Hey there everyone.

Today I’m going to be interviewing a published author, artist, devoted Mom and incredible poet. She has just come off the back of winning an award at the recent BlogHer16 Conference and is responsible for the phenomenal BeReal series that has focused on letting people express themselves and tell us what being real means to them.

Before we start the interview, please take a moment to check out the BlogHer & GoDaddy initiative “The Pitch” which Hastywords herself has participated in. At the BlogHer16 Conference in Los Angeles, they invited attendees to join them to pitch their innovation, business, blog, or big idea for a chance to be published on the SheKnows Media website. Participants had 30 seconds to pitch on the spot, and the race against the clock proved to be both challenging and exhilarating for all of those who entered. SheKnows Media have now narrowed the entrants down to the Top 20 Videos and Hastywords has made it into the final Top 20.

You can vote for your favourite video by clicking on the link below and following the instructions before the deadline of 31st August 2016. By voting, you also enter yourself in for a chance to win a $200 gift card from SheKnows Media and you will also be supporting female entrepreneurism.

Now, on to the interview!

Hasty – thank you for joining me today to give us a greater insight into your passions and your engaging work.

I am so honored you want to interview me.

I notice that you have just recently published a book of poetry called Turning Tears Into Words: A Poetic Journal. Congratulations! Please tell us about it in more detail and why you chose to bring this particular project to life.

Yes, my latest book is actually a journal. I wanted to offer more than just my words. So after having finished a project with Lizzi Lewis I decided to create a series of journals that include my poetry as inspiration. So the new books will be journal lined fillable pages interspersed with my poetry. Each book will focus on a different emotion. Turning Tears Into Words: A Poetic Journal focuses on depression.

You also recently collaborated with Lizzi Lewis on another poetry journal called Let Me Love You, Anyway: A Poetic Journal. You can read the interview with Lizzi here (Author Interview – Lizzi Lewis). What inspired you to write it with Lizzi and how do you handle the collaborative process?

I used to host poetic duets on my blog. One of those duets was a poem titled Let Me Love You, Anyway. It was a poem very dear to me and we actually still write new verses back and forth when one or the other is down. Lizzi is a fantastic writer and I am in complete awe of the way she uses her words. We decided we wanted to create something other people could use. A journal with our words as a guide. We want others to buy the journal and fill it with love and gift it to someone they care about.

As far as handling the collaborative process…we respect each other’s ideas and opinions. We trust each other and we love each other. She is easy to collaborate with.

Who are some of the authors in general that inspire you?

Recently the writers who inspire me are other bloggers. I enjoy reading them and I have learned so much about how to write with beauty. They inspire other people with what they write every day. Just to name a few: Lizzi Lewis, Byron Hamel, Rachel Thompson, Darla Halyk, Samara Speaks, and so many of the writers with the Feminine Collective.

This is not your first outing when it comes to publishing. You have previously published poetry collections called Depression’s Dance & Darker Side of Night. Tell us more about these particular collections and what we can expect to find in them.

After discussing dreams with my daughter she asked me what my dream was. I told her I would like to publish a book someday. She said why wait. Why wait indeed? So I published The Darker Side of Night which has some of my more supernatural poetry. Depression’s Dance is about the dance I had with Depression. I wrote it with the voice of the Depression as a character and my poetic responses to it. I wanted people who don’t understand depression to see what it looks like… feels like.

You have two blogs – Hastywords and Fearing Crazy – tell us more about them, what types of writing you publish on them and where you get your inspirations from.

I do have two blogs. Hastywords was my original blog where I wrote poetry for therapy. Over time I began writing poetic duets and collaborating with my followers in the hopes of spreading the love of poetry. I want everyone to know how therapeutic it is and how important it is for mental health. Eventually, I ended that series because I had less time to devote to it.

I began asking others to write for me when my daughter was having a hard time with a bully at school. It was disturbing enough I nearly had the FBI investigate. However, I decided to do something different. I asked people to share their bully stories. My daughter learned she wasn’t alone. It was a valuable series and it helped her.

The next series was called #BeREAL. At the time there was an internet challenge that went viral. It was asking people not to judge a book by its cover and yet the challenge was asking kids to do just that. Kids would make themselves “ugly” by wearing classes and drawing on acne and then show themselves as beautiful.

