Unlock the Secrets of Creativity: The Journey of a Multifaceted Artist

Join us as we dive into the captivating world of Ikikima, a singer/songwriter and aspiring author based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Discover the power of her music, which uplifts and inspires, and explore her imaginative storytelling that takes readers on unforgettable journeys. Get ready for an episode filled with creativity, inspiration, and awe-inspiring wonder.

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•  How to navigate talking about your creative work?
• What is the best way to deal with critisim?
• How do you manage more than one passion?

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Transcript

Unlock the Secrets of Creativity: Journey of a Multifaceted Artist

[00:00:00] Destiny: Welcome to everyone to Penned by Design. Join us today is the exceptionally talented Ikikima Ruddell, a singer songwriter and extraordinary, extraordinary, and aspiring author, hail from the vibrant city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Kiki music has the power to ignite your soul and transport you to a world where melodies and language of emotions with her angelic voice and skillful songwriting, she has mastered our of crafting tunes that not only entertain you, but also inspire and uplift you from heart.

[00:00:33] Destiny: Heartfelt ballads that tug on the heartstrings to upbeat anthems that make you wanna dance Ikikima mu music is testament of the balanced creativity of the human spirit, but there's more Ikikima music Perez than meets the ears. Her songs are  like windows. Enter her own unique universe where s storytelling takes center stage.

[00:00:54] Destiny: Through her lyrics, she weaves intricate tales of love. And triumph, everything in between. [00:01:00] With each word, she invites you into our world, allowing you to connect deeply with the emotions and experience he shares. But truly, it doesn't stop there. As an inspiring author, Ikikima's Creativity has no bounds where her storytelling propels you to Beyond the lyrics at De delves, into the realms of fantasy and sci-fi.

[00:01:19] Destiny: Some fun places there, creating captivating tales that transport readers to extraordinary worlds of imagination. Her writing is a testament of her ability to weave magic, and not only to her music, but into her words. So whether you love music or you're seeking to be aspir for inspiration, prepare to be blown away by the incredible talent and balanced creativity of Ikikima.

[00:01:42] Destiny: So let's embark on Unforgettable journey and dive right in. Welcome to Penned By Design. 

[00:01:49] Ikikima: Thank you for that Destiny. That was cool. 

[00:01:53] Destiny: I said I'll try it. Gotta give yourself some more props. 

[00:01:56] Ikikima: Yeah, yeah. Thank you [00:02:00] for having me. 

[00:02:01] Destiny: No problem. So the big thing I love to get into is your book creation. So there's a lot of inspiring authors out there, and the most daunting task of all things is picking one idea, like what do you go for with that?

[00:02:16] Destiny: So it's, that's, before you get into that, why did you even start writing? 

[00:02:21] Ikikima: Hmm. Let me see. Why did I start? I'm trying to remember when I actually started, cuz I don't have a story of like writing when I was younger, anything. I started in my twenties actually and it was just because of the kinds of stories I used to kinds of shows and movies and anime that I used to watch.

[00:02:43] Ikikima: I would just wanted to be able to create stuff like what I saw. I wanted to be able to come up with concepts and at first I didn't think I could. So I literally, I remember just praying that God would give me ideas and just when I got a little deeper to anime in my twenties, cuz I just started seeing a [00:03:00] lot of concepts I'd never seen or ne like the kinds of stories I'd never heard of before.

[00:03:04] Ikikima: I really expanded my imagination and I started just trying it out and just going, you know what? Let me try it. What if I made an ABA series or what if I made a TV show there was about this or that? And it was easy to just try it out because at the time I wasn't thinking about anybody ever reading any of the stuff or ever seeing it.

[00:03:25] Ikikima: So it's just like, oh, I, I'd love to have my own stories. It was kind of like something I was doing kind of in See In Secret. And my two younger sisters, they were starting to to write more too. So we shared it with each other but not really anybody else. So it was kind of, yeah, it just, I guess it kind of started as a hobby in my twenties, which I feel like is late in comparison to a lot of people.

[00:03:47] Ikikima: So I hope that answers the question. 

[00:03:51] Destiny: Of course. Most, most likely. Cuz with with writing, it's never too late to start writing. So I don't think you started late. I start think you started right on [00:04:00] time for you cause you started trying out there. And plus the gateway of anime. It's a great gateway of all great writers.

[00:04:05] Destiny: Yeah, because that's, those were my favorite. That's exactly kind of the assembler story that I used to watch. Like, oh my gosh. Like how do these people think of these things? 

[00:04:15] Destiny: Yeah. Yeah. Something I thought of for sure. 

[00:04:19] Destiny: Right. So what's your favorite, what was your favorite anime you started with? 

[00:04:24] Ikikima: At the time?

[00:04:25] Ikikima: My favorite, I think was Uni Yasha at the time. I think that's, I think that's what it was. I really liked Uni Yasha. I really liked watch. I remembered watching Try Gun full Metal chemist at the time, cowboy Bob. But yeah, I think Asha was my favorite at the time. Yeah, 

[00:04:47] Destiny: oldie but goodie don't sleep on old anime.

[00:04:54] Destiny: So I know do know that from our talks previously that you have written a [00:05:00] book. Haven't put it out there, but I'm ladies and gentlemen, when she puts it out there, it's, you're gonna be blown away. It's a very good book. So what was it like for, first of all, for many authors don't really get to it. How do you feel, how did it feel to finish your first book?

[00:05:14] Ikikima: So that's a, a loaded question for me because the actual first book that I finished caused me to quit writing. So it was actually a very difficult process cuz I just, I just wanted to set out to finish it, but I didn't know if I was capable of doing it and I just kind of kept pushing through. But I was still very insecure in the process.

[00:05:40] Ikikima: And it was because this was gonna be one of the first times where I was letting someone, letting people read. I'd written, you know, cuz I told you when I started, I, it was just gonna be like secret, like me just writing. I was coming up with concepts for fun, but this one I kind of kept pushing through.

[00:05:58] Ikikima: It kept [00:06:00] rewriting, chapters kept, it took so long because I think it took two and a half years because I just, you know, you get that feeling of you can never get it right, you have to redo it, redo it, redo it. And then I finally was like, let me just get the whole story out. And that was how I finally got to finish that one.

[00:06:18] Ikikima: And I did let other people read it and I just didn't have the what's the word? I didn't have? The the strength to strength of mind and strength of heart to take criticism. So any, even though so much Good was said about the book, the criticism broke me and like, majority of it wasn't even like, when I think back on it now, it was good.

[00:06:40] Ikikima: It wasn't, nobody was trying to be rude or mean, or they were saying what was true, but I just took it to mean. Yeah. You know, that sort of thing where it's like criticisms, criticism, like I know for me back in the day used to feel like my character was being attacked even though it was my work. You know, it was what I had created, but I felt like it was [00:07:00] me like, oh, you didn't write this, this wasn't clear.

[00:07:02] Ikikima: So you are not capable of writing things that are clear or that are easy to understand or whatever it was. So I finished it, but it was such a long ruling process that I was like, you know what? This is too much trouble. And I actually put it out there for like, Sent it to agents to try to get it a literary agent and everything, and just kept getting rejections.

[00:07:21] Ikikima: So that didn't help. I was just like, yeah, I'm not good at this. And I ended up quitting. So that, that was my first experience is finishing a book. I quit writing, so, yeah. But yeah. 

[00:07:37] Destiny: Oh my gosh. Yeah. I'm glad 

[00:07:42] Ikikima: you came back. 

