Interview With Dharrsheena Raja Segarran

Dharrsheena Raja Segarran has received many Top Stories recognition on Vocal. She is also one of Vocal’s Horror Top Creators.

April 20, 2023

Welcome to MariannCarroll’s Vocal Interview Blog. Today, I was given the honor to interview Dharrsheena Raja Segarran.

I interviewed, Dharrsheena from Facebook messager. It took me two days to interview her due to our time differences.

Mariann (New York, USA) : Can I interview you for my Vocal Interview Story Blog?

Dharrsheena (Malaysia): Oh wowww. That's soooo nice of you. Yea sure. I mean, thank you so much, this is like a huge honour. 🥰🥰🥰

Mariann: When did you realized you wanted to write?

Dharrsheena: I've always loved writing. Before my teenage years, if my teacher assigned us to write a one-page essay, I would write five. During high school, my teacher would look for essay-writing competitions for us to enter. My friends hated it but I enjoyed them so much!

I didn't write much after that as I went to university and started working. But in June 2021, I had to quit my job due to a decline in my mental health. In February 2022, I started writing again because my therapist suggested that I do something I was passionate about. I found Vocal during that time too and decided to publish my writing

Well, I hope that answers your question. I've always wanted to write!

Mariann: How long does it take you to write a story on Vocal?

Dharrsheena: Approximately a week. I usually only start writing once I have the story fully planned out beginning to end in my head. So it takes about 1 to 2 hours to finish typing it out. The way I do it is, I don't make sure my sentences or grammar are perfect as I type. I do a very lazy job.

The next day, I proofread my story. I either add or remove certain parts of the plot and dialogues. Then the next day, I check for spelling mistakes. The next day for grammar mistakes. I don't check everything at the same time to avoid getting overwhelmed. So this process takes about a week.

Poems are written much faster but just like stories, I proofread them each day for a week before publishing.

Mariann: What is your real life schedule? How do you fit your writing in your schedule?

Dharrsheena: Ugh, my schedule is very boring. If I don't have any hospital appointments or errands to run, I'm always at home. My mornings are usually filled with reading in the Vocal groups. Afternoons to evenings are usually my writing/proofreading time. If I'm not writing/proofreading, I'll either be promoting my older stories on Facebook or watching a movie. Nights before bedtime, I'm usually scrolling through TikTok.

Mariann: What do you like most to write about?

Dharrsheena: I would definitely say stories. Horror specifically. Though I try to insert some subtle humour into it. To give a more wtf effect hahaha.

Mariann: What’s your main goal in writing?

Dharrsheena: Hmmm, goals. I'm not the kinda person to set a goal. I tend to get very obsessive over things. So if I set a goal, I would feverishly work towards it until I overwhelm myself too much. So I just tend to go with the flow.

Mariann: Where do you get your ideas for your stories?

Dharrsheena: Oooo, this is a good question. Sometimes they just pop into my head. Even I would be like whoa, where did that come from. Then I'll just wait for my brain to come up with a plot for that idea. If it does, I proceed with the story. If it doesn't, I'll just put it into my ideas for stories list

Sometimes, I get ideas from friends. The Phantomic Coffee was inspired by Cathy Holmes.

Mariann: Where were you born? How many Siblings ? What’s the best word to describe yourself?

Dharrsheena: I was born in Selangor, Malaysia. I'm an only child. Not as cool as people portray it to be. It sucks. Big time. Hahaha. Best word to describe me, hmmm, that's a tough one. Let's see. I think 'crazy' would be suitable, lol!

Mariann : I find you fun, smart and beautiful person inside and out from all our interactions on Vocal and Facebook.

My next question, What’s your favorite stories you wrote and why?

Dharrsheena: My favorite would probably be The Phantom of the Lake. I'm a firm believer of karma and reincarnation, and I incorporated them into this story. I'm very happy with the way this story turned out.

Mariann: What does your writing space look like?

Dharrsheena: My writing space is my bedroom. It's plain and simple. Just my laptop on my table. That's it. Nothing fancy.

Mariann: Do you base your stories’ characters on real people?

Dharrsheena: Nope, all my characters are purely fictional. None of them are based on real people except the ones in my story Hostel Life Shenanigans. All characters in that story are real people whose names I've changed, including mine.

I have an upcoming story titled 'Don't Be A Mommy's Boy'. This is just a temporary title, I might change it later before publishing it. All the characters except one in that story are real people whose names I've changed.

Mariann: I look forward to reading your latest story. 🥰

I have some extra question and I will finish the interview with the first story I read of yours . All your stories I loved even if I was not into Horror stories at first . You helped me conquer the stigma I had of them.

We will get a little personal with these bonus questions.

What’s your favorite book to read and why?

Dharrsheena: Favorite book, that's a tough one. My favorite author is R. L. Stine. He's the author of the well known Goosebumps series. He's the reason I started reading horror stories. His books are my favourite! Sorry but I just can't choose one

Mariann: Why do you like Horror stories?

Dharrsheena: That's a very good question. I'm autistic and have ADD, so I always find it difficult to focus on things for a long time. Horror kinda holds my focus longer than any other genre would. I'm not sure if that's why I love horror stories so much. It sometimes help me ground myself, if that makes sense?

Mariann: If you can interview anyone on Vocal who would he/she be and why?

Dharrsheena: I recently discovered Stephen Avitable (Stephen Kramer Avitable in Vocal). His horror stories are really good. I found myself going to his profile whenever I'm free because I couldn’t get enough of his stories. I then invited him to the Vocal groups in Facebook. It would be great to interview him!

Mariann: What’s your favorite Horror movie?

Dharrsheena:Oooo, I have so many that I like. I think I'll go with Terrifier. Art the Clown was fantastic in the movie! It was so gory and creepy. It even has a sequel, Terrifier 2. I feel the first one is better than the sequel though

Mariann: Thank you, Dharrsheena Raja Segarran letting us in your writing world. Thank you for all the questions you have answered.

Readers, you may not know but Dharrsheena is also a Certified Nutritionist. She has articles on Vocal on nutrition diets. I will end this interview with the first story of hers that I read. I enjoyed this interview and was very excited to get her respond to the questions.

I hope you enjoyed this interview vocal readers especially fans of Dharrsheena.