My daughter wears glasses. She was feeling the pressure to conform and that didn’t sit well with me. So I wanted to show her REAL people dealing with real struggles. The series was supposed to run for a month and ended up running for two years. I am so honored to have hosted so many AMAZING REAL people who trusted me with their real stories.

Currently, I am running a similar series called #BeREALationships. I want to know about an important relationship where something valuable was learned. We all have them. We all learn from them.

FEARING CRAZY is where I write my own poetry now. My thoughts and my dreams are there. I love where Hastywords is now and needed my own place to write.

What sort of research do you do to write your books?

I don’t do research. I just feel. I write for me and my daughter and hope other people benefit. I love to create. It doesn’t cost me anything to create but you never know what benefit other people might take from your creations.

Why do you write? What inspired you to become a writer?

I used to write poetry in high school but I stopped when my poems were largely laughed at. Later after a near suicide my therapist recommended I start writing again. I started a blog and it has been a beautiful ride since then.

What keeps you motivated during creative slumps? How do you deal with Writers Block?

I read other people’s work. Those bloggers I mentioned above, they are inspiring. I just stop writing until I feel like writing again.

How do you spend your free time when you are not writing?

I do so many different things. I have a full time job as an Oil & Gas Accountant. I have a 12 year old daughter who loves drama, sports, and has a very busy social calendar. I spend the rest of the time doing anything creative. I love to draw in pastels, take pictures, and use photoshop. Creating…it’s what I love to do.

Tell us more about your upcoming projects. Are you working on anything specific or have plans in the pipeline?

I am going to create a whole series of journals. I am also working on a Children’s book for my daughter. Stay tuned for a new Hastywords facelift. A new domain and new possibilities for all those who write and share with me.

Finally, are there any nuggets of wisdom that you can impart to other aspiring writers?

Free your voice. Let it flow and just write.

I would also like to invite anyone with a valuable relationships story to tell to email me at hastywords@gmail.com

Bio:-

Hastywords is an anxiety driven over-analyzer. With a mind full of rainbows and devils, she began giving her thoughts a way out of her head by starting her own blog. Writing poetry helps her gain perspective and purge her soul by putting her tears and laughter into words!

Hastywords can be found at her blog, on Facebook and Twitter.

You can buy her new Poetry Journals here:-

Turning Tears Into Words: A Hastywords Journal – Paperback
Let Me Love You, Anyway: A Poetic Journal – Paperback

And you can find her poetry collection books here:-

Darker Side of Night
Depression’s Dance

If you too would like to be interviewed on my blog at TooFullToWrite and you have a book or a series of books that you would like us to chat about then fill out the Contact Me form here with your details and we can arrange a future interview slot.

Want more? Well this blog is all about chasing and making friends rather than enemies with your muse 🙂 For more blog posts around The Daily Post theme of ‘Muse’, check out the links from my fellow colleagues below:-