[00:07:43] Destiny: Yeah. So I'm glad you came back, but I really do think your story mirrors a lot of beginning authors because it's, you feel like you're exposed in the piece of your soul cuz you've spent so much time writing something and putting your whole heart into it for it to be almost like slaughtered [00:08:00] on the, on the altar of other people's opinions.

[00:08:03] Destiny: You're like, oh. 

[00:08:05] Ikikima: Yeah, it's a very vulnerable process. 

[00:08:08] Destiny: Mm-hmm. It is. But I think it's also a great process of unlocking the senior inner strengths because that was similar to my story cuz I started in high school and my English teacher said, you know, it's so good, so you should go submit to this writing competition.

[00:08:21] Destiny: I was like, ok, cool. I was like, I got my teachers, I'm feeling pretty good. I've never submitted the writing competition beforehand. So this was a new experience. Mm-hmm. And I said, I tried my best and I sent it out there and the feedback came back and I was like, oh, I'm not that good. Oh. You know, and they weren't.

[00:08:40] Destiny: And they were just saying to develop it more and characters more really, actually, not bad criticisms, but mm-hmm. I felt that meant that I couldn't do, couldn't write. And so when, mm-hmm. I think it was in my senior year or junior year of high school, that's when I had stopped writing and I was like, yeah.

[00:08:57] Destiny: It was like always, it's always been a pipe dream, you know, the starving [00:09:00] artist. It's making all types of excuses. Yeah, why? Why it didn't work out. And I totally, and I later had to come back and say, okay, this is what you need to do, and it'll be all right. 

[00:09:14] Ikikima: Yeah. It's, yeah, it's pretty similar. I had a, I wasn't going to come back and it was really, God almost started haunting me with the, you know, he was like, Hey, why don't you try writing like the same book that I thought was affiliated?

[00:09:31] Ikikima: He said, why don't you try rewriting it? Just start from the beginning. I was like, oh, no, I'm good. Maybe like, Hey, you should, you should try writing it. Like, it was just, just kept coming from like popping. At first it was like, kind of like a quiet, you should try writing. I was like, no, no, just go, you know?

[00:09:47] Ikikima: And then finally it was like, yeah, you really need to write. Like it got, his voice got really loud and clear. He was like, I want you to write. Like, and when he said it like that, it was like, oh, that I'm not gonna say no to. Before I was [00:10:00] like, okay, it's my choice that I'm not doing it. So I was like, okay, I'll try.

[00:10:03] Ikikima: But we saw what happened last time. It wasn't that great, but since you really want me to do it, and that was how I started writing the book. Again, I thought I was just about to rewrite that story, but it came out as a completely different story. That one took me two and a half years to write. This one took me 10 weeks and it was just, it just poured down on me.

[00:10:26] Ikikima: It was like in a way where I almost feel like I couldn't quite take credit for it because it just felt like I was copying what I was hearing in my head. Like it was just, I would just see the pictures and just copy down. It was just not like before where I was striving, okay, I'm gonna put this part here and that part here, this, it just flowed right out of me from beginning to end.

[00:10:44] Ikikima: I was like, oh, okay. I guess I just, just finished the book, but it was a completely different experience when I finished this time because, I think it pouring out at me like that I, I couldn't, I was very connected to the story and I, but I could [00:11:00] see it more almost as a viewer. But it also made it easier for me not to tie myself to it in a way where when I got criticism that I felt like, oh, I'm being attacked.

[00:11:11] Ikikima: I was like, Nope, this is, I'm confident that this story came from God. So I know the story is right. And I knew the things that if people gave me criticism good criticism to take that and apply it, I knew how to do that. Or if they gave me criticism, I knew didn't go with the book. I knew how to go, okay, I'm not gonna use that.

[00:11:29] Ikikima: Almost like separating the meat from the bone. So it was a completely different experience that second time around, I said, I don't really count the first book, even though it's a finished story. It's a super convoluted story. Like I was trying to throw in every idea I had cuz it was like, is this my last chance?

[00:11:45] Ikikima: You know, my only chance. So it was, it has so much in it. Like now when I read it and I'm like, I could break this out to so many different stories. It's like the second one that took me 10 weeks. That's what I kind of count as my first finished book actually. So yeah, [00:12:00] 

[00:12:01] Destiny: I said, whew, that's aw, that's really awesome.

[00:12:04] Destiny: And that just sounds like a lot of rioters cuz I know a lot of people scratch there a lot. A lot of people say when you try and be a writer, you need to have thick skin. You need to, you know, you need to be ready like, you know, ready to take on the world where it feels like for you, you didn't, didn't have to have thick skin.

[00:12:20] Destiny: But it's a change of mindset is what it sounds like. Yeah, 

[00:12:23] Ikikima: yeah, yeah. And confidence really, because I think that's the, that was my greatest struggle as a writer. It's not as bad now cause I'm just generally more confident as a person, but just. Believing I'm capable of doing this, believing that I have the talent.

[00:12:41] Ikikima: The part that I need to learn is how to execute and express that talent. But I have the talent, you know, so it's not an attack on my talent if people don't like it, people have ref preferences. It's not an attack on my talent. If someone has criticism, you know, it could just be geared toward that criticism could be [00:13:00] geared toward how I'm executing the story or how I'm, did I write it well, was it good English?

[00:13:05] Ikikima: Is there a better way to express this? And those, those are parts you just, you learn as you go and you, you know, if you can study and get better at. But yeah, I might, as for the talent part, I had to learn, I'm talented in this area. I have stories in me that other people don't have, and I have stories. I believe the world has to.

[00:13:25] Ikikima: Here. So it took a little bit to build that confidence up, but that definitely made writing easier and actually, believe it or not, learn how to enjoy it. So, yeah. 

[00:13:38] Destiny: Oh, that's awesome. And I really like how you said it really was more of not really, it was point between confidence and execution. Mm-hmm. And that's I think where a lot of getting right is kind of have a hard time getting where to help with execution, you have to practice.

[00:13:55] Ikikima: Yeah. Yeah. And, 

[00:13:57] Destiny: and just have to keep on trying, keep on trying, keep [00:14:00] on learning and that's what make you a better writer, not not dismissing any talent. Yeah. But I'm pretty sure people like JK Rowley didn't say her first draft was the thing of the gods. Yeah. 

[00:14:12] Ikikima: Yeah. Then that's, I'm so glad you used that example, because she's actually one who she experienced so much rejection.

[00:14:21] Ikikima: Before Harry Potter became the Harry Potter, we know before somebody finally picked it up and believed in it. You know what I mean? So it's like all these kinds of writers, they experienced that rejection too. They experienced people telling them professionals too, even telling them, this is crap. You know?

[00:14:38] Ikikima: So it's, it's not the easiest line of work to get into though, when I, when I read up about it and stuff. But it's, it really, you really have to have a lot of, or you have to grow a lot of belief in yourself, you know? 

[00:14:53] Destiny: Ooh. So that, I like that. I think we should start making that a thing, like it's not thick skin.

[00:14:57] Destiny: Just believe in what you write and [00:15:00] believe it can get better. Yeah. 

[00:15:03] Ikikima: Yeah. 

[00:15:06] Destiny: That's just so good. That's just gonna help a lot of writers to understand that it's. As they say it, trust the process. It's one step at a time. 

[00:15:15] Ikikima: No one likes it. It as much as she said, don't like that sentence. It's so true. Trust the process.

