Interview with Dharrsheena Raja Segarran

Today, I'll be interviewing a great writer on Vocal, she’s a poet, and she knows it. She’s a writer of fiction and stories that are great! She’s a writer and that’s a wonderful fate! Let us give a warm welcome and a round of applause to Dharrsheena Raja Segarran! She’s been a big part of the vocal community with not just her great writing but also with her great praise of others. Week after week, she gives the best compliments, it’s time we return the favor to our favorite writer!

A.H.M. How did you get started writing poetry and stories.

D.R.S. I've been writing stories since I was a kid. My teacher would give us a topic and ask us to write a story. I was maybe around 6 or 7 years old when I started writing stories.

As for poetry, I only started writing it after joining Vocal about more than a year ago. Colleen Millsteed was my inspiration. I would be soooo amazed reading her poems and I was motivated to try it.

A.H.M What inspires you to write your poetry and stories

D.R.S. There's no specific answer for this. Suddenly, an idea would pop up in my head and I'll just go with it. Some of my pieces have been inspired by my real-life events, though.

A.H.M. How would you define your writing style? Is there one piece you wrote that you like the best? Why?

D.R.S. Oooo, that's a good question! I always begin and end my stories with a dialogue. I have no idea why I do that. My endings are kinda open ended to a certain extent.

My favourite would have to be Phantasmagoria because I think that's the goriest story I've written. It was me in my element.

A.H.M. What’s been the most challenging thing for you to write and why?

D.R.S. The most challenging was my poem, Rainy Day In The Car. That was for the Get Comfortable Challenge. I decided to step out of my comfort zone (I just realised the irony, lol) and write about love. I was cringing the whole time I was writing it.

A.H.M. What is your most important piece of advice to other writers?

D.R.S. Always be true to yourself. We should not change who we are to fit in. Compared to other genres and communities on Vocal, horror isn't too popular. But that's my niche and that's what I'll write about. We should write for ourselves instead of for others.

A.H.M. What do you want people to learn from your work?

D.R.S. I don't think there's anything to learn from my horror stories. I always make the villain win 🤣 My poems, on the other hand, I always try to include new words. I love learning new words and I always hope others would do too!

A.H.M. Can you tell me what your writing process looks like? Tell me how you get your ideas, when you start writing, what your mood and thought process is, etc.

D.R.S. I usually would have a story idea pop up into my head. Then I'll just let it marinate in my head to figure out my plot and characters. This would take anywhere between a few hours to a few weeks.

Once I have the complete plot, I'll type out the first draft. Then, for the next seven days, I would daily edit that by adding or removing parts of the story and correcting the grammar.

I would start to think of the title and look for the cover pic on the fifth day. Then, on the 7th day, I would publish it.

A.H.M. What’s one thing you love about writing?

D.R.S. I love the fact that I'm able to create something completely from scratch.

A.H.M. What’s something you hate about writing?

D.R.S. At times, I struggle to write what is in my head. Like I can't find suitable words or I can't construct proper sentences to express perfectly what I want to.

A.H.M. How long has writing been a passion of yours?

D.R.S. Ever since I was a kid. Like maybe since I was 6 or 7 years old.

A.H.M. What do you like to do for fun?

D.R.S. Sleeping. I love to sleep. It's like an escape from the real world. So magical.

A.H.M. Is there anything else you think your fans should know about you?

D.R.S. I wasn't always this girl who was consumed by her darkness. I used to be all sunshine and rainbows. But I like who I am now. I wouldn't be able to recognise myself without my darkness.

A.H.M. Thank you for letting me interview you!

D.R.S. Thank you so much for having me! It was an honour to be interviewed by you and I feel so humbled!