1. the scribbling writer – 6 Things in Romance Novels that Annoy!
2. burntbreakfast – Day 16-27:My Complicated Muse
3. Sacrificial Chain Breaker – WORD JUMBLE
4. Evidence of a Dreamer – My muse
5. Aug 2016 Daily Prompts – My Garden Biodiversity
6. the scribbling writer – Do you drive the story? Or do your Characters?
7. Muse: Food and Overeating – Shelby’s Starlit Crossing
8. Realizations of a Travel Writer. – A Pre-Published Indie Author
9. Young God – Vivid Dreamer
10. The Daily Post – Espiritu en Fuego/A Fiery Spirit – Muse
11. Sand in an hourglass – zorazebic
12. Lemurian Light Oracle – Great Grandfather Wind
13. In A Cup - Just Drink – Taiwan Latte & Milk Tea] – H DIARY
14. Water of Rain – Belonging
15. To Do or To Don’t – Filbert & Smudge
16. Music Friday Prompt: Poetry – Free Verse – “Silence Is A Sound.” – Mandibelle16
17. Please Praise! – Food, Wine & Spirit Guru
18. The World is my Muse – Shepherd’s Song CREATIONS
19. Muse – blackcattwriting
20. huntprayerpoems – Zeal
21. the narrow street in sentences breaking out – Praise Word Spaces
22. Muse – Scott’s website
23. Learning Curve – Day Nine: Get Inspired by the Neighbors
24. Indira’s Blog – Muse- The daily Post
25. I Know What Love Is…. – Food, Wine & Spirit Guru
26. Muse ~ Sun and Stars – Word Adventures
27. multiplemyelomaandme – Food glorious food
28. Muse – SCHÄTZE, SÄTZE
29. The Girl With Sparkles In Her Eyes >_< – I Hereby Vow To Stop Giving So Many Fucks
30. The Spark of Genius – Dreamer’s Paradise
31. Understanding Metamorphosis – The Chaos Within
32. Purposive Writer – The Muse In The Garden
33. Qatl-e-aam – speaking up for myself
34. A mere muse – greyandgreyer
35. theblackwallblog – K’s Thursday Inspirations …
36. Coming back late from the Hyacinth garden – The Burning Archive
37. Precipice of Danger – E. Denise Billups
38. tuckedintoacorner – Letters to Euturpe: 20
39. Muse – Writcrit
40. The little red shed  – Painted in words
41. In search of little bit of yourself – Chronicles of a Confused Mind
42. The rule of the 99.9% – Afterlife Love Story
43. Fluffy Pool – Already Annoying
44. To write or not to write? – The struggles of a Smart Ass
45. To the Linguistically and Cognitively Challenged Douchebag from Yesterday – Anawnimiss
46. helen meikle’s scribblefest – Daily prompt: Muse-less
47. Fragile Heart – stephentotheplate
48. Narutomath96 – Muse in everyday lives
49. A Strange Muse – goodbyekansashellonevada
50. Sexism & The Muse – TAwrites
51. The Nine Muses – Karuchan
52. A desperate heart’s muse – snekharaj
53. The “Untold” Muse – manipurikeisham
54. Lakeland Musings by Irwin – To Muse or Not to Muse
55. How a “Muse” business can change your life – YOLOcruz
56. Pineapple Musings – Mac’s World
57. inspiration in progress – my muse
58. Muse – Kathy’s Komments
59. My Muse| Daily Prompt – Catherine’s Blog
60. Vexing Point – Muse
61. The Daily Post – Muse
62. The Well-Informed Namer – The Greek Muses and Baby Names
63. MY MUSE BY MY SIDE – breathingpark
64. Tell Me, O Muse – StrangeLander2015
65. artifiswords – MUSE
66. LINES of SHADEAU – Muse Catch
67. Cosmic blink – Ayoka
68. My Running Muse – Sneakers on Pavement
69. Muse – Yowza, Here We Go!
70. My Mixed Blog – To Muse or Not To Muse
71. No Muse – Sascha Darlington’s Microcosm Explored
72. Your Nibbled News (c) 2016 YNN – Muses aid in gathering perspective
73. the bramble patch – Reaping the Rewards of a Nearly Infertile Container Garden
74. angel face. – lemonadeletter
75. The Favorite One – The Rebel Chic
76. estemilyrose – 08/03/16 Muse
77. Dahlia – Words For Leaving
78. Do They Exist? – Making Sense of Complications
79. Off Topic – Muse
80. Fiery Passion – From Sand to Gemstones
81. Mesteerean Winds – No Muse
82. Jibber Jabber with Sue – A-Muse-Ing (For Us Ladies, Anyway:-)
83. Le Drake Noir – Platonic love