[00:15:22] Ikikima: He was 

[00:15:22] Destiny: like, gosh darn it. Can I not be here soon enough? I know, I know. But that, oh, that also brings to one of the things I heard in another writing community that when you first start writing, you just have an what's called, you just have a, a knowledge gap as what she calls it. Mm. Where you know what good writing looks like and you know what it sounds like.

[00:15:42] Destiny: But then when you try to do it, it's not exactly how to 

[00:15:46] Ikikima: be. Yes. It's so true. I definitely experienced that. The knowledge gap. You can recognize this is a good book. How come I can't make my book like that? [00:16:00] But it, it takes, you actually have to put in work no matter what your talent is. You know, I feel like a lot of people think when it comes to art, you just.

[00:16:08] Ikikima: Do art and it's just good, but it's like you have to put in a little, you have to put in work to develop it and make it stronger. So to become a better writer, you have to write, you have to read, you know? So yeah, there is that gap. And it, it can be discouraging. And there's also the thing of when you write, when you get the story out the first time, that's not the point where it's like, okay, let me give it to people who read and have their, no.

[00:16:34] Ikikima: When you, that's like word vomit. You just pour off the whole story. These books that we read, the actual book is like sometimes the 10th draft. Okay. You're not reading, oh, somebody just wrote a book. The fur, they just poured it out and from the beginning it was just perfect. You read, this is them, they've edited it, then edited again.

[00:16:54] Ikikima: Then they cut out a part of the story, then they added a part to the story. Then they had their editor read it. Then they had their family, their [00:17:00] friends read it. Then they ha and they cha, you know, this is, you're reading polished stuff. Like all these behind me, like all the books. It's like, Many people went through them for them to get to this point.

[00:17:12] Ikikima: That's, you can't write something when you first get that story out and expect it to just magically be like this, you know? So. 

[00:17:22] Destiny: Right. And this is where I feel like being an author and just being a creative in general really makes you more, more collaborative in nature because you want, you know, you have a desire to be, to put out good stuff.

[00:17:35] Destiny: And so it requires you being with other people to help you get, get better. Yeah. And I just think that's how God sets it up. Because anything, any job, any talent you have, you need other people to help you verify, get it out there. It is not one-on-one. It's mm-hmm. You and 

[00:17:52] Ikikima: many. Yeah. You're so right. And that's something I had to learn about writing that I actually didn't know [00:18:00] that it takes.

[00:18:01] Ikikima: They say it takes a village to raise a child. I feel like it takes a village to write a book. You know, I feel that way with storytelling in general. There's some movies I watch where I'm like, how many people okayed this? Like, I'm like, so it went through so many different eyes and no one said, oh, why are you guys doing that?

[00:18:18] Ikikima: You know, so, but yeah, I feel that with a book that that was, that's a really hard part because in the writing process, I realized I wasn't just kind of insecure about my stuff, but I was prideful about it. So that pride of life, if someone says, no, I don't like this, even though there's like a, that sense of, oh, I'm not good enough.

[00:18:39] Ikikima: On the other hand, I also felt like, what do you know? You don't write, you know, like these two, like completely different, both negative on the different ends of the, the spectrum. Things going on in my head, you know? But yeah, that's the, it's very humbling to have other people read your work and tell you what they think about it.[00:19:00] 

[00:19:00] Ikikima: It 

[00:19:00] Destiny: really is. So other question when you, when you're crafting your book is, let's just say I'm started, I'm new and I say I finally, I've finally done the thing. I've gone to the top of the mountain and I've written my book. Mm-hmm. And I'm pretty exhausted, so I'm like, all right. Now usually a lot of people say, Hey, go talk to other, other writers.

[00:19:23] Destiny: And then I'm then maybe for a lot of people, I dunno, any other writers, it's kind of a secret society at times. Mm-hmm. So no one knows who writes. And so you just give it to family members and then they don't read. So then you're, then they give you all types of criticism. Then you're, then sometimes you're like, what do you take?

[00:19:41] Destiny: Do I take that or do I try and toss it away? Because of the qualifying factor of you really don't read and maybe not read my genre. So how did you, when you first finished your story, how did you know who to give it to? 

[00:19:55] Ikikima: Well, let me ask you a question about it first. Is this after you've read the [00:20:00] book?

[00:20:00] Ikikima: Because I, I have to do that once I read it. I mean, once I've finished writing it, I might give it a week or so, then I have to come back and I have to read it. I have to be the first person who reads it. So you say after that, cuz I believe that's a very important thing first for you to do to you, for you to be the first reader.

[00:20:18] Ikikima: So it's like, I guess to answer your question, you give it to yourself first. Like you need to go through it, read it yourself, and, but kind of take your eyes off of it for a moment, a number of days, maybe a week, maybe more than a week, and you come back as the first audience member and see how it makes you feel, what it makes you think when you read it and you look at it like, you know, like an editor, like a, as I said, a viewer, reader.

[00:20:44] Ikikima: So you're the first person. Secondly to decide on who I meant, I'm. I am very, I was very blessed to be born into a family of writers. I also just randomly happen to know a lot of writers. Like, [00:21:00] I know You Destiny, you write, I know like, like I met people at work who like, oh yeah, I write books. Like it's random.

[00:21:06] Ikikima: Like I just, that I have a writing community. But I do know that not everybody has that. You really, so even though I have that writing community, something I had to learn how to do is I prayed about who to give it to because of the, cuz I would say, okay, not counting the first book I wrote that failed.

[00:21:25] Ikikima: I've written two books after, completed two books afterwards, two very different books. And the group that I gave to read this first book was very different for the group I gave to read the second book. Because the first book was like fantasy. The second book was more drama. It was more like a real life story, a contemporary drama.

[00:21:42] Ikikima: So I just prayed and I would do that. I, I've just kind of made a habit to, to go like, okay, God, show me who, who would be the best person or who would be the best group of people to give this to? I do have, like, so I have my siblings first, and I do, I [00:22:00] actually don't always give it to every sibling. I do have like every, a couple of siblings who, whenever I write a book, I send it to them cuz I know they're gonna wanna read it.

[00:22:07] Ikikima: They're writers, they're gonna gimme their honest opinions. Tell me how they felt about it. For the second book, I had one of my siblings who, it's just not her style of, it's not her preference. So she's not gonna be that interested. She's gonna be forced yourself to read it. That's just, I wasn't offended by that.

[00:22:21] Ikikima: It's just, that's not who I want to read my book. I wanna get an idea of the audience. She's not gonna be the audience. She wouldn't have bought this book had it not been written by me, you know? So I would say, yeah, prayer, also taking a look. Okay. Who. Who do you know who reads, even if you can only get one other person, it doesn't have to be like, you don't have to feel like you failed because you didn't get 10 people.

[00:22:45] Ikikima: Even if you just have to look around, even if it takes a while to find, like just keep your eyes open, you'll, I feel like you'll find somebody, you know, even if it ends up being somebody who you didn't expect. But yeah, to me that's where prayer really comes in and just prayer guiding, like God will show [00:23:00] you, God, open up those doors and show you people like, oh, why don't you give it to that person?

[00:23:04] Ikikima: Oh, why don't you, you know? And it may not be someone who would have been on at the top of your list if you'd written the list, you know? So, so yeah. I hope that kind of answers the question cuz I realize I'm not the best person to ask it because I happen to be surrounded by writers randomly, you know? So, but yeah, 

[00:23:21] Destiny: no, no, that was awesome.

