Today, we welcome MatthewD_Writes to the Wattpad Urban profile. He is a Wattpad Star and a Jamaican award-winning writer intent on re-shaping the way we navigate the human experience. We're very excited that he has agreed to share his writing experience with us.

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URBAN: Thank you so much, Matthew, for sharing your time with us. We are excited to talk about your journey as a writer and a Wattpad Star!

MATTHEW: Awesome! Me too!

URBAN: What prompted you to become a writer? And why did you choose urban and its subgenres?

MATTHEW: I often find myself crediting Cassandra Clare as my first inspiration for writing. I think at a young age she instilled so much love for writing within me. I remember reading one of her books in class one day, pausing, and with unparalleled certainty saying, "This is what I want to do." And the rest is pretty much history if I'm honest. In terms of the genres I write, I don't see "urban" as one of them. In fact, I try to stay away from racially coded language like that. I write black characters because I am black and I grew up subconsciously thinking I was less because of it. With that being said, I want to play my part in breaking the cycle of black boys and girls consuming stories that inherently exclude them. We deserve the spotlight as much as everyone else.

URBAN: That is amazing! How do you find inspiration for your works Wicked, Wild, Wonderful and Heartbreaker?

MATTHEW: Thanks! Wicked, Wild, Wonderful came to me when I was only a teenager and I wanted to express the pains of growing up and coming to terms with an evolving world around you. At the time I was reading Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche in school and her themes of sound and silence really struck a chord with me. From there I sought to develop a story, in the best way I could, about being a teenager burdened by adult issues. HeartBreaker came a little easier to me. Everyone always writes poetry about love from a victimized perspective and so I wanted to flip that narrative and write from the perspective of whoever is in the wrong and at the same time provide reasoning for why they break hearts the way that they do currently. In that way, I saw love and heartbreak as cyclical. One loves, gets their heart broken then does the same to someone else and the tradition continues. That concept fascinated me so I wanted to really explore that.

URBAN: That is inspiring. Why don't you share some of your writing habits? How do you fit writing time into your day? What tricks do you use to organize your writing life?

MATTHEW: Sure thing! I try to write every day even if it's just a line of poetry or a jotting of a new idea. I really can't say that there's a trick to organizing my day or making myself write. I think it honestly comes down to discipline. It takes years to hone but I think that kind of consistency is worth it.

URBAN: That's amazing! Consistency is always key. Tell us about your experience writing on Wattpad? What are your favorite things about sharing your work on this platform?

MATTHEW: I absolutely love the engagement Wattpad allows. Being able to read my readers' thoughts and feelings in the comment section as they go through my story is addictive, to say the least, haha. I also love being able to interact back and I think it really builds our relationship.

URBAN: True! What do you like to do when you're not writing?

MATTHEW: Well, school mostly. Whether that be academics or extra-curricular activities focused on student advocacy and bettering myself as a leader. I've also taken up working out recently, but we'll see how long that lasts.

URBAN: That's good, we are sure it will last long enough. What bit of advice would you like to share with aspiring writers?

MATTHEW: First, write about what you want to read. Stay genuine and authentic to who you are. You don't have to follow all trends because as long as you like it there will be people who like it as well and the lost genuine of our works are the ones that resonate the most. Secondly, write every day. Don't think of it as a chore but instead as something therapeutic- a form of self-expression. And lastly, your dreams only work if you do! You got this!

URBAN: Wise words, Matthew. Can you tell us about your current WIP and why did you choose to write it?

MATTHEW: Thank you. I have two WIPs right now: Godspeed and Today I Passed Your House And Realized I Wasn't Over You. The prior I was inspired to write because I wanted to try my hand at writing a romance book for the first time ever and I've been particularly interested in themes surrounding sound and silence so I wanted to put my own twist on that. For the latter, I was inspired by true events and I like every other writer I used my art as a form of expression to kind of translate everything I was feeling. So that poetry book, in a way, is the rawest thing I've ever written. I had written about a quarter of the poems just as therapy before I decided to compile them into a poetry book and publish them.

URBAN: That's pretty good! Thank you so much for spending time with us. We wish you all the best in your writing endeavors.

MATTHEW: Thank you so much! It's been a pleasure!