84. Common Pursuit – Jack and Jim
85. Tales of Virginia – Tales of Men – Cry Murder, Part II
86. A muse who doesn’t know it – In my world
87. Writing Web – Daily Prompt for August 3, 2016
88. Brendon Ward – Where is the muse of circumstances?
89. The Gad About Town – A Muse to a Talent to Amuse
90. Silver linings – Awordseeker
91. Elegy on the Death of My Muse – Threewheelergran
92. Writer’s Block – Writing is Communication
93. Eden of Knowledge – Egypt’s Wonders of the World
94. LAW OF THE LETTER – 100wordstory: MUSE
95. SERENDIPITY – BUSY AND A-MUSE-ING
96. Tilly’s Townhouse – Wednesday 03
97. Who I Was – Hello Wednesday
98. Muse , madness , and first year – TheTurtleWay
99. The in-SIGNIFICANT Part of My Day… – The World As I See It
100. Zombie Flamingos – Before and After
101. My Journey back to Music – Onto My Next 40 Years
102. HarlemATL Inner City Blues – A Boy & His Island
103. words for ghosts – “let me tell you ’bout this girl of mine”* – Part I
104. What drives YOU? – HashtagTrustYourInstincts
105. The Magnificent Muse – rupalislale
106. the earth is still wild – clunkyshoe
107. HarlemATL Inner City Blues – Under The Influence
108. The Daily Word Post Prompt: Muse – Bookish Girl in a Boring World
109. Faith Unlocked – Arise, Divine Muse
110. Living Out Loud – MUSE
111. Edwina’s Episodes – Muse
112. Like the Lamp – Clicking into Place
113. Think About It – The Garden: Part Three
114. Who Is Your Muse… – Odyssey In Atlantis
115. HarlemATL Inner City Blues – Sweet Secretion
116. Daily Post Prompt: Pondering the Edges, A Poem – Sumyanna Writes
117. Musing on Muses and Etymology – Theta’s Eclectique
118. Daily Post Prompt: Muse – The Happy Wordcrafter
119. The Muses Gaze – A Stretch of Silence
120. This is a Good Thing: Saying Goodbye to My Muse – A lot from Lydia
121. senapxalima – FINDING THE MUSE OF LIFE
122. tylershepard1991 – word of the day – August 3, 2016
123. wordsareallihavesite – Muse
124. Unmotivated Enthusiast – Unmotivated Enthusiast
125. Peaceful Journey – She Was Their Muse…
126. Distracting the Muse – rachelthewinoneighbor
127. April’s Perspective – My Own Muse: day 3 of Quote Challenge
128. To Wear A Rainbow – rainbow
129. My muse – ARMY OF THE FALLEN BIKERS
130. Insach – Muse
131. They, You and Me – poetry of life…haiku
132. writingjourneyblog – My Muse
133. Spark of Fire – Dreamer on a Cloud
134. Ode to Newsprint – The Mono-Economy of the New Millennium
135. The joy of Marmite – Geek Ergo Sum
136. 15 Awesome Blogs: Diamond in The Raw – Box of Pages
137. Brittany Brice – Muse:Deep Thought
138. HarlemATL Inner City Blues – Burnt Offering
139. 20160803: “Oy, I am so Blessed, Beautiful women, wonderful surroundings & Double Rainbow!” – Vanderhoof Photography
140. Musings of a Random Mind – Sometimes I Wonder
141. The Calling – Eloraquence
142. A Little Light in Hopeless Places – Super Special and Odd
143. ATG Successful Living – Famous African of the Week: Dr Gebisa Ejeta (Ethiopia)
144. Have I Lost My Muse – atrangizindagieksafar
145. And I Write – A Dark World Inside
146. Passion, Food and Love – Food, Wine & Spirit Guru
147. Muse – Covert Novelist
148. kStan(ly) kSays – magnified magnificence
149. Martha L Shaw – A MUSE IS A MUSE IS A . . . WHAT?
150. Faith Unlocked – Muse of Fire
151. Can the Muse inspire your workout routine? – Cooking with the DeGroff’s
152. Where Do I Fit? – Vesteros
153. HarlemATL Inner City Blues – The Last Recorded Broadcast
154. Life is great – Muse
155. Barryjack’s Place – Immersion
156. Optical Illusion – cirque de la nuit
157. pink dragons – my sweetpainteddreams
158. Muse of My Writing – eddaz
159. kristinakoti – Art
160. 83 Unsung Heroes – Love, Lust, Grand Romantic Gestures And A Creative Muse
161. Poet’s Muse – mySestina
162. Epic Collision – Emotional Spaces