[00:23:22] Destiny: Just because it's kind of making you kind of get out there, try people to find someone, but also it sounds like you really discerned who this book will be best for. Out of what, who you knew. So it wasn't like you gave to everyone in your family and then you get a hot pot of all types of misconstruction.

[00:23:38] Destiny: You have half negative, half positive. Then you're like, well, I'm in the middle then. Cause I know. Yeah. So, so that's like a lot of good stuff as we're going through trying to figure out our writing. We got it out there. And then next steps will be, you can take a route of publishing yourself or go find agents.

[00:23:59] Destiny: Mm-hmm. Whatever [00:24:00] works best for you. Here we're just talking about self-publishing, but still traditional publishing is always an option. Yeah. So don't, don't count it out. 

[00:24:07] Ikikima: Yeah. Because that's, that's really my, still my preferred option. And it's not like, cuz I really do respect self-publishing and I've thought about it, I just personally haven't been drawn to it.

[00:24:18] Ikikima: Cuz I feel like for every book, I don't know, like going the route of trying to get an agent is tough and I've read so much about it, like, Wow. Like Stephen King, who we know to be this writer that people all over the world know. Right. Do you know that that guy, like he was rejected so many times that he threw his script, I can't remember which, which one, it wasn't ended up becoming a movie that everybody's watched, you know, that he threw the script away.

[00:24:48] Ikikima: His wife had to go get it out of the trash, and she was the one that encouraged him to keep writing because there's so much rejection in the, in this industry, you know, and you're like, anything that you [00:25:00] read will tell you, especially if you wanna go the route of trying to get a literary agent. You're looking for the person who is the perfect fit for you.

[00:25:09] Ikikima: You don't want someone that doesn't want you. If you were looking for one person in an entire country, it's tough to find them. I still have not found that person. I do believe I will, but I've. My, I've shown or presented my work to so many different people and I've gotten those, you know, cause sometimes you don't get the response back, you're just told if we don't respond in three weeks, that means we're not interested.

[00:25:36] Ikikima: If we don't respond in six weeks, the hardest ones, if we don't respond in six months, then we're not interested because they're still like, okay, are they gonna pick me up on the last day of that six month? You know? So it can be pretty discouraging. And sometimes they do reply and you actually get a response and they, even though you're getting a response, you're happy to get a response.

[00:25:55] Ikikima: That response is, I'm sorry, but it's not a good fit for me. You know, so [00:26:00] it can be a very discouraging round. Some people have. The greatest, you know, I guess you could say luck with it. You know, some people do, they just have an easier route where they got some sort of exposure somehow, and them and that literary agent who believed in their work somehow got to meet early on.

[00:26:19] Ikikima: You know, so everybody's story is really different. Mine so far is one of the ones that's more common, which is, it can be kind of grueling. You just keep doing it. You just keep sending your, pitching your stuff. As they say, query queries. You send out a query, you send out, you know, you send it out to different ages.

[00:26:39] Ikikima: Make making sure it's somebody who specializes in the genres you're doing. Someone who, as you've read about them, would they be a good fit for your work? Cuz it's not just, oh, I want anybody, it's just, you also have to have standards and stuff you're looking for. If I want someone who specializes in this, I want someone who would know about the area my story [00:27:00] is in, you know?

[00:27:00] Ikikima: So, So, yeah, it, it's tough. I don't know as much about the self publishing route, which you'd probably be able to speak on a lot better destiny. But I know that the trying to get published is not 

[00:27:13] Destiny: easy. It can be not easy. And I do know for sure a little bit on, from talking to other people that do traditional publishing.

[00:27:23] Destiny: It is, besides sending query queer letters, if you all know of any conferences that they may be at. Mm-hmm. I know each state does its own, does it differently? I know Alabama and Georgia has different conferences where agents come down and you have a day or two where you can go up there and query one-on-one.

[00:27:40] Destiny: Yeah. So there's a lot, there's a lot of options. So if you're trying to traditional, they're making it a little more open so that you can kind of get out there and help out with that, if that is what you really want. This is no shame in that. That is still awesome. Simon and Schuster Random House. I was like, oh my gosh.

[00:27:57] Destiny: Things I grew up on. That would be amazing. 

[00:27:59] Ikikima: Yeah. [00:28:00] 

[00:28:01] Destiny: On the flip side, self-publishing is you are, it is really just for those who just wish to have more control over their, over their books. And that's where I lean toward more into it is because of the more control. I can change my cupboards whenever I want to.

[00:28:16] Destiny: I can find editors and willing to work on them one-on-one, then have 'em go through a chain. That's just really the, the summation of what self publishing offers to authors, if that sounds good for them. Mm-hmm. And that kind of really I lean towards of more so making, doing the business of the publisher than being a sole writer.

[00:28:37] Destiny: So that's kind of where it leans for towards for me. And of course you could do both. There are a lot of authors that do both. They self-publish a couple books and then traditional author may pick them up. And then they'll do one or two books with them and they go back into self-publishing. And so what you're writing, you can be very fluid.

[00:28:55] Destiny: It's not, you can't, you don't have to be in a box cuz it's writing, we, [00:29:00] we listen to this, we make stuff up for a living. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So we can make our own rules, but that's always option. 

[00:29:10] Ikikima: Yeah. 

[00:29:12] Destiny: So with all the writing, you have quite unique creative journey. As I said earlier, folks, she not only writes, she writes songs as well.

[00:29:22] Destiny: Mm-hmm. So my big question is, how did your career burn journey begin from you writing books to doing your live concerts of original 

[00:29:31] Ikikima: music? Hmm. So it was very unexpected for me. I grew up with music being big and just my family, my house. I, as a teenager, had a dream to become a star, which died quickly cuz I was like, eh, by trying to be a star, you know?

[00:29:51] Ikikima: So but music, singing, it always was a dream of mine to be a singer, to be on a [00:30:00] stage and have my music and really, I didn't write. As I said, I started doing everything later. I don't have those, I've been writing since I was two, you know, kind of stories. I had songs just started coming to me really with lyrics in 2020.

[00:30:17] Ikikima: I really, over the years before that, I had like, ideas for songs and stuff. I used to create instrumental songs on the piano. But just, you know, for myself Just stuff I dreamed would one day be soundtracks for films, for animated movies, stuff like that. But in terms of singing and writing my own songs, that just wasn't something in my peripheral at all.

[00:30:38] Ikikima: But 20, 20 hit when I left. My job that I'd been at, I'd been at that company for seven and a half years. The day after my last day of work, I woke up at five that morning with music pouring out of me. It was almost as if leaving that job opened or reopened music in my life. I didn't know it was blocking it.

[00:30:59] Ikikima: [00:31:00] So it was like all of a sudden music started pouring out within that month, cuz that was February of 2020, I wrote an album's worth of songs and I wasn't writing lyrics like that. I wasn't, I'd written a few songs, but nothing ever felt like it was it. These songs, when I was writing, I was like, This is good, you know, but I was also fighting it cuz I was like, this is off point.

[00:31:25] Ikikima: I'm trying to be a writer of stories. Why are songs coming up? Move aside. But it's like, this stuff would wake me up in the middle of the night as I'm trying to fall asleep. Music was pour, like I had to record. So like, I'm falling asleep, like, I'm like singing into my phone because lyrics just kept coming worse.

[00:31:42] Ikikima: It was like, it was forcing its way out. I've never had that happen to me before. It was a very strange experience, but something I learned from it is I am meant to create music because why else would it force its way out like that, you know? So, [00:32:00] and I made the kind of song, the song Coming Outta Me was the kind of music I would listen to.

