Yong Takahashi, an accomplished author in both fiction and poetry, has earned acclaim as a finalist in esteemed literary competitions including The Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing, Southern Fried Karma Novel Contest, Gemini Magazine Short Story Contest, The Writers’ Mastermind Short Story Contest, and The Sexton Prize for Poetry. Currently, she’s seeking an agent for her YA dystopian novel while simultaneously crafting an enthralling fantasy trilogy. Beyond her writing, Yong inspires fellow creatives to fearlessly pursue their artistic passions. Stay updated on her latest projects by visiting her Linktree.
Q: Is writing something you always knew you wanted to do, even at a young age?
A: I always liked to write, even when English was my second language. My family came to The United States when I was two and a half years old. From then and up to age six, Korean was the only language spoken in my home. When I started school, they didn’t have English as a second language so they put me in special education for six months. As soon as I got promoted to first grade, I met a teacher who gave me a lot of books to read and since then, I’ve been writing little things here and there. Recently, I found a couple of journals that the elementary school printed and found some of my stories there. When I turned 39, I decided I wanted to try to write a novel and initially didn’t know how to go about it. So I took a lot of online classes and I just started writing short stories and poetry and it just started from there.
Q: How important is it to you to have a sense of community in your profession?
A: It’s great because they understand your struggles and provide tips on where to look for literary journals seeking stories, writer residencies, fellowship opportunities, and author groups. It’s a lot of information we wouldn’t find on our own, but we share that and encourage each other to succeed.
Q: What is the most surprising aspect of your professional journey thus far?
A: It takes a long time to get a book published. If you want to go the traditional route it takes about two years now. It could be pushed even further out because there may have been a backlog of books that sat during the early part of the pandemic.
Q: Do you believe in balance? If you do, how do you maintain it in your life?
A: I’m an all-or-nothing type of person so I don’t do balance. But it’s helpful that my husband is supportive. He doesn’t expect me to be the cooking and cleaning type of wife. He let me quit my job to write full-time and encouraged me to go full force into it. We don’t have kids, so I don’t have that responsibility. I started later in life so I have to put more out there. I’m always feeling like I have to catch up.
Q: Is there any one person that you most admire and why?
A: I admire Louise Penny. She writes mystery which is not my genre but I like her writing style. She writes about a male character but you could sense a woman wrote it based on the details. She adheres to a strict writing schedule. She’ll take time to research, then she’ll write for three months, then edit for three months, and then take three months off. It’s the same every year. I wish I could be that disciplined.
To stay connected to Yong Takahashi:
- Instagram: @yongversation
- For more updates, visit Yong’s Linktree here.
