[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Welcome to who’s on fourth where we interview one member of the yeah write community and the interview will publish the fourth Monday of each month. Next in the series features Arden Ruth interviewing Hema of Mixed Bag.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text]

yeah write on yeah write: Arden interviews Hema

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]It seems crazy to think that Hema has only been hanging around our competitive grids for a year. While she submitted to our weekend grid for months, it took her some courage to first post on the other grids, and that came about in January 2016. Luckily, she wasn’t scared off.

What makes me come back, apart from the fact that I love challenges, are the pertinent comments with a focus on writing that I get from fellow yeah writers and editors. They motivate me to push harder every week. Another thing I love about yeah write is the diverse backgrounds and cultures that writers come from. It’s a joy to take in all the unique perspectives they bring to the grids each week.

While Hema will post a personal essay every now and then, she’s found her home at yeah write on our fiction|poetry grid.

I try to write personal essays, but talking about myself doesn’t come easily to me. Writing fiction is my escape from the real world.

As always, my favorite question for our interviewees is what advice they would give to any lurkers or yeah write virgins out there who haven’t quite mustered the confidence to submit their first piece to our competitive grids. Hema had much to say.

When I first found yeah write, I suffered from serious self-doubt (I still do!). When I did muster some courage, and posted my first fiction piece to the grid, I was amazed at all the encouraging comments I got. Over the last year, the yeah write community has given me all the support and constructive criticism I need to be a better writer. My advice is this: don’t be afraid to put your work out there and do not judge your own pieces. Let the community do it for you. You might end up at the bottom of the grid a few times, but be persistent. Read other posts and comment. There’s so much to learn! Don’t forget to check out the “writing help” section on the website. It’s like a free writing class! Who wouldn’t want that? Another great decision I made was to get a yeah write membership. The personalized critique I’ve received from the editors is invaluable, and it has improved my writing tremendously.

Thanks for the endorsement, Hema! Hema began dabbling in blogging way back in 2002. After starting and stopping a few different websites of her own throughout the years, she launched Mixed Bag in 2013.

I wrote my first essay when I was around ten years old. It was an autobiography of an umbrella. I’m sure my mom still has a copy of that sad little story somewhere. I mostly wrote diary entries and travel journals after that. I started to blog sometime around 2002. The only person who read it was my sister. It breathed its last after about six months. I tried a little harder with my next one. It was called Eats, Reads and Reviews. I wrote book reviews and recipes! This one stuck around for a little longer than the first one. I started Mixed Bag in 2013, shortly after my daughter was born only because my sister pushed me to start writing again. I’m glad she did, because I was suffering from postpartum depression, and writing was what saw me through that dark phase. One of the blogs I followed had a yeah write badge on most of its posts. I clicked on it one day, and it was the beginning of my love story with yeah write!

Hema was named after the daughter of one of her favorite authors – R.K. Narayan. She was a family friend who also happened to be a skilled writer. Though Hema has taken a winding path towards becoming a writer, she’s finally there and wouldn’t trade it for anything. When she isn’t writing, you can find her cooking, reading, or chasing around her three-year-old daughter.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Hema, thank you for letting us get to know you a little better here at yeah write. We are so happy to have you in our community! Make sure you follow Hema’s blog, Mixed Bag. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”29323″ alignment=”right”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Oh, you want more? Well here are five things you never knew about Hema:

1. She loves puns, even the really cheesy ones!
2. She is a stationery hoarder.
3. She can yawn at will.
4. She is a history nerd. She will fawn over you if you can tell her the historical significance of something.
5. Oranges are to Hema what garlic is to vampires.

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Are you ready for the yeah write #302 weekly writing challenges opening this week? We hope so! Your badges await in the sidebar. Grab the code, paste into the text or HTML view of your post, then submit your post to the grids for a little friendly competition. We’re glad you’re here.

Don’t forget to register for yeah write’s super challenge #3. Registration ends Wednesday![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]