[00:32:04] Ikikima: It's the kind of music I found good. So yeah, that's how that actually began for me. And the it after that album's worth of music, more music, it, it still hasn't stopped. I'm, you know, I have like a hundred hundreds now. It's like they just keep coming out and then a desire to kind of share them with people came and I would just search for opportunities anywhere I could to just share them.

[00:32:30] Ikikima: Even just with family. Just I, because I was the song, the music's only audience for a long time, cuz we were in quarantine, you know, when this happened. So I wasn't gonna be going out. I, I got to do one performance at a UR cafe here with my sister. Cuz she'd already performed there a couple of times.

[00:32:49] Ikikima: So she was like, let's do a joint one together. And this was my first time sharing my music. I think you remember it, destiny, back in March of 2020. This was my first time [00:33:00] sharing my songs with people. It was, I loved it. And it was also one of the hardest things I've ever done cuz my music is so vulnerable.

[00:33:08] Ikikima: So that journey, that's how that came about. It just, Came by itself. I wasn't trying to make anything happen with music. I fought it and then finally had to go, okay, I guess you're here to stay. You're not going anywhere, you know? And now love it. And I'm used to it, you know? So 

[00:33:29] Destiny: wonderful. And folks, her first performance was amazing.

[00:33:32] Destiny: Thank you. I was like, oh my gosh, it's a kick. So, so that was a wonderful performance. And since then you had another outing. I said, I 

[00:33:46] Ikikima: have another outing. Or had another 

[00:33:47] Destiny: one. You, you had another one. And, but after that one I did where? Mm-hmm. Where did I happen? Another wedding? Yeah. No, at the talent show.

[00:33:58] Ikikima: Talent show. Oh, I [00:34:00] completely forgot. Totally 

[00:34:01] Destiny: forgot your own story. I did 

[00:34:03] Ikikima: forget. I was like, what is this? This a trick question. No. Yeah, I did, I actually was that, that was last year I joined a talent show. It was very random. I just, I was like, oh, this talent show is doing auditions. I wonder if the auditions are finished.

[00:34:22] Ikikima: Oh, let me get, you know, find the number, call the person. And I called and I expected, fully expected them to say, you're too late. It was just like a, a whim that I even decided to find out about it and do it, you know? And I was just like, and the lady in charge was just like, yeah, just bring yourself. Yeah, it doesn't matter.

[00:34:39] Ikikima: It's too late. Yeah. Come on. Like, they were past auditions and she's like, come on, just bring yourself. And you know, I went to the place where she writes you at, there was like a dance studio and all that set by stuff up sang my song. She just stayed. She's like, you're amazing. And I was like, thank you. You know?

[00:34:54] Ikikima: And she's like, yeah, you're gonna be in the competition. And there was like, I was supposed, my song was only [00:35:00] supposed to be like so long, but my song was like longer than the time. And she was like, it doesn't matter. Go ahead, sing the whole thing. And I was like, it was a fun experience. Like just to, to be recognized.

[00:35:12] Ikikima: Cause I ended up getting a certificate I think in my category. I placed in my category. So to be recognized at all, I've never, I never had that happen. So it was, it was very cool. It was, it was a lot of fun and also another opportunity to share my music and I realized that, I don't know, it just feels very good to get to do that cuz it's one, it's just fun.

[00:35:34] Ikikima: And two, I feel like. I feel like people need my music. And I think I can say that easily and not from an arrogant place because as I said, it just poured out. It doesn't feel like it's coming from me anyway. It feels like, you know what I mean? So I'm like, I feel like I could talk about it almost like a, a listener separate from it.

[00:35:53] Ikikima: I just, I feel like people do need my music, cause my music did a lot of healing for me. So I think it can be healing for other people. So [00:36:00] any chance to share it, I always get excited about it, you know? Oh my gosh, 

[00:36:04] Destiny: yes. Like you all really have to hear her music and find her music, cuz it is, it is a joy to listen to for one.

[00:36:12] Destiny: And I just feel like when people are creating from a pure place of a heartfelt place, I feel that always transcends through whatever you're creating, where it, it's a book or it's your music or even instrumental music is always, I feel like all, any time you're, you're spearing your soul transcends through that.

[00:36:31] Destiny: Mm-hmm. And you can always, you can always tell, like even when like rock music, some rock music, you're just like, I think he's angry. 

[00:36:38] Ikikima: Yeah. He's really angry. Yeah. You feel what the artist feels. Yeah. 

[00:36:44] Destiny: So how has, I'm really excited for this next question. How has change influenced your creativity as she be gone on?

[00:36:52] Destiny: Ah, 

[00:36:53] Ikikima: ah, that's a, that's a heavy question cuz we all know these changes that we have [00:37:00] gone through as a human race over the last two years. We have not been easy. I think all the different changes you know, from Covid, from cuz for me, living in America, I became a lot more aware of the racial issues we have.

[00:37:17] Ikikima: And I admit, because I come from a whole other country where we've got our whole other problems, I wasn't as aware. So even becoming aware of that, that changed that matured my creativity. I have a thing now with my writing where it's almost like I found more purpose with my writing what I want to do with it.

[00:37:37] Ikikima: I, one of the things I used to just complain about while sitting on the couch watching TV was I don't see myself. Much on tv. You know, I don't see character looks like me. Who's my color? Who's my gender? You know, I don't see that much. I don't see me as a main character. I didn't see that as a little girl.

[00:37:55] Ikikima: I didn't see little girls like me in your fantasy stories and your [00:38:00] sci-fi stories and your big epic tales. That is this little girl who goes and saves the world, you know? So that's become a huge thing for me now, cuz a lot of my books my stories before, a lot of the concepts and ideas, I realized the main characters weren't as much based on what I felt they should be as much as they were based on what I had seen.

[00:38:21] Ikikima: You know? So now there's more of a focus of almost me imagining myself in the place of the main character and having like, like even the stuff I want to be, that the stories I have that will be animated, I'm like, I'd love to see a beautiful black woman as like your. Action. You know, supernatural story, like main character, she's the one kicking butt, you know, and everybody's like, and she's the one directing everybody behind her.

[00:38:49] Ikikima: Like the, that's something now that gets me excited, you know, and, and change that. All the stuff that was happening, that's one of the biggest things that happened. It changed that in my [00:39:00] stories. It changed. Who do I want the main characters to be? Who do I wanna speak to with my stories? I also do have this desire to see just more diversity in general in stories and stuff.

[00:39:15] Ikikima: So it's something that even, even in my books, I'll point that out. If someone has locks, I'm gonna point that out. If someone, you know, like whatever cultural differences, I'm gonna point that out in my books cuz I just, I want, I want people to be able to read my books and find themselves in it. Or read or watch my, the ones that will become movie scripts or TV shows or animated series.

[00:39:41] Ikikima: I want people to be able to watch those and see themselves in that story, you know? So that, yeah, that was one of the main changes. I think generally my music from the get go in 2020, cuz you know, the timing of writing it happened just when quarantine happened. So a lot of how I felt [00:40:00] toward just the state of the world and will we ever be okay was coming out in my music, you know?

[00:40:06] Ikikima: So that change really affected my songs and just, it really stirred up a sense of hope in me, you know? Cause even the songs I have that sound like they're starting out depressing, we always end in a place of we're gonna be all right. You know? So, yeah, it's, I think that's a very good question cuz yeah, all the changes that we've gone through, As a country, as a race, as a, like, all these things have affected my creativity.

