My Favorite Conversations (Interviews)

LiterallyKezia

This is my interview with LiterallyKezia

They have 128 followers at the moment and 4 published works including Lipstick Boy and Pen and Paper which has 516 reads.

1. You have been on this site for four years according to your page. Have you been actively writing this entire time and if so do you still enjoy it as much as you did when you started?

I first joined Wattpad to read a story that my English cousin has posted on here, and began to post my own works later in 2016. A lot of my early work was quite bad as I was only 12 and I've now deleted most of that as it doesn't reflect who I am as a writer now. I love writing, it has been my passion and dream since I was 6, and I love using Wattpad to explore writing. I've definitely had times where I felt creatively blocked and unable to write due to my experiences with mental health, and I'm really busy with my schoolwork and theatre performances as well, so I write a bit less now than I did a few years ago, but I think it's quality over quantity as what I write now I am very proud of and genuinely love creating my work.

2. Do you like reading on this site as well or mostly writing?

I love reading as well! I've always been a huge reader of literally any kind of book, my favourite genres are fantasy, science fiction, and LGBTQ+ stories and romances. I also love diverse characters, witty dialogue, and lyrical prose, and there are plenty of incredible books on Wattpad. I have a list of my favourite books I have read on here on my profile.

3. Do you have a favorite character you've written so far?

Most of what I have written is not on Wattpad as I'm saving it for my future writing career (hopefully if it works out!) so my favourite character that I have ever written would definitely be Orille Marr from my unpublished fantasy series Graveyard Glen! It's about a group of teenagers discovering who they are and dealing with mental health and relationships, but in the added turmoil of a magical world and school and a civil war. Orille is from a small rural town and is exploring her illegal magic for the first time, as well as friendships, romance, finding her lost sister and father, and the mental health struggles that come with NOT being the 'chosen one,' but her best friend instead. She's so incredible to me because she's the most normal, basic girl imaginable, but her experiences and journey are so inspiring and unusual.

4. Why did you first decide to start writing?

I really can't remember because for literally as long as I can imagine I have been writing. When I was six in school I would write stories about what I did in the weekend and it would be the most unbelievably made-up stuff about fairies and mermaids and becoming a ballerina. My teacher literally called my parents because she was worried that I was becoming a pathological liar when I was just being my most creative, authentic self and using writing as a coping mechanism for a variety of trauma in my childhood. As I have grown up, the characters I created, my stories and worlds, and my love for words and writing has remained, but thankfully my negative abuse hasn't.

5. You also write poetry. How does your writing process for poetry differ from your other works?

I find poetry to be a lot more fun than a traditional story as there are literally no rules! I have tried a lot of different formats for poems but find blank verse the most freeing as you can do anything and play with so many ideas. My poems are usually about a small detail or one specific thing I found interesting and wanted to write about but without wanting to develop it into a full story.

6. Where do you get your inspiration to write from?

I get inspiration from everywhere honestly! My biggest inspiration comes from writing books and stories that I would want to read and I would love if I was reading them. You can't write anything if you don't want to read it, or if you aren't a reader. My current story/novel, Lipstick Boy, was inspired by a competition run by the Wattpad LGBTQ+ profile, to write something based on one or two songs. I chose The Overpass by Panic! At The Disco (a band I no longer listen to or support) and Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift. I get inspired by people I see walking and wonder what their story is, or by a certain word or phrase that I find interesting.

7. Is there something you wish you could change about Wattpad besides the bugs and glitches?

I would change the books that are featured, because from my perspective they all feature white, heterosexual, cisgender characters, toxic relationships, and terrible cliches and honestly bad writing. There are good books here - you just have to look for them.

8. Do you have any plans for new stories in the future?

I have hundreds of ideas for future stories! At the moment I'm trying to finish Lipstick Boy, a queer romance and coming of age about four friends in Tokyo, and also write a couple of personal creative essays about my relationships and mental health. I'm currently writing a short story for a local competition about a glamourous party and our own ghosts of memories. I have a whole universe inside my head, the beautiful and dangerous world of the Nine Islands of Fantazia, which I have been constantly writing about and creating since I was at least seven, and it is truly my passion project and favourite thing to write about. I love writing about LGBTQ+ people as I am proudly part of the community as a genderqueer gay woman and we have so many unique stories to tell.

9. Do you have a future goal you would like to reach on Wattpad?

My dream on Wattpad is to win a Watty. I'm not sure that it will ever happen, but it has been my goal for as long as I have been on this website and I feel like it would be such a proud and validating moment for me. I've struggled a lot with anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and dissociative identity disorder, and I've often found it very hard to pursue my dreams of writing, music, and acting. Winning a Watty would truly make me feel like it's possible to be a writer and live my truth.

10. What has been your best moment on Wattpad so far?

My best moments on Wattpad would definitely have to be the incredible friends I have made on here, especially Morgan, Cy, and Ember. I love you all and thank you so much for being my friends. Also being a part of the hilarious and stupid but amazing Doctor Who and emo communities on here, I've truly had an incredible time especially reading Supernova, a Doctor Who fanfiction I absolutely love, and leaving comments on literally every word because it's that good.

Thank you so much for this interview, and I hope anyone reading it will check me out! You can also find me on Youtube (at LiterallyKezia) where I make singing and ukulele videos, and on Instagram (at venom.starr) where I make moodboards and aesthetics.

I hope you enjoyed my interview with the lovely LiterallyKezia

Don't forget to comment suggestions for other authors I should feature next.

Love you all xxx

- starr