Lisa de Nikolits' edge: Embracing immigrant duality sharpens vision as a writer

Lisa de Nikolits is the award-winning author of twelve published novels. She has appeared on recommended reading lists for Open Book Toronto, 49th Shelf, Chatelaine, Canadian Living, Hello! Canada, and Quill & Quire. The Occult Persuasion and The Anarchist’s Solution was longlisted for a Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of The Fantastic and The Rage Room was a finalist in the International Book Awards, 2021. No Fury Like That was published in Italian in 2019 by Edizione Le Assassine under the title Una furia dell’altro mondo.

Author Lisa de Nikolits

Originally from South Africa, Lisa's most recent novel is Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon, with Inanna Publications. Lisa explores how being an outsider shapes her writing, while equally embracing immigrant duality sharpens her vision as a writer. She uses her duality as a lens for exploring "the fundamental quirks of human nature." 

The geography of politeness: Navigating cultural gap between South African directness and Canadian reserve

OCW: What life experiences have shaped your writing style?

LdN: Being an immigrant has definitely shaped my writing style. Like it or not, one is forever an outsider. There are so many things that still define me as a South African, starting with the fundamental concept of politeness. Canadians are famously polite but I’ve come to understand that, in South African terms anyway, said politeness can be (mis)interpreted as distance or reserve.

A better term might be that Canadians are closed books, which is very different to South African way of doing things, which involves an immediate embrace and outpouring of affection, something a Canadian might consider an overshare. And, with the Canadian reserve, I often feel a judgement of this oversharing, this guacheness.

It may sound odd but South Africans feel like immediate friends, while Canadians are, for the most part, colleagues. And of course, with friendships, there is strife, arguing, bantering, the slamming of doors, the apologies, the laughter and the resolve of which there is much less in a Canadian world. I know Canadians are also famous for saying sorry but oddly enough, when I apologize to a Canadian for being so very South African, I never feel fully forgiven.

Embracing immigrant duality sharpens vision as a writer

And all of this has a great impact on my writing. The sense of outsidership permeates my vision of the world, which then melds with my writing. I identify with outsiders and I relate to them.

I’ve lived in Canada for 25 years, and before that, I lived in Australia. Australia was more overtly unwelcoming, so when I came to Canada, the polite reserve was a relief but slowly over the years, I’ve come to miss the big-hearted, loud, South African expressions of instant affection. I’ve learned to neutralize many of my expressions so as not to appear aggressive, and I’ve then been interpreted as being meek or perhaps self-effacing.

There are times I do write with all the unfettered passion and verve I naturally feel, and then I edit myself (and my characters) down later.

As an immgrant, one has to fight to survive. Life is a struggle for survival even for the most blessed of us and perhaps I’m simply finding excuses as to why my world view can be as odd as it is at times. I’ve lived a very unusual, adventurous sort of life to so many people, so perhaps it’s just me, and has nothing at all to do with being a South African Canadian.

Relentless pursuit of improvement: The writer’s mantra: "Better Today Than Ever Before"

OCW: Has your writing evolved over the years? If so, how? Through writing experience? Reading a lot? Writing courses or communities? A combination, or something else?

LdN: My writing has evolved enormously, beyond a single adequate description, and I’ve done it by doing all of the above, all the time. By self-editing again and again and again. I even self-edit after a book has been published, scribbling in my writer’s copy, making adjustments and seeing how a phrase could have been worded differently in order to achieve more power with less verbage.

That’s my goal – to achieve the most imagery, pack the most punch, communicate the most intense message all in the least amount of words possible. How to use the most perfect words for a single thing? That’s why I love reading poetry. Poetry is tiny and vast, tenacious and stinging, and poetry tells the tales of sagas with so few words.

I’ve always had a personal mantra: “Do one thing a day for your writing.” I’ve followed this my entire writing life, whether that meant scribbling an idea on a postit note or writing 10K words.

But in recent years, my mantra has changed to “Write something BETTER today than you ever have before.” This challenges me to find new ways to see the world, new ways to express things, and better ways to craft my words.

The goal is always to keep challenging oneself. For example, I have an idea in mind for a book and I’ve got absolutely no idea if I can actually do it. It scares me to even start it because it the kind of book I’ve never written before and while I’ve got an outline in my head and on paper, once I start writing, a kind of force takes over and the story veers into something completely different to what I’d imagined.

This kind of writing is exhausting. It’s like committing yourself to completing a survivor’s course on a reality TV show, a course where, if you choose to stop or are forced to stop, you lose what could have been your best book ever. Writing a book takes incredible courage, resilience, dedication and discipline.

I write in solid chunks, and then I edit. Editing as you go, breaks up the flow. The writing is the fun part anyway, and then the rest is all rewriting, editing, rewriting, editing and that part never ends.

I generally have a plan in mind but it all goes to hell in a handbasket when the characters take over.

The fundamental quirks of human nature: Identifying core themes weaving through stories

OCW: Can you trace any common themes across your writing?

LdN: If my books were to be banked in an archive under a common theme, it would be titled: “A Study of the Fundamental Quirks of Human Nature.”

OCW: Do you use social media to engage readers, writers, or publishers and, if so, which platforms?

LdN: I don’t engage on social media as much I’d like to and that may sound odd because many writers wake up in the morning vowing to stay off social media and finding it hard to resist the temptation. I don’t have to make this resolution because I simply don’t have the time to interact nearly as much as I’d like to. I like to wish people a happy birthday on Facebook because I’d like to start off their day with some good cheer. You never know how someone feels on a birthday – they could be sad or alone, or regretful of time passed, or have recently lost a loved one or maybe they are truly content and happy and in a good place. Either way, the first thing I do on social media is to wish people a happy birthday.

Facebook is still my go-to, as well as Instagram. I tried TikTok but it didn’t stick – I just kept forgetting to post anything or check in on what other people are doing. I do enjoy Instagram; I’ve got two accounts, my personal account @lisadenikolits and and my book account @ireadsomewherethatbylisa which is a lot of fun.

I’ve had a review site since 2017, The Minerva Reader, and earlier this year, I migrated that to Substack as A Turn of Phrase. I find Substack much easier to use than a website which can be fiddly. And if I were to lose time reading fascinating bookish insights, there’s no better place to do it than Substack but between my own book promotions, writing new books and short stories and reading, reading, reading, I just can’t afford to linger and peruse. I often feel bad that I’m not supporting my fellow authors on their social media platforms enough, but I am busy reading and reviewing their books which I hope makes up for it.

OCW: Which authors and/or types of books do you like to read?

LdN: If you check out A Turn of Phrase on Substack (which I hope you will), you’ll see that I love to read just about anything! I don’t enjoy historical fiction and I generally shy away from cozies but there are no rules and if I find a book that piques my interest, into the pile it goes. I do try to only support Canadian writers and present a wide breadth and depth of content. There are so many really amazing Canadian writers and there are a lot of books out there so I always feel good when I can give a shoutout to a writer who otherwise might have gone unnoticed.