[00:40:36] Ikikima: I'd say generally it's all matured. My creativity, it's important for anything I create to have a message. What am I trying to say? That's an important question. Me and my sister, she, she reads too. We always say that to each other with even stuff we watch. We're like, what were they trying to say? Did they think about what they were trying to say?

[00:40:53] Ikikima: And I know that's not important for everybody. The main aim with a lot of entertainment is to entertain. I understand it. I [00:41:00] respect it. Me personally, I wanna create stuff that changes people's lives. Because with all the changes, especially the negative stuff we've gone through over these last few years, I see how important it is for us to have hope.

[00:41:12] Ikikima: I see how important it is for people to be uplifted. I see how, you know, a lot of people have gotten very sad and angry with a lot of the stuff that's been going on. So I wanna be able to create things that. Kind of help people want to keep going, kind of help people go, okay, I can make a change or change will come, positive change, let me say, you know, so yeah.

[00:41:41] Destiny: Love it. Just because of, I, I agree with so many nuggets you dropped in there of just looking at, I know from my writing, what am I saying about whatever I'm talking about? What is, what is my message, my moral, my theme? Because [00:42:00] at the end of the day, it's gonna, I feel like everything has a message or theme.

[00:42:03] Destiny: Mm-hmm. We just don't always, always pick up on it. Mm-hmm. Whether it's good or bad. Yeah. You know, you know, whatever you're watching. Yeah. Because like, I know, my know for one of my favorites are like mysteries. I was like, I always wanna figure out who done it. And when you figure out who has done it, then you what you often figure out why they did it.

[00:42:23] Destiny: Then you're like, oh. So sad sometimes, but like I get you. I get you. Now. This is why this all happened. Oh, for listeners, where are 

[00:42:32] Ikikima: you from? Ki Kama. Oh yeah. I'm originally from Nigeria. Woo. Woo. Yeah. I completely forgot. I just keep thinking, oh yeah, you know Destiny. Why? Yes. So yes, I know. Yeah. Yeah. I'm half Nigerian, half American, so my mom's, my mom's American, my dad's Nigerian.

[00:42:54] Ikikima: We're so glad you're 

[00:42:55] Destiny: here. Me too. In America. But [00:43:00] with change, I feel like change just ma. I think change is in inevitable. And it's for the better, cuz nothing in life will ever stay the same. And if it does, you feel, I think usually people feel that growing pain because you're made to change. Mm-hmm. And when you don't, it's just kind of making you feel like what's going on, the sky is falling, where it's not, the sky is falling, you are resisting change.

[00:43:23] Ikikima: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's very true. Wow. That's very true. Destiny, I didn't even think about that. That even if you're sitting in complacency, that they feel like there is something in you that starts to cry out for change because your insides know you're not supposed to stay in the same place. So yeah. That, yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

[00:43:43] Destiny: Right. I just think that as we are growing as creative, either entrepreneurs, as creative people in general, I think we're more adept to change. Mm-hmm. Because it's just like, we're gonna do it. Like, as you said, going from writing books to songs, you're just like, well, all right then we're on this new thing.

[00:43:58] Destiny: Yeah. You [00:44:00] know? And where someone else. May not. If they will, probably if they, they could have took the rest of their life to reject it and be in this state of constant, no, no, no. Where on the other side, now that you have released your music, which has been a blessing to me cause I got to hear it and, and others who had chance to hear it.

[00:44:20] Destiny: How much more gray is your impact because you just said yes to the change. 

[00:44:24] Ikikima: Yeah. Yeah. It can be hard though to get past yourself, your own reservations, your own fears to that point of, oh yeah, I forgot this could actually affect other people too. You know, it's, it's hard to get out of that bubble of just, but I don't wanna do it.

[00:44:44] Ikikima: But it's hard, but it's not easy, but it's off point, which is what I kept saying. It's 

[00:44:50] Destiny: off point has nothing to do. I was supposed to be a writer, 

[00:44:53] Ikikima: you know, so. Yeah. 

[00:44:56] Destiny: Right. And that's just like, I think a life thing as a creative of just [00:45:00] constantly being able to discern what's a yes. Whether it's how you thought it should be, or you're just like, it's yes, for now until I get thrown back somewhere else and then come back to the original thing.

[00:45:10] Destiny: Yeah. But it just feels better to change and on that creative of journey to let, let it be. Mm-hmm. Because who, because who, who really knows the future? No one really does. 

[00:45:21] Ikikima: Yeah. That's actually what you said there. That let it be is actually one of the things I live by, especially with my music, it's let it be what it wants to be, because I always have stuff pouring out of me.

[00:45:33] Ikikima: I, you know, used to fight it and be like, no, no, no, this lyric needs to go. Like, no, the lyrics trying to come out and it, every time you sing it, it comes out this way. Why? Why are you trying to correct it? Make it something out. This is what it wants to be. Let it be what it wants to be. You know? So 

[00:45:50] Destiny: it said it'll be good.

[00:45:52] Destiny: The never, you never know what's on the other side. And that's kind of where I remember hearing that life is meant to be a, a daring adventure. [00:46:00] And now walk in the park. And I was like, Hmm. So it's kind of like, look what your life is, your life. A walk in the park, you get up every morning, you drive on down to somewhere you need to be to work, you drive on back home, you eat your food.

[00:46:12] Destiny: And there's never a type of part of daring of maybe this time did to get home. I took a whole nother route just because, yeah. 

[00:46:20] Ikikima: Yeah. 

[00:46:23] Destiny: But that's just another conversation for another time. But my other question, which actually leads into what, what do you think makes it hard for creative people to believe in their own gifts and talents?

[00:46:35] Ikikima: Hmm. A number of things. I think one of the big things is did you have that support or encouragement growing up? You know, cuz I didn't I didn't know, like luckily our me and all my siblings, our talents just happened to be big enough that they were gonna be out there. We are gonna be working in the walking and then regardless, you know, but still, [00:47:00] We didn't know that we were any good at the stuff we were good at.

[00:47:03] Ikikima: We didn't know we were any good at the things we were talented at, cuz just no one told us. So I think that's one of the biggest things, just growing up as you are showing any bits of talent in whatever it is you're talented in or you know, just whatever it is, you're being creative and is there anybody noticing and going, wow, that's really good.

[00:47:24] Ikikima: Or how did you do that? Or showing any sort of interest and just not having that can communicate to you that maybe this isn't a big deal, whatever it is I'm creating. It's not a, it's not a big deal. It's not that great. It's just, you know, I think also comparison is a big thing. If you are comparing yourself to the greats right now, the greats didn't start out as the greats.

[00:47:47] Ikikima: The great became the greats. They have a whole journey, a whole story. You're at the beginning of your journey, but it's like, oh, why am I not as good as JK Rowling? Or why aren't people. Reading my books, the way they read Harry Potter. It's [00:48:00] like, you, you gotta work to get up to that phase. Like you don't know what she went through to get there.

[00:48:06] Ikikima: And you may not even want her story to be honest, you know? So comparison's a big thing. And I think also not a lack of consistency, just cuz you have to stick to it. Writing a book doesn't take a day. Well, maybe for some people, but I know for me it doesn't take a day. You, I have to keep coming back and going, okay, chapter two.

