Arshia Iqbal
ORP: What does success as a writer or artist mean to you?
Arshia Iqbal: It means to meet all your selfish needs. As in, you write something and it satisfies every urge you had that led you to write it in the first place. Success means that you have scratched the itch that made you write something, and now you can put your nails down and begin anew.
ORP: Does writing or creating energize or exhaust you? What aspects of your artistic process would you consider the most challenging or rewarding?
AI: Writing definitely energizes me! Whenever I'm in the middle of a piece I'm excited about, it feels as if the world has opened itself to me, and though I become a hermit, it is the most energizing and happy feeling I could have. I would say the first burst that leads to a first draft is the most rewarding part of the process, and then editing is the most challenging. A first draft is the the purest and the most true version of a piece, and editing sometimes feels like ripping out the foundations of a house you spent so long building- but it is a necessary evil and the house becomes more sturdy afterward.
ORP: Do you know more than one language? How does this influence your art and/or writing?
AI: The only other language I speak fluently is Bangla. I would say that my personality in Bangla is a lot more serious, and intense than my personality when I speak English. I think of Bangla as a language I need for survival, a language of utility. So sometimes when I try to write from an angle of a Bangladeshi/strictly Bangla speaking person, it hinders my process because I think so rigidly in that language. However, in the end, the practice of writing from a Bangla speaker's point of view is a fun challenge and it helps me work on my language skills as well!
ORP: What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing or creating? What advice would you give to another writer or artist?
AI: "Do it scared" always pushes me through. If you're writing something and its strong enough to illicit fear or apprehension within you, then you're writing it for a reason. And for my advice, I would say, "Do it scared, and then ask yourself why."