An Interview with Melissa from Little Word Studio
Described as "tiny tales for big ideas", little word studio is a website with a passion for publishing original stories inspired by the work of artists and photographers from around the world.
The talented Founder of this platform, Melissa, recently contacted Whim to introduce us to her wonderful concept and we instantly fell in love with her site!
Today we bring you an inspiring and insightful interview with the budding writer about all things little word studio, including the collaboration between images and text and words of advice for aspiring writers!
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Q: When did your love of creative writing and storytelling first blossom?
A: I can’t pinpoint one precise moment when I had some grand epiphany and thought, “Aha! This is what I need to do!” I can only remember reading classic works of literature as a young child - Anne of Green Gables, Gulliver’s Travels, Little Women, Lord of the Rings - and thinking the whole thing must’ve been an elaborate trick by a clever, wizard-like author because what else could explain these arrangements of words on a page that have the uncanny ability to come to life inside my mind? Then, in my childish bravado, I decided I would make that happen, too.
Q: For those of our readers who may not be familiar with little word studio, how would you describe it to them?
A: little word studio is a digital space to create with words. Each story I post is inspired by the work of a talented artist whose illustration or photograph becomes the inspiration for the narrative I write. My website does the opposite of what most books do: Instead of asking artists to draw something related to my story, I’m working backwards and building a tale around their art.
Q: What initially inspired you to create little word studio?
A: About six months ago, two things happened simultaneously that led to the creation of little word studio. First, I wrote a short story that I thought might be half-decent and realized I had nowhere to put it. That story was the initial impetus for my site. Second, I was quickly discovering that there weren’t many options for the aspiring author beyond self-publishing or blogging. And while you send query letters to literary agents, your writing isn’t getting read. I have a background in media and marketing as well as creative writing and thought it might be interesting to combine those skills to see if I could build a significant audience of readers who genuinely enjoy my work. I’m fascinated by the principles behind social marketing and growth hacking; if you look carefully, you’ll see them subtly play out in the strategies I implement for little word studio.
Q: Has there been a collaboration or story you have published on your site that has really had a unique impact on you, and if so, why?
A: I recently worked with this amazing Pixar animator and brand-new children’s book author, Mike Wu, to write a story based on his sketch of a young ballerina and a businesswoman sitting next to each other on the subway. I’m originally from New York, so writing “Revelation Underground” completely brought me back to the sights and sounds of my home town. I even found myself nostalgic for that distinctive smell of a New York City subway car …
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring creative writers?
A: Keep writing. The more you write, the easier it’ll become to take an idea you have in your head and, with a whole lot of heart, craft it into something you can send out into the world.
Q: Lastly, what do you hope to achieve with little word studio in the not-too-distant future? Do you have any exciting upcoming plans that you would like to share with us?
A: Ooh I like this question! Well, I actually just found out yesterday that a magazine would like to publish one of my short stories. I can’t say much more because I’m still working out the details but that counts as exciting, right?
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We want to thank Melissa for taking the time to answer our interview questions and we encourage you to head on over to little word studio's website, Facebook page or Instagram (@littlewordstudio). Enjoy!