Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Leon.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born and raised in Miami to Nicaraguan parents and I feel like I’ve been surrounded by literature before I could walk! My parents and grandparents taught me all the classics—philosophy, history, literature, science, mathematics, anything and everything from Aristotle, Plato, Aurelius, Keats, Edison, Rubén Darío, Dickinson, etc. I love to read and when I was a kid, I would print out high school required reading lists and just read everything. I loved seeing how people worked in these stories and the parallels in real life from fiction.
I didn’t start writing until middle school and I was 12 when I published my first poem. Throughout high school and college, I wrote a lot of short stories and longer fiction pieces but it wasn’t until college that I got into poetry again. I was attending FIU working on my writing and just trying to get over my fear to write anything down in general when I would write poetry in my spare time. I got rejected a lot in the beginning from publications but I started performing at open mic nights. I found that people really resonated with my writing which made me feel like my work was good, not just midnight ramblings. Writing is often a solitary thing and it’s that difficult balancing act to be critical of your work while also recognizing that you’re good at your craft.
I graduated FIU magna cum laude with two bachelor’s degrees in Digital Media and English Literature which combined my love of content creation in the digital space and storytelling. While I was writing on my first novel, I began getting published in some amazing magazines and the response to my work has been so surprising. I’ve had heartwarming and sweet messages that my work has resonated with people and I’m always blown away and grateful for the positive reception of my work.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If anyone tells you it’s been a smooth road, they’re lying! No one is born with the world at their feet and accomplished. There’s a lot of factors that writers struggle with, some outside of our control. For me, it’s been self-doubt. I had big ideas and would strain against leaning into these ideas while simultaneously telling myself I wasn’t worthy of bringing to life these ideas that I came up with it. It’s this strange paralysis of fear that only goes away when you face your fear head on. The more I write, the easier it is to just focus on the writing itself. Some days, it’s harder and you almost procrastinate so you don’t have to be uncomfortable facing a blank page. On those days, I forced myself to sit in front of my keyboard with a 30-minute timer and just write anything. That helps tremendously and I usually end up writing for hours after that.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’ve always written short stories and longer-form fiction so it’s surprising that my publishing career started in poetry since I wrote poetry later on in my life. My poetry is all about intense emotions—loss, love, angst, happiness. I always want the reader to feel the emotions of the narrator as if it’s their own. I am very visual so my goal is to have my poetry play as a little film in your mind.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
My practical advice would be to make a schedule. Set out an hour each day to sit down in one place and devote that time to only write. When I worked my first 9-5 after college. I would wake up at 5 AM and write all morning before heading to work at the office all day.
. I got really good at pilates to stretch my muscles from sitting all day! It was exhausting, obviously, but when I was in front of my computer and writing, it was always worth it. Also, read a lot. In your genre and outside of it. To be a good writer, you have to be a voracious reader.
My career advice would be to research a lot. I’ve met people who don’t know anything about the publishing industry yet expect everything to be handed on a silver platter. If you want to be taken seriously, research what it takes to reach your publishing goals and learn from others who have the career you want. Be courteous and always support your writer friends and colleagues. There’s room for everyone at the top. Especially in poetry. When one poet wins, the whole community wins as well.
Contact Info:
- Email: contactamandaleon@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missamandaleon/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/amandaleon
