What inspired you to start writing?
I’ve been writing stories since I could write and never stopped, basically. I just got around to actually learning how to revise and submit things to publishing places eventually, but it’s one of those things I think I’d be doing all my life regardless. Just for me.
What inspired you to start writing?
I started to write fiction in 2018. I had moved to a small town. My first drafts of the Nanowrimo novel experiment were cathartic and healing. I wrote my maternal grandmother back to life, and together we got through a hard part of life, a toxic work environment, and becoming a new mother. In 2022, I took an inspiring online writing class called The Art of Fiery Prose with Giulietta Nardone. One of the assignments was submitting short stories to online journals. And I did! And mags published things!
What inspired you to start writing?
Drawing gives me carpal tunnel, so I must externalize my thoughts through other mediums. More importantly, I was first inspired by great stories that kept me reading till the sun came up. I wanted to write like those authors and create exciting worlds and loveable characters.
What inspired you to start writing?
I’ve always just loved creating stories. When I was a child, I would draw my own comics based on things I was a fan of – mostly science fiction shows and movies (shoutout to anyone who remembers the anime epic Robotech). As I got older, I learned to refine this skill in prose, and the creative writing class I took at UC Davis during my senior year was transformational.
What inspired you to start writing?
I’ve written poems since I was eight years old. In third grade, I won third place for a Mother’s Day contest. So, initially, I wrote poems for my mother and stepmother. But it wasn’t until I wrote a poem about childhood trauma for an English class assignment in high school that I connected to writing as a practice to make sense of the most troubling experiences I was facing.
What inspired you to start writing?
I’ve written for as long as I can remember, but the instance that made me want to take it seriously was in middle school. We were assigned the task of writing a fictional short story. Any genre, theme, etc. I spent five hours on it and experienced “flow state” for the first time. I read somewhere that whatever gets you there, in that state where the task at hand is all you can think about, where all else melts away for a while, should be something you take seriously. Something to give you purpose and a way to make sense of the world for yourself.
What inspired you to start writing?
I was always a reader and didn't take the chance on my own writing until quite recently. Once I got started, I was hooked on creating worlds--and imaginary friends--and I couldn't stop.
What does it mean to be API/AANHPI?
I suppose I will take a more personal approach to this question, as it is definitely one that has persistently popped up throughout my life. For me, it has always been: what does it mean to be Asian, or more specifically in my case, Chinese? As a child, I was born and spent the early years of my life in China, and even after arriving in Canada,