[00:48:28] Ikikima: Okay, episode three, you know, I have to come back and keep going with the story. Sometimes I have to sit and create the characters, which is my favorite part is the easiest part because this is the part no one has to see. No one has to be invited in. You just have a ball by yourself. There's no such thing as right or wrong, you just enjoy yourself.

[00:48:47] Ikikima: But just creating the characters coming up, world, building, all of that. Do you actually sit and do that? Like these. You know, like when I say it takes work, the work is still fun, you know? But yeah, that consistency of [00:49:00] actually going, I'm going to finish the book. You, you have to, I have, every time I'm writing a book, I have to tell myself I'm going to finish the book.

[00:49:06] Ikikima: While I'm trying to finish the book. I have to keep saying I will finish it. So yeah, those are, those are three things I think are really, really, they can really stunt you in. Just believing yourself. Oh wait, you said in believing yourself. Yeah. I guess that consistency one didn't go, but yeah, the first two days, 

[00:49:26] Destiny: no consistency.

[00:49:27] Destiny: I, that was something people, someone need to hear and I need to hear again, because consistency, I think I've heard that quite a few times. And it's true for anything. When you are consistent at it, it's in the small steps that lead to big results. And it's just, it's just hard to believe. But it is, it's small steps.

[00:49:47] Destiny: It's like writing. Because I know when you start, well maybe when authors start out, it's like, I wanna, you know, let's say I wanna write a thousand words a day, but mm-hmm. You know, I'm only getting out maybe 200. Yeah. You know, [00:50:00] and it's okay. But the whole thing that makes you, I feel like, makes authors better than the very beginning author is you keep on doing it.

[00:50:09] Destiny: I think I've heard another podcast there. He was saying, he's like my, he, he was talking about his books and I was, they're like, how do you keep on doing books? He said, I think my biggest thing that has helped me grow is just finishing books. I just finished them. Yeah. And then he published it. I was like, yeah.

[00:50:26] Destiny: I mean, yeah. He said, that's all you have to do is just finish a book. I feel that. And of course there's a lot more into it, but it's, it's to finish at 

[00:50:32] Ikikima: least. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that's, that's the, and keep going. You know, like, cuz I think that's the, the thing like if, cuz if you have a whole book where nothing ever comes of it, it doesn't mean.

[00:50:49] Ikikima: You stop. You know? Cuz that was what caused me to quit writing and stop believing in myself. It was the first one. It just, it didn't go the way I wanted it to. It just, people weren't [00:51:00] as ex, nobody was excited about it but me and then it made me go away. Why? I'm excited about this. Clearly it's not worth being excited about, you know?

[00:51:08] Ikikima: So I think not getting the feedback or the desired response can be daunting. And it can make you lose belief even if you were someone who had belief in yourself, you know? But you have to keep going. It's a, it's a faith walk. I believe writing is a faith walk for sure. You know, 

[00:51:27] Destiny: I really do. I say I will concur on that.

[00:51:30] Destiny: And it's just, you have to believe what you write is good enough for where you are now. Mm-hmm. Because I think the, as they say, comparison to thief, it is a thief of joy. Then the whole reason that hopefully for mostly cribs, the whole reason you started writing was stuff for the joy of it. You wanted to make something you didn't see out there, and then you made it.

[00:51:53] Destiny: You made it. Eventually you made it, and then you lose your joy when you compare. It's [00:52:00] like, I missed that comma right there. I said, or you or all these different things. Truth be told guys, I do have a thing with commas because of my, of my English teacher. She bloodied my paper because I was horrible at commas and I was like, oh, why?

[00:52:19] Destiny: Like, 

[00:52:19] Ikikima: but I got for like spell check and stuff like that. 

[00:52:22] Destiny: I was like, I don't even know. And then, but her note was good content. I was like, but you bloodied my paper with commas. Commas. That's funny. True story. That's, that was just a free nugget of black Me and commas are not friends. But back to, but back to the real question I had.

[00:52:48] Destiny: Okay, my real question was with, so let's just say if you're starting off and you're, and you think you have talent, but I know for me. My [00:53:00] family tells me something. I usually, even grandparents, I think it's because you're a grandparent or you're my parent and you just feel sorry for me.

[00:53:07] Destiny: That no one else has. No one else has recognized this talent. And so I really take their feedback with a grain of salt and I look for other people. 

[00:53:18] Destiny: I was like, you're my mom. You're supposed to say that. 

[00:53:21] Destiny: I was like, yeah, you don't really count. I don't really take much from you. Like I know my grandfather.

[00:53:26] Destiny: He's like, oh my God, this is amazing. And I was like, you're from the, you're like, you're from the sixties. You don't, you're from the sixties. 

[00:53:37] Ikikima: They're trying to encourage you, Destiny.

[00:53:40] Destiny: I said, I don't take it. I said I need, I was like, I just feel like other people will be more brutally honest. Wow. Because I think that's my, I guess for me, my own thoughts and maybe other writers, you don't wanna naive to go out there and then have someone smack you down and you look at them sideways saying, you told me this was amazing.

[00:53:58] Ikikima: Yeah, that's [00:54:00] true. That's very, very true. Strangers will be brutally honest cuz they don't have any reason for bias or any, they don't owe you anything, you know, so. Right. 

[00:54:10] Destiny: So don't, they really don't owe me anything. Yeah. Can I ask a stranger on the street like, Hey, what do you think of this? He's like, eh, it's not that.

[00:54:18] Destiny: I was like, alright, that's a good one. Good place. Good place to start. But I, what do you thinking? So if you say, if I say I didn't wanted to ask my family come, I'm like, it's not gonna work. They're always gonna tell me it's good. Where else would you go to have your kind of work critiqued in a kind of a safer environment?

[00:54:37] Ikikima: Hmm. Well, let me see. I know there's sites where you can, like websites like where there are writing communities. I know that cause I'm so, I can be so paranoid about my stuff. I can create, I create, I'm always like, oh, have I copyright? Have I copyrighted that thing? Oh, I don't know that I wanna share it.

[00:54:55] Ikikima: You know, so, but yeah, like I know there are like, I know you can find like writing [00:55:00] communities online, you know? So I would say like Googling like where you can find like good writing communities and then also making sure you read like how is this stuff ranked? Like, how many people are saying no, this is legitimate.

[00:55:15] Ikikima: Cuz that is something that can happen online that I like, where sometimes people are like pretty honest about, yeah, this was bad. You know? So maybe if you wanna go that route online, I know like there's maybe some like writing communities there. I know with the Reddit. Reddit has, Reddit has a lot of random communities there.

[00:55:33] Ikikima: I know that's one. But yeah, in terms of, you're saying to get like an honest opinion? Yes. Is that you're asking? Yeah. I mean, I feel like everybody knows somebody who's gonna be brutally honest with them. You know, like some, cuz some things I'll, something I'll do. Cuz I know, like, I have people I know with a family or friends who I know aren't gonna [00:56:00] read the entire book.

[00:56:01] Ikikima: So if I have something in particular in the book that I'm like, I want this person's output because I know they know about this or they've experienced this. Like, for example, the last book I wrote, it dealt a lot with trauma, you know, so I, I have someone in my family who had experienced something that one of the characters had experienced, so I had her.

[00:56:22] Ikikima: I, I told her the specific, I had specific sections I wanted her to concentrate on and read and be like, okay, did that seem realistic to you? Did this part where, you know, like, so even if it's like it is friends and family, but picking out the ones you know, who would give you an honest opinion about even sections of the book if you can't get them to read the whole thing, you know, maybe doing it like that or even if you want just someone's opinion on how they think it sounds.

