We recently connected with KC Cresc and have shared our conversation below.
KC, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I learned to write by reading. I have so many books and stories that have inspired my work and the worlds I create. I grew up around books and my family’s love for reading so having my own stories has always been something that has stuck with me. I found that interactive stories were an exciting outlet for me when I wrote complex scripts for a mobile app game. I had titles become popular and a collection of eyes on the kinds of stories I wanted to tell; this got me in the habit of writing stories from start to finish and outlining better. If I were to change anything, I wouldn’t have wanted to ‘learn’ faster per se. ‘Faster’ is what I believe has messed with quality of the writing we get pushed online and in other forms of entertainment media. The fastest way to get anything done is slowly. Learning to plan ahead, outline, and make character bibles helped me during much of my journey and truly champion the story.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m a scriptwriter, narrative designer, and lukewarm poet from Atlanta, Georgia in the States. I started writing scripts in a similar way a lot of older millennials learned to code; from some social media and coding. (MySpace and Early 2010s Tumblr Days)
I didn’t have a traditional start to writing, like sharing screenplays on Tumblr or AO3 or by getting an English degree. I started writing on Episode Interactive. A mobile app that required some coding, direction, and as well as serious planning with complex story & choice branching. It’s tedious, but so rewarding! It’s especially validating to see readers on the app return back to the story, write fan mail, and tweet what they think would happen next.
I love writing journalistic articles for mental health awareness; game narrative design, story pitches, and character bibles; and writing poets that refuse to conform to proper poetry format (I know, I know, *gasp*, it is far less restrictive that way).
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I wish I would have joined more writers groups and communities. There is a part of me still hesitant and shy about it, but I see the benefit of having a hub of likeminded individuals that keep you accountable and hitting word count goals.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I’m unlearning imposter syndrome. It’s really just a large projection of your fear mixed with capitalistic inflated expectations. If you have proof that you’ve done the [task] someone is looking for and you have spent hours, days, weeks, months, years doing [that task] then it is okay to call yourself [that title]. I always thought because I wasn’t published (at the time) I didn’t count as a writer or because I don’t have an agent. Really it robs the milestones you slowly meet as you climb. Then later on, you don’t notice your own progress because you are always raising the floor (the bare minimum). I don’t want to belittle my efforts or rather a younger me’s efforts anymore.
Everyone will critique your work, have lukewarm at best opinions about it. You deserve to talk kindly to yourself. Even if you are just ‘meh’. Like your own ‘meh’.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.poetcrescendo.com
- Twitter: @poetcresc
- Other: Tumblr: www.poetcresc.tumblr.com
Image Credits
Illustration Icon by: Caitlin Rogers (www.pensurfing.com)
Website Design & Art Direction by: Caitlin Rogers (www.pensurfing.com)
Haiku Poem Written by: KC Cresc (www.poetcrescendo.com)
Poem Graphic Design by: Caitlin Rogers (www.pensurfing.com)
Episode Interactive Cover Designs: by KC Cresc (www.poetcrescendo.com)