163. MENTAL SCRAPINGS – More poetry
164. Long Drives in Omaha (Muse Prompt) – The Wet Brain Washtub
165. Making it write – Word-doodle
166. The Evening Artist – Muse
167. Musings and My Two Cents – Paralyzed By Musings
168. Waiting – Bloggers Paradise
169. My Wife, My Muse – Jerome Danner
170. The Cat Chronicles – Daily Feline Prompt: Meow Musing
171. Michael J. Fite – What Do You Muse About?
172. Dancers – indisputably inconclusive
173. Mary 2.0 – Hard Times are the Muse
174. Prompt for the Day: “Muse” – Saint P. Blogging
175. Reverie – Natural Admiration
176. lifelessons – a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown – Amused
177. masihbersambung – When I was Nine, I Read Greek Myth
178. The Source! – Some More Fiction
179. Life with Jess – Towards The Sunshine
180. No muses here. Just people. – In The Soul’s Streets
181. Rainy Days – narglesarereal
182. Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss – Just musing along
183. Muse – indisputably inconclusive
184. HarlemATL Inner City Blues – Clouds Over Heaven
185. multiplemyelomaandme – My Muse
186. My muse, my masterpiece.. – Anupriya Dubey
187. Jackie’s World Travel – Vatican Museum & the Sistine Chapel
188. CITIUS-ALTIUS-FORTIUS: Musing on why the Olympics Matter – The Page Turns
189. the far away girl – themanbehindtheglass
190. Babsje Heron – Beautiful Great Blue Heron Muse – Wings Akimbo
191. For the Muse! – Some More Fiction
192. Wander Woman – Musing About Being a Muse
193. Random Brain Musings – Ebony and mostly Ivory
194. Full-Time – This Place
195. Tell me, Muse – Where’s the Windmill?
196. Enlightenment – Creating K.I.N.G.S
197. thelonerose – Connections
198. Sound Mind Journey – define muse: a haiku
199. Inez – Katy Trail Creations
200. A Muse in Disguise – wanderlustandcoffeelover
201. Lost Property Repository – Muse Snowflake Episode 8
202. Boring Bug – The Uncertainty of a Complicated Mind
203. Just A Simple Country Girl – Muse
204. Awl and Scribe – Muse
205. Dropping the Shackles of Worry and Finding Answers in the Light – Lance Price Blog 2016
206. A muse ing? NOT. ⋆ Obsolete Childhood
207. The Acceptance Letter – Martha’s Daily Writing
208. Feeling Inspired – writemebad
209. The happy Quitter! – The Nine Muses
210. My Muse… Space To Write – SUCCESS STRATEGIES
211. MUSE – My QuotesVilla
212. Ghana in Pictures – SCOT Exploring
213. debooWORKS – The Assam Floods – An Appeal
214. Auora De – Daily prompts-Muse
215. The Poetry Channel – Amusing Muse
216. Muse to Myself – mypolkaconcession
217. LOSING A BEST FRIEND (TARA) – curiousitygotmecom
218. kStan(ly) kSays – electric
219. Sun Kiss – My Heart Your Shelter
220. Joy Write – If I was a Muse…
221. Jacki Kellum Juxtapositions: Read My Mind – Have You Released Your Writer’s Muse? I Write Because the Caged Bird Does Not Sing – Jacki Kellum
222. Daily Prompt; Muse – tnkerr-Writing Prompts and Practice
223. 5impleHealthyLiving – Artistic Insight
224. the15thday – the muse arrives
225. A Vibrant Palette – My muses
226. Reticent Mental Property – Daily Prompts- Muse
227. Original-Dante – The Sea Of Time.
228. The Wandering Poet – DP Prompt ~ What stories would these ones tell?
229. Make love to me – mySestina
230. Lost Property Repository – Daily Prompt Muse
231. Southern By Design – Deep Thoughts~Chew On This
232. cdeaks – My Summer Muse.
233. My Mysterious Muse – Un-communicated Lightning
234. Designer Sophisticate – Inspiration.
235. Devil Doll Musings – Xanadu
236. Poetic Muse – The Mistful Mind
237. Wedding Planner – Just Writing!
238. Frank Prem – waiting (the muse)
239. Frank Prem – the higher crafts
240. Passion through Poetry – Muse
241. Little Things – The Corporate Fawn
242. Glorious! voice coaching – Quinoa
243. MUSE – Cognitive Reflection
244. Lantern Words – Seeking Muse