Tell us a little bit about yourself
I’m Sekinat—a writer and part three medical student.
When and how did you realise that you wanted to write?
I started writing, truly, about three years ago because I needed an outlet as someone who wasn’t particularly expressive.
It began on my medium page @HoleInASock and, there, I found another—maybe even greater—purpose in making people feel seen and less alone by being strong enough to be vulnerable and speak on hard things.
What does writing mean to you?
It’s an anchor that tethers me to reality, a float that keeps me from drowning, a bridge for me to reach the deepest crevices of my mind and sometimes what lies in imaginary lands. On some days, it’s everything all at once.
Writing is a crucial part of living to me, if I didn’t write, I suspect I would die.
Can you take us through your creative process? How do you get into your creative space mentally?
I can’t say with certainty what works for me just yet, I’m still figuring it out.
Writers are readers, do you think this is necessarily true? How has reading impacted your writing?
I have always been a reader since I was little. And while active work is important, if you read a lot, it is almost impossible not to subconsciously internalize some of the works and strategies that work.
So, yes, I think it is. As for how, it would be hard for me to say even as the direct object of influence but my writings may have the answer to that.
What’s your favourite book and by who?
Currently, my favorite book is This Is How You Lose The Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar. This is subject to change.
What’s your favourite piece by you and why do you like it it so much?
That would be a story I wrote recently—The Girl With The Kettle Whistle Laughter—which I can’t share yet because I plan to publish it.
It’s hard to say why I love it but the fact that it explores mental illness through the lens of love and community is a strong possibility. I love it more because it got me the sweetest and most inspiring rejection I’ve ever received in my short submitting career.
In the absence of that, a close second would be A Letter to Me: Ò ń ko yátì
I’ve seen you speak and your speech is as good as your writing. Do you think writing improved your speech or has it always come naturally to you to speak well?
Speaking well doesn’t come naturally to me. It is, in fact, part of why I started writing. Writing has played a part in helping me articulate myself. So has poetry, the gentle nudging of my friends, reading, and listening to other people speak. But I’d say most especially through soft friendships and listening to poetry.
What advice would you give to someone seeking to improve their writing and consequently their speech?
I wouldn’t say improving your speech is a direct consequence of improving your writing. It could work that way but I don’t think it’s a certainty. They are different things that may, luckily for you, fall in line.
About writing, I’d say to consume and then create; sometimes consecutively, sometimes simultaneously. It doesn’t matter how awful it seems at first—the creating aspect, that is—because most good stuff starts out with the creation of terrible stuff.
There’s more to it but the major thing for me would be the doing. Write, write, write. And as William Faulkner said, Read, read, read everything.
Did you enjoy reading this? Read other writers’ interview here
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