Kristen R. Lee is a young author writing about her personal experiences and evolving her (already amazing) writing voice. On March 31, I got the chance to speak with her about her book, Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman. Representative of her own experiences, it deals with racism and microaggressions on college campuses and the way it affects young adults.
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E (Me/Emmie): How has your college experience linked to Required Reading? How does it compare to it? Does it compare to it at all?

Kristen R. Lee: Definitely. So, when I started Required Reading, it was based on a majority of my college experiences [that take place] in this book. 

So, a lot of things that [the character] Savannah went through regarding microaggressions and the trauma she faced is a kind of watered-down version of what me and some of my friends who I went to college with faced while attending a predominantly white university. This book was kind of my way of opening up about what black students face on these campuses, and getting it out there that although progress has been made, there's still more to go.

E: So, Savannah and Benji's relationship [in Required Reading] is super tumultuous because of lack of support and, at times, honesty. If you could speak to someone directly in a role like his, what advice would you give them?

K: Oh, so for Benji, I would definitely tell him, “Just be honest, be upfront.”

I think he was really scared of being seen as that person that, you know, that is playing the fence. So instead of just speaking up about what he knew about his relationship with Lucas, he decided to stay in the back and see how things play out. Of course, that didn't work for him and Savannah.

So, yeah, definitely just “be upfront, be honest, and try not to be someone you're not.” I think that was a theme in the book — how all of them had to put on a face. They were all trying to get what they wanted out of their college experience. And most of that was a farce, it wasn't them. Towards the end, I think they all realized, “Okay, I don't have to be this person just to fit into the culture of this college.”

E: How has your experience with racism and microaggressions affected your writing outside of this book or in it?

K: After I finished writing [Required Reading], it really opened me up to wanting to write about other things. I felt like I got what I had to say out about microaggressions, about racism, about the traumas that go on on college campuses. 

It was really freeing for me to write this book. It was really healing for me to write this book, and it also made me realize that I have other things to talk about as well. So, I can talk about love and joy and random genres. I wanted to write horror. I want to write romance. I want to write historical fiction. I even want to continue to write on college campuses, but I want to write about the happy side of college — the part of college that most kids should read about, and how their experiences should be.

I want to write things like that. Writing Required Reading really opened me up. It taught me that I have range, that this isn't something I have to stick with.

E: Do you tend to get writer's block, and if so, what's the thing that you did to get unblocked?

K: I am going through writer's block right now! Back before, when I first started writing this book (like first sold it and all that), I sold on a two-book deal. So getting writer's block, wasn't really something that I could do since I was under contract. I had to push myself a lot to get the content out, but now that I'm not under contract anymore and I can write freely, writer's block has come back.

To combat it, I have just been taking time for myself. I feel like that's something that a lot of authors don't really do. We feel that we have to push out books yearly and sometimes that's not sustainable. It's okay to take a breath. A breath is okay to rest. It's okay to charge. I just turned in edits for book two.

I was talking to my agent and said ‘so that's how we get started on book three.’ That's good. I'm ready to hit the ground. She was like, “No, chill. Like, you can take a break.” So, I've been watching reality TV; I've been going to bookstores; I've been reading things that aren't related to YA. I've been getting inspired in other ways, meeting new people, talking to people.

Those are all the ways that I've been combating my writer's block.

E: Yeah, that's amazing. Thank you. When you write, what's the environment like? Are you sitting at a desk or a couch?

K: So, these days, I'm writing on my phone. I write with my notes app. That's where I get down most of my ideas. I'll go in there first before I move to a computer. 

When I do actually go on the computer, I have to get on my desktop because I can't write in bed or on the couch or any spaces like that, or I feel like I'll get unmotivated. I'd want to watch Netflix instead of actually writing. So, I try to create a space that's comforting, but where I also know: “Okay. I have to get this done on time.”

E: Do you have any advice or a message for young women of color writers or young BIPOC writers?  

K: I would say, “Don't take no for an answer.”

I think when I was beginning to write, I got really discouraged by the rejections. But you really can't let those nos get to you — because you're going to have a lot of them. 

Even now, as a published author, I still get nos from my agent, my editor, and reviewers. You're going to constantly get told, “Oh, this doesn't work” and “Oh, you should try something else. I don't like this,” but it's up to you to be sure of what you're writing. Be confident in your writing and don't let people define who you are as a writer.

E: I love that. Why, if there's any specific reason, did you choose to publish your book instead of leaving it unpublished?

K: I think it's because of other people telling me that this is a book that people would want to read. 

So, when I first wrote the book, I started sending it to people. I never really thought that it would get published. I was just letting people read it because — I wrote a book! And, I don't want to be the only person who ever reads this book. 

I just started to send it out to people just to get feedback and learn what they thought. And [to know if they thought] it was something that would be good enough to be out on the road? To that, I got a lot of yeses. I got a lot of people wanting to read about this. 

So I knew I couldn't let this sit on the shelf and sit on my computer. That's how I started to actually research how to publish a book because I really didn't know anything about it. Once I finished the book, I thought, ‘okay, I'm done.’

I didn't know anything about agents or editors or query letters or synopses. I didn't know any of those things. I honestly just thought books got made quickly. ‘They're just going to go publish it.’ So that took Required Reading out of my computer.
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Throughout this discussion, I was very thankful to speak about the inspiration for Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman, Lee’s experience with racism, and advice about writing. It was a wonderful read that I very much recommend to everyone reading this.