For someone who has been writing poetry since she was in third grade and has a novel due for release in a few months, Vyshali Manivannan '05 is shockingly self-deprecatory.
"You have to keep in mind that I was 15 when I wrote it," she said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
The book she was referring to is "Invictus," which is "the story of a bioroid, or living robot," as she described it. Phalanx, the bioroid, is both the villain and the protagonist of the story.
"It's completely character-driven," Manivannan said. "When I'm writing, I focus on characters. The plot is secondary."
She also said that while her characters are not based on any one specific individual that she knows, several personalities come together to give her inspiration for her fictional characters.
Manivannan also borrowed from real life in other ways. "Most of the names in "Invictus" are history-related, because it was written when I was taking a world history class," she said.
Manivannan's first piece of poetry was published when she was in the third grade, in a regional children's magazine from Virginia called "The Unfinished Jigsaw." Her teacher had submitted it without telling her, and then sprang a surprise on her when it was published.
"It was so stupid," she said, shaking her head.
However, Manivannan said she fondly remembers the teacher, who convinced that she should pursue writing more seriously.
Manivannan was also strongly influenced by Rita Dove, Poet Laureate of the United States from 1993 to 1995, whose daughter was in the same class in elementary school. Dove held a workshop in the class, which proved to be a turning point in Manivannan's life. By sixth grade, she had already written a novel.
She kept writing, and eventually, during her sophomore year of high school, she submitted "Invictus" to Pearl Street Publishing, which supports first-time writers, winning a $1,000 writing fellowship in the process.
The publishing house worked with her, and "Invictus" went through multiple revisions, until the end of her freshman year at Dartmouth. She signed a one-time book contract, and while it is undergoing final touches now, the target release date is sometime this fall.
Unsurprisingly, Manivannan is an English major and is considering focusing in creative writing. In her earlier years of schooling, however, she had a strong interest in the sciences, in part due to the fact that her father is a physics professor.
"I am still interested in science, but I have reached a point where I am so passionate about writing that I can't imagine doing anything else," she said.
This interest in science may also have influenced the content of her book. But although Manivannan herself used to refer to it as science fiction at one time, she said she does not think anymore that it is an accurate term and hates to call it science fiction.
"There are a couple of robots, and it's set in the future -- that's about it. It's not Asimov," she said.
Even while the revision process for "Invictus" was proceeding, Manivannan kept writing. She started a trilogy, finished the first part, but got stuck through the second one. Then she started another book and is now on the 100th page of a new novel she plans to finish at a future date.
One advantage of all this, according to her, has been that she has matured a lot in her writing. It is also a concern, as she thinks about the imminent release of "Invictus," because, as she said, "it's a 15-year-old's work and I'm going on 20."
Manivannan also said that throughout her writing career, her parents have been extremely supportive. Her biggest source of encouragement, though, has been her younger sister.
"I used to rehash books that were beyond her," Manivannan said. "Then I started running my own stories by her, and she began to give me feedback as she grew older."
Manivannan did acknowledge the lonely nature of a career in arts, where one is "always doubting, always self-questioning." She credited her professors for pushing her to "stick with it."
Her ideal job: sitting all day and writing -- and getting paid for it.
"I just can't do a nine-to-five job," Manivannan said.
