Spring General Issue – Reprints
Following the launch of each of our issues, we cajole one or more of the contributors into a mini interview with the Trash Cat.
Here they will reveal some writing wisdom and tell you what trash critter they identify with most. Important stuff like that.
Today, we have Sarah Royston who was our Guest Reader this issue. You will see her love for landscape and location in many of the final issue pieces.
You can read Sarah’s stunning, lyrical flash fiction, When We Walked Out at Sowing Time HERE
Q: What piece of writing advice/ crafting rule would you trash?
A: “If you have no time to write, just get up earlier in the morning!” Obviously, if that works for you, then great. But lots of us are juggling commitments, or need to prioritise rest and self-care. We’re not just lazy!
Q: Which writers and magazines do you go to to find treasure to read?
A: As well as Trash Cat Lit (obviously), I’m a fan of the lit mags Carmen et Error and Crow & Cross Keys for all things darkly beautiful and witchy.
Recently, I loved the haunting collection Treatises on Dust by Tim Jarvis, and the creepy-gorgeous novella Dantalion Is A Quiet Place by Mat Gostelow.
Q: What trash animal do you most identify with?
A: I aspire to be a honey badger – they take no shit from anyone… But mostly I’m a trash flower (probably dandelion).
Q: When your writing mojo is trashed, how do you recharge?
A: Writer-friends make everything better. I feel very lucky to have supportive, funny, brilliant people to chat/text with, so we can go through the inevitable ups and downs of writer-life together. My other strategy is to take a notebook to a cafe and just noodle on the page, with no pressure to produce anything. I try to follow my curiosity – find that spark of excitement and see what happens. I write: What if…? and let ideas flow without judgement.
Q: If you could offer three tips to writing short treasures, what would they be?
A:
1 – Play! I can’t write if it feels like a chore. Don’t worry about productivity, or external rewards (prizes, status etc), or what you think you SHOULD be writing. Give yourself permission to enjoy it.
2 – Tell all the truth, but tell it slant (as Emily Dickenson said). For me, this means finding slantwise approaches to “serious” themes (like ecological crisis) – including playing with unexpected genres, like historical, fantasy or folklore, as a way to explore current issues.
3 – Let go of perfectionism: the first draft will be shitty and that’s OK. I have a Grant Snider cartoon showing the perfectionist’s notebook – it is perfectly empty. I look at that picture when my inner censor (she’s called Shadowbitch) tells me my words are cringy and awful, and it shuts her up long enough for me to bash out a few sentences.
Q: What is one thing, if spotted in a crowded charity shop/thrift store, you would just have to buy
A: I love going down rabbit-holes of local history and folklore, so I’m always looking for obscure old books by history nerds about my town/county. I also have an addiction to vintage tweed and dark academia outfits (which is getting out of hand).
Finally, I just want to add my thanks to everyone who submitted to the Spring 2025 issue of TCL – it was a real pleasure to read the pieces for that issue, and a privilege to be part of the Trash Cat team!
Sarah Royston’s writing draws inspiration from queer ecologies, plant-lore and the landscapes of southern England. She embraces the Hookland motto: re-enchantment is resistance. Her work is published in Dark Mountain, The Rumpus and Crow & Cross Keys, among others.
She works as a sustainability researcher at Anglia Ruskin University and her first book, Fernseed: A Collection of Tales, was published in 2024.
Website: https://hedgeways.wordpress.com/ Twitter: @sarahroyston4
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