Project Silmo: Reconstructing a Nation

By Lulu Sha

Meet the Pair

MENTEE LULU SHA & MENTOR SOPHIE FLACK

Lulu’s Anecdote: I feel like as women, we’re pressured to prove ourselves and our writing skills to the rest of the world. We have to work twice as hard to sound half as smart as men, and it shouldn’t be that way. I’ve always been shy and self-critical, so very little of my writing ever sees the light of day. Having Sophie as a mentor taught me to write as myself—to be as raw and candid in my writing as possible. Working with her allowed me to come out of my shell as a writer, because history deserves to see the genius bottled up inside each and every one of us.

Sophie’s Anecdote: I’m often not sure who is mentoring whom. Lulu is a gifted short fiction writer, and because she takes on such weighty subject matter—exploring themes of entrapment, immigration, class struggles, gender and sexuality—I sometimes forget that she’s only seventeen and treat her as a contemporary. We initially bonded over our shared love of flavored popcorn; she likes cinnamon sugar, while I prefer cheddar cheese. But then I discovered her jaw-dropping storytelling abilities and now I mostly just sit in awe at how the words seem to effortlessly tumble out of her. I studied English in college and find fiction torturous, and Lulu finds literary analysis tricky, so we complement each other’s strengths in a really lovely way.