Reading time: About 2 minutes
Little bits of writing count, even just a few minutes’ worth, according to successful writer Renée Sarojini Saklika….
Renée Sarojini Saklikar is the author of six books, including the award-winning Children of Air India and Listening to the Bees. Her essays and short fiction have appeared in literary magazines and anthologies, including Exile Editions, Chatelaine, The Capilano Review, and Pulp Literature. She was Poet Laureate for the City of Surrey (2015-2018), co-founded Lunch Poems at SFU, and teaches Creative Writing at Douglas College. Bramah’s Discovery is the third volume of her epic fantasy in verse series, THOTJBAP. She lives in East Vancouver.
I was excited to talk to Renée about how she approaches writing.
Q. Roughly how much time do you spend writing every day?
That depends! If I am in a teaching term, I usually spend about two hours every day, although some days are better than others. Usually, an hour in the morning before work and an hour at night, last thing. When I’m not in a teaching term, I aim for about four hours a day depending on my other literary and publishing activities.
Q. What’s a simple activity or habit that makes you a better writer?
Movement! Walking up to local parks where I live (Joyce Collingwood area of East Vancouver); walking around my neighbourhood; and doing recreational activities such as Zumba and yoga.
Q. What interferes with your writing?
All the distractions of living, especially these days, screen-time/online work. As a published author, I try to stay connected via social media, but it can be distracting. If I am teaching, the demands (and rewards) of connecting with students and colleagues and, yes, grading term papers.
Q. How do you persuade yourself to sit down to write on days when you really, really DON’T feel like doing it?
I try to chunk down writing tasks into smaller steps and focus on one step at a time. For example, as I work on my sixth book, the third in an epic fantasy in verse series that combines both novel and verse, I’ll make a list of character development items I want to work on and write about those. I set my timer for usually about 20 minutes; sometimes less (e.g. 10 minutes). No matter how little I produce, I try for at least something and try to be gentle with myself about amounts and quality. It can be hard, but the key for me is to get started and keep going. Little bits count!
Q. Is there a particular motto or saying that you’ve found helpful for writing?
Yes! “Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.” That expression helps me a lot as I work on a multi-book series for my epic fantasy in verse/verse novel, Bramah’s Discovery, forthcoming in Spring 2026 with Nightwood Editions.
Q. Which stage of the writing process do you enjoy the most: researching, writing or editing/rewriting and why?
To be honest, I enjoy each stage, as each one helps me get into my story and characters. (for fiction and speculative fiction); and for poetry, once I’ve generated the draft poem — even if it’s “fresh and rough” — I love word-playing, shaping sounds, rhythm and patterns. Editing is important to the poetry process.
Q. What’s one of the best books you’ve read (either fiction or non) in the last five years?
Fiction: Maria Reva’s Endling and Shashi Bhat’s Death by a Thousand Cuts. Non-Fiction: Say Nothing, Patrick Radden Keefe.
Q. What book are you reading right now? When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill. I’m also re-reading Franz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth as well as an excellent translation of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables by Christine Donougher.
Q. What do you think is the biggest misperception that new writers have about the act of writing?
They wait for “inspiration” and get disappointed too soon when their writing is not immediately “perfect.” Writing is a craft-based skill. Skill-based activities require practice and showing up to the practice. If you learn to love the practice, you can sustain your writing.
