cultural background and writing prompts. I respond very well to writing constraints, and it all started with an email from Freewrite. Unsponsored plug here: I love my Freewrite for brainstorming. It’s a tiny little computer designed so all you can really do is write (no editing or “research” to distract from the very important but difficult task of just getting the words out). Freewrite sends out writing prompts every Friday, and this particular one happened to be about stargazing at the top of a building. For some reason, my brain leapt to the ideas of stargazing at the top of a skyscraper in New York, which had me wonder when anyone could see stars from New York, which led me to ask when New York had a blackout, which then got me to google that there was one in 1966, which (given my heritage) made me think about the Vietnam war and the protests in America at the time… Before I knew it, the rest became my short story.

I wrote the story in 7 days, 3 of which were spent thinking about the story and mopping that nothing would come of it. Then disaster truck, and I became quite ill, going in and out of the hospital for the next 4 days. And yet for some reason, the story kept pouring out of me.  I’d be sitting there in a waiting room with a catheter in my arm, trying to rest, but then I’d feel the need to pull out my phone and type about moonlight nestling in cheeks as the American journalist and the Vietnamese painter roamed the streets of New York during a blackout. It really felt like one of those magical writing experiences where the words just flowed (after the obligatory “words are hard” period beforehand).

- Please share a few tips on writing.

I find writing easiest when I create boundaries for myself to help overcome the paralysis of infinite possibilities. This is why I respond well to writing challenges (e.g. in 2000 words, write a comedy short story using the word ‘popcorn’ and have someone hold a diary – go!) or setting myself a clear goal (e.g. write 30 scenes in 30 days in November).

Of course, I read – mostly fiction and books on writing (though the irony is not lost on me). One book I revisit often is Sol Stein’s On Writing. He provides a very structured approach to different aspects of writing, from characterisation to editing, via key points on dialogue and particularity – along with so many more writing gems. I particularly enjoy how he uses specific excerpts from different writers to illustrate his points.

I also took two writing courses where I was beyond lucky to have been taught by fantastic tutors. The first is Australian author Kathryn Heyman, who is an inspiration and provides inspiration to all of her writing students. I love each of her tips and tricks to get ideas flowing, especially when blocked. I will always remember her tip of starting with what your character sees, for example the back of their hand or the carpet they’re standing on, and then continuing to describe what they notice – until you end up with a scene!

The second is children and young adult author Lee Weatherly. I learnt so much from her YA writing course and would strongly recommend taking a class with her if you can! She structured this 3 month online programme, with notes, guest interviews, relevant young adult reading excerpts, video check-ins and – crucially – targeted writing exercises which honed different aspects of writing (e.g. building tension, dialogue). Some of my favourite scenes from my novel began as a result of Lee’s writing exercises. 

Ultimately, there is no substitute for writing.  As writers, our mantra is write write write — no matter how much it feels like squeezing blood from a stone at times! There is no better teacher than the act of writing, and the more I write, the more I am able to test and try different things, getting more a sense of why something works.

- What is the best aspect and the most challenging aspect of competitions?

The best aspect is providing a medium to challenge myself to write, and in this case, the unexpected thrill of being recognised!

The most challenging part is sending what feels like a piece of myself (often with a fee) and never hearing anything back. I will inevitably go through what I call one of my “writing funks” where I think that my words will never amount to anything and stop writing for a while (sometimes months). Then I eventually pull myself out by facing the reality that I will be miserable if I gave up on writing sinceI would be giving up on a core part of myself.

- Finally, would you recommend that the writers consider submitting to LISP?

I will answer in every language I know (or sort of know): da, oui, si, ja, hai, YES!

A million times: YES! Given my engineering background, I will try to convince you with a mathematical probability argument:

●      If you DO NOT submit, you have a 0% chance of winning

●      If you DO submit, you have a 100% chance of creating a new piece of art AND a non-zero (and infinitely gratifying) chance of being recognised for your creative efforts.