Rivulet Interviews- Nik

For as long as I’ve known Nik, they’ve been a wonderful person and a fantastic writer! Graduating the BFA Creative Writing Program this May as a former “Minion” and River Intern (2022), they are bound to go far with their craftsmanship.

On the day of our conversation, the light through the Mantor Cafe windows was a muted grey, and the rumble of voices at the counter overtook our quiet corner. Although I was not able to capture anything verbatim this time around, I have reconstructed our delightful conversation to the best of my ability:

Nik’s lifelong love of writing had begun rather suddenly, starting with an ornate journal gifted to their cousin on their birthday (when Nik themself was around 12). They remembered coveting one just as beautiful, yet felt very unsure what to actually write in it once it lay in their hands. This is, no doubt, a position I (and many other authors) have been in, as we do not want to mark the beautiful pages with anything but a perfect idea or our best handwriting. In fact, Nik themself had gifted me a beautiful journal in the winter of Freshman Year and I have only scarcely written in it!

When asked to describe their writing style and preferred genre and form, they said they are usually a “very all-over-the-place writer” who specialIzes in speculative fiction and poetry, with the latter acquiring great fondness after the start of college. They outlined their process as writing as soon as an idea comes to them, if they are able, and fleshing out more detailed portions of the plot later. Nik is a very character-driven writer, and this fact presents wonderfully in their work! We discussed our tendencies to daydream and the difficulty in coming out of the worlds we created.

Being a Creative Writing Minion, Nik’s experiences with UMF have been overwhelmingly positive, and although they haven’t found time in their schedule for a writing course this semester, they have gotten leagues of support from professors and other authors on and off campus (including a growing Discord Server known as Werds, or Werd Nerds United, of which I am a member as well!). 

UMF offers the option to explore the artist’s passion required for the craft, Nik states.

When asked for any advice pending to new writers, Nik advises that the phrase “kill (or cryogenically “freeze”) your darlings” be present at all times in one’s mind.

Thank you, Nik!