We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sarina Byron. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sarina below.
Sarina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
If I could go back in time, I would start sending my writing out sooner that I did. I’ve been writing since the age of ten but never sent anything to a magazine, agent or publisher until I was thirty three. That’s 23 years of holding on to an ambition. If I could do it all over again, I would use my weekends, evenings, and any free time to write whatever came to my mind, to meet with writers, do workshops, and keep chipping away at the skills that create a writer.
In doing so, I would have overcome all preconceived notions about who gets to call themselves a writer. Until I published over 100 articles, I let myself believe that a writer is someone who has written a book. I would rarely use the title for myself, opting instead for a long explanation about what I do and why I do it. Today, after countless published articles, being mentored by my favourite author, and a summer with best-selling writers at Yale, I can confidently say — anyone who writes is a writer. We needn’t worry about the extent of our skill, editing chops etc., writing comes first, and everything else will follow. Start Now!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
As challenging as the pandemic was, it brought a lot of introspection to a great many of us. When everything came to a standstill, including my fledgling business, I could only think of my greatest passion — writing. I started writing articles, sometimes one a day and sending them out to suitable publications. I wasn’t concerned with the genre, as much as with the quality. In no time at all, I started hearing back from Editors asking for changes or confirming acceptance. I pretty much learnt on the job with each iteration. The process of revising pitches and finished pieces gave me a crash course in the content industry.
Funnily enough, the fact that I am self-taught also sets me apart. I don’t write in the style of MFA scholars and probably never will. I have always been concerned with relevance and relatability and publications valuing those qualities have continued to find me. I can confidently say that I’m proud of never having given up. If I find fear or an aspect of imposter syndrome rearing its head, I devise a plan to tackle it and go at it. This brings me to my other great asset — planning and prioritising. I don’t plan every aspect of what I write but rather plan to prioritise my written pieces.
Finish what you’ve started is my mantra and that is what keeps me going.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
For me the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the freedom to explore the human condition. My first few articles came from a point of deep thinking but didn’t reflect my inner life. Whilst that as ok for the Business genre, it was inadequate for pretty much any other style of writing. Even writing a simple sentence about inaction requires deep introspection about the origins of procrastination.
As daunting as it was at the beginning, I now thoroughly enjoy exploring the pure unadulterated, unfiltered, experience of life.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Yes absolutely. My goal is to bring to the fore, topics that we all shy away from. I’ve lived in three countries so far and I can say with confidence that people everywhere tend to suffer the same issues. No matter how progressive the society is, certain things are considered unmentionable and therefore remain unresolved. Until I can confidently bring up these issues and discuss them in a manner that feels safe to everyone involved, I will probably feel restless and unaccomplished.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sarinabyron.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarinatrodriguez/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarinabyron/
Image Credits
Image Credits: Byron Esteban Rodriguez