Versatile and experienced writer Saanika S is our first Editor’s Pick for her poignant piece ‘The Fourth Fate’ on Lyrical Muse’s Friendship Day anthology ‘Invisible Strings’
Heidelberg-based writer and editor Saanika S unveiled the versatility at the core of her writing with her piece The Fourth Fate for Lyrical Muse’s Friendship Day Anthology, Invisible Strings.
Inspired by a friendship that has become an essential part of her life, the piece which explored the the idea of a fourth fate left out of Greek mythology reflects on the less spoken-about side of friendship. Saanika’s words about the kind of bond that goes beyond simply being there for each other, is as intimate as it is relatable to anyone who has experienced a friendship that’s held us together through the highs and lows of life.
With eight years of experience across editorial, content, communications, copywriting, poetry, and short fiction, Saanika has worked across a range of sectors and formats, spanning features, newsletters, campaign copy, brand communications, and editorial strategy. Her approach to writing is rooted in clarity, purpose, and an understanding of how tone can shape a story or message.
As one of our Editor’s Picks for the collection, we spoke to Saanika about what inspired her contribution, how her editorial experience has shaped her writing process, her perspective towards friendship, and what genres she hopes to explore next.
Read our Q&A below!
Tell me a bit about what inspired your submission to our Friendship Day Anthology, Invisible Strings?
My inspiration was my best friend, who is my moral support and someone that’s literally built into my infrastructure. My piece is about the specific fourth fate that’s left out of Greek mythology’s Fates. It talks about the unglamorous magic of a friendship where one does not just hold space for each other, but structurally does load-bearing in each other’s lives.
How would you describe your writing style?
Confessional, witty, a little intense, with a fondness for the aphorism and literary devices.
Take me through your process. When you interpret a prompt, what’s the first step as you start putting your thoughts down?
My process is that I sit with the theme for a long time. Sitting with it can mean sitting in silence, with other books on those themes, with music, with art or multimedia, etc. I’m a creature of melancholy and nostalgia, so I like to go down memory lane and dig up emotions and references.
Then comes a chaotic map of everything I think the piece wants to say, and the actual first draft happens by hand, pen to paper. Only once that’s done do I move to the laptop, where the real editing (and the real arguing with myself) begins.
What are some topics or themes you’d love to try out in the future?
I want to go a little feral in some new directions, proper romance, something twisty and criminal, and eventually full mythological/fantasy territory. But one that I’m very excited and yet nervous to get to is Gothic.
Finally, what does writing mean to you?
For me, writing is inherited, and chosen. It comes from my father and my grandfather, both gone now, both people I think about constantly, and both people I still remember exactly as they were when I was small: always reading something, always with music on, always pointing at a painting or a film and making me look closer.
When I write, I’m mostly still doing that; looking closer, on their instruction. Writing is almost sacred to me, and yet I’ve slowly learnt to try and have fun with it, as much as I can.
You can read her piece, along with the rest of the anthology, in our Friendship Day Anthology, Invisible Strings, on Google Play.
Written & Edited By Malvika Padin & Khushboo Malhotra
What does friendship means to you? Tell us your thoughts with us on X and Instagram, and visit Lyrical Muse for more!
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