[00:56:48] Ikikima: I remember asking one of my friends who I got to read the book, I was like, does this sound like a real book? And I knew she knew what I meant cuz I was like, just like, does this sound like, you know, I just wrote some, some chicken change on a [00:57:00] page and was like, Hey 

[00:57:02] Ikikima: mommy, can you this daddy like little kid 

[00:57:07] Ikikima: does.

[00:57:09] Ikikima: It sounds like close to like something you just pick off, off, off of a shelf, you know, like, so I don't know, like I think you can still go to friends and and family, but once again, it's the discernment thing of choosing the right people. Also can also depending on what it is you want to know about the book, I think it is good to have in mind.

[00:57:30] Ikikima: Okay. Like for me with the last book, cuz it was about trauma, I wanted it to feel natural. I didn't want it to come off like a Hallmark movie, you know, I just, I wanted it to sound like real conversations people are having. So like let's say gave this point to my sister, I was like, I want you to pay attention to the conversations.

[00:57:51] Ikikima: Do these conversations sound real or do they sound like people don't really talk like that? You know, like just having notes of like, I need to find out, is this [00:58:00] okay? Is this easy to understand? Is this concept, I mean, do they understand the storyline? Do they, you know, even. Laying all that out and then assigning certain things to certain people.

[00:58:09] Ikikima: So I don't know, I don't know how much that answered the question. Once again, I said maybe bad person to ask about those things cuz I just happen to have people. So, but yeah, even if it's just getting certain people to look at different sections and, and also don't avoid the people who are just gonna be encouraging because for your own peace and joy, you need those people to read it and tell you how amazing it is.

[00:58:34] Ikikima: How amazing you are in the midst of people criticizing it. So that's what I feel. So that is 

[00:58:41] Destiny: actually really good. I said, I said I'm just a person who looks for bad news first and then give him the good news so that at least, so it just, I dunno why my brain works like that, because I feel it. If I get the bad news first, then I actually appreciate the good news better.

[00:58:57] Destiny: Oh wow. Because if I get [00:59:00] good news first and then I, then I get the bad news, I'm gonna be down. Yeah. But I have nothing else to go from there. 

[00:59:06] Ikikima: I need the sandwich. Good, bad, good. Start off good. Squeeze in the bad, then end with good. 

[00:59:15] Destiny: So that really can work. And that's really just saying what with creativity and putting your work out there, it's, well, it sounds like you just said like your, your people that you're asking, they have a goal.

[00:59:25] Destiny: Mm-hmm. You have a goal, but why you give this that? Mm-hmm. Like, okay, let's say it's kinda like you say, I get to, I finished the book and I give somebody chapter three. Well, they haven't read one and two, so they're totally outta context. Mm-hmm. And not really sure what they're looking at. But if I say, Hey, this is chapter three where this happens.

[00:59:44] Destiny: Yeah. Can you critique that? Mm-hmm. Then that's more of a better guideline than dropping down this, this chapter or whatever portion it is, and saying, what do you think? And they're gonna probably say, I'm confused. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. [01:00:00] So a lot of good stuff. A lot of good stuff.

[01:00:06] Destiny: So now time for the fun part, our rapid fire round. Okay. Which is just asking our couple questions. Mm-hmm. So here, for young writers listening was one piece of advice you would give them on their author journey? 

[01:00:24] Ikikima: Hmm. It would, it would probably be to make sure you create stuff that you would be an audience member of.

[01:00:35] Ikikima: If you weren't the one who wrote that book or wrote that song, or you know, but if you heard it, would you be drawn to it? Would you like it? Would it speak to you? You know, would it touch your heart? I think it's very important to be the very first audience member of what you create. And that's why I was saying the thing earlier about once you're done writing a book, Step away from it for a while and then be the first reader, [01:01:00] you know?

[01:01:00] Ikikima: So yeah, just create stuff that you're, cuz I can can say create stuff you're really passionate about, but create stuff that even you would con you would be a consumer of if it wasn't yours. Cuz I think there's something that kind of naturally puts your passion into it, you know? So, yeah, 

[01:01:19] Destiny: I concur cuz why would you write something that you don't care about?

[01:01:22] Destiny: That would be like torture? 

[01:01:24] Ikikima: I've seen it, I've seen people do it because it's like, oh, audiences want this. So you write in that way as opposed to what are you interested in? What do you like, what would you watch? You know what I mean? Right. 

[01:01:35] Destiny: And I feel like there's an audience for everything. Mm-hmm. It's really just how you execute and position it.

[01:01:41] Destiny: Because you could write, I feel like most people could write a murder mystery, but you can have a fun spin on it if that's your thing. Yeah. You know, it's, it's out there somewhere. There's somebody, there's, I don't know, a trillion people out there in the world. Mm-hmm. Somebody, somebody, yeah. Come, come, come around.

[01:01:57] Destiny: Next question. Where can people connect [01:02:00] with you ? 

[01:02:02] Ikikima: With me? I guess the most common, I guess it'll be, it's becoming a most consistent place. Again, Twitch. Twitch tv. I sometimes not as often as I used to, but I sometimes will play my music on there, singing, play piano on there. So it's www.twitch.tv/african beep.

[01:02:24] Ikikima: So beep is my nickname and I am African. So yeah, that's probably the place you'll find me the most. I'm on YouTube, but yeah, the older videos, so, but yeah. 

[01:02:39] Destiny: Awesome. And last name. What book do you recommend young authors or just creatives to read? 

[01:02:48] Ikikima: I would say this book called On Writing, well I actually have it behind me, but by William Zer.

[01:02:56] Ikikima: So it's a random one because it's geared toward [01:03:00] nonfiction writing. So he the writer speaks more from like, it sounds like he's speaking more to, like journalists or people writing that kind of content. But what he talks about to me works for every writer. Like, I have some things, I, I haven't read the book in years, but I have some stuff that's stuck in my head for years and that changed the way I write.

[01:03:19] Ikikima: You know, for example, like he talks about being very concise in the way you write. Cause I know, especially with fiction, we really wanna put all the prettiest words out there and there's a way to do it, you know, but just making sure you're not just filling your sentences with fluff. Making it more concise can actually help to keep people's attention.

[01:03:39] Ikikima: So, but yeah, that's, I think that's a good one. Even if you're a fiction writer and I think it's one that people should give, you know, give a chance and read through a little bit, you, you'll probably find at least one thing that'll help your, help you improve your writing. 

[01:03:54] Destiny: So that's there to be a good writer is one of the best things to learn is that you have to [01:04:00] improve your craft.

[01:04:00] Destiny: So it's reading not just fiction books, but reference books, any type of way to break down structure books cuz you want to be good. So you gotta put the work in like school, gotta put some work in. Mm-hmm. And it's looks different from everybody, but that's also a great resource as well. Announcement all my Tuscaloosa dwellers, what's going on?, Ikikima.

[01:04:25] Ikikima: I will be performing a bunch actually of my original songs at UPerk cafe downtown. It'll be from 12 to one 30 in the afternoon. And what else about it? UPerk  on July 29th, so at the end of this month. So it's gonna be fun, 

[01:04:45] Destiny: right? You all get to see live in action, what I'm talking about on July 29th to see a Ikikima at UPerk on my Tuscaloosa dwellers.

[01:04:55] Destiny: Yeah. But thank you so much Ikikima for being on the show. [01:05:00] You're welcome. And thank you all for listening to Penned by Design. I'll see you next. I'll listen to you next time.