keep writing: an interview with Kayla Wong

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Quote, Unquote!

This week I have a special interview from Kayla Wong. I met Kayla on the Young Writer’s Workshop when she was looking for interviews with other young writers. I love to talk about myself, so of course I jumped at the chance.

In this interview, Kayla will share about time management, overcoming hard seasons, and following Jesus and His call for your writing. Take it away, Kayla!

Kayla Naomi Wong is an author and has been writing ever since she can remember. A lover of words, Kayla writes fantasy, sci-fi, and occasionally historical fiction. Her favorite genre to read is fantasy. In her books, you can expect to find adventure and battle, controversy and courage, heartbreak and triumph. To find out more about her life and WIPs, visit www.knwbooks.com.

when did you start writing?

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I’ve always loved stories and books, but I was 12 when I actually realized writing was something I wanted to pursue seriously.

why do you love writing?

I love creating worlds and characters. I love “experiencing” things through the lens of another (imaginary) person. Writing for me used to be an escape from reality, but now it is something I love using for God’s glory. He has given me this gift, and I am so excited to be able to use it for him. Life is an adventure. I can’t wait to see what my heavenly father has in store for me!

what’s your biggest writing struggle? 

Man! There are so many things I struggle with. If I had to pick one, I guess the biggest thing is being overwhelmed and fearing I won’t do what I do well enough. I tend to overthink things. Thus, it is easy for me to get too far into my head and pick at everything in my writing. I see the mistakes and zoom in on them, too afraid to move on because it’s “not good enough.” 

describe a time when you encountered a particularly difficult writing season. how did you overcome it?

This goes back to the previous question. At one point, I’d given up on writing. I thought I’d never be able to get good enough to publish professionally, and I had no idea what to write or in which direction I was headed. God is the one who really brought me out of this season. He used it to teach me my purpose in writing. After that, however, he planted an idea in my head, and that idea slowly developed into the series I am currently working on. I will talk more about this in an upcoming post on my blog. It’s actually a miraculous story.

how do your characters reflect you?

My characters either reflect the struggles I have recently faced or am currently facing. I think I use writing to process my emotions and thoughts, and I do this through my characters. I actually based the main character in my trilogy off of me. On the other hand, side characters may reflect things I’ve seen others face.

what’s something big you’ve learned from being a writer?

Time management, productivity, empathy, energy management…where do I even begin? I can’t pick one exact thing, so I’m going to sum it up. Writing has made me a better person. It has taught me how to deal with others in kindness and love, how to be a hard worker who can work independently and finish things on deadlines, and in general, it has taught me a lot about who I am as a person. God has used writing so much in my life. I don’t know who I’d be without it.

how do you manage your time as a writer?

Time is a precious resource. I think my biggest help is scheduling. That way, I can do things even when I don’t immediately feel like doing it. I schedule things somewhere around the beginning of the week, and then whatever is on my list, I force myself to do. Sometimes I may not feel like doing something on my schedule, but if it’s there, I need to complete it before erasing it from my tasks. Also, it helps me schedule things in a way that I am not being burned out every day. I combine tasks based on their mental energy consumptions.

what is one thing you want to tell other young writers?

Keep writing. If you follow Jesus, and you think this is what he wants you to do, keep going and don’t give up. It will be difficult. It may even feel impossible half the time, but don’t let that put you down. If God has given you a gift, go ahead and use it for his glory. Remember that it is his opinion that ultimately matters. If it seems like your writing is terrible, take advice from others with a pinch of salt, and know that your best is your best. Strive to honor God, and he will bring results.

As Kayla said while we were exchanging emails, that’s a wrap! I hope you enjoyed her answers, and I really hope you go check out her website, knwbooks.com.

Speaking of her website, Kayla interviewed me as well! Her interview of me is up right now on her website, so if you weren’t already motivated to read her posts, now you are, because…I asked you to. So you have to.

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you next Wednesday!

Advertisement