Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittni Kirkpatrick.
Hi Brittni, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is Brittni Kirkpatrick (formerly published under Brittni Kirkpatrick). I am a writer and published author. I’ve been writing since I was about six years old. I just remember being a child with so many feelings and observations that I needed to write them out. It was the best way I could express myself or tell stories. My 2nd-grade teacher recognized this passion and had one of the stories I wrote bound and displayed in her classroom. She was the first person to really encourage this skill I had. So I go on throughout the years and my teachers are telling me that you have this gift of writing, but I don’t know quite what that means for me at the time. I knew writing was just this natural flowing thing for me. I kept writing academically and as a hobby. I would journal, and I just remember loving the art of self-expression onto the page. I would read and read, getting lost in books like ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’ by C.S. Lewis imagining these worlds that could be created with words. There’s an art in being to paint a scene with words. Then, I graduated high school to pursue a journalism major. But life happens, and I adjusted. I didn’t write for years between my early college years and my mid-20s. I didn’t really know what I wanted to be doing at that time.
It wasn’t until I quit a toxic job in 2015 that I picked up writing again. I was on the floor in the living room at my dad’s house and remember watching TV asking myself what I really wanted to see from my life? What natural skills did I want to explore and nurture? About an hour later, I pulled out my laptop and started writing affirmations to myself telling myself, “Black girl, you can…” This is where I got the inspiration for my book, ‘Black Girl, You Can Do This’. I decided that I would write ten love letters to my younger self, giving her all the lessons I wish I had learned at her age and the ones I wished I had listened to. After each love letter on a specific topic of self-love and redemption, there is a section for mindfulness and reflection for journaling. After about a year of playing with the idea then a few months of writing and editing, I self-published ‘Black Girl, You Can Do This’ in 2017 on Amazon and Barnes & Noble online.
After I wrote this book, I went on to publish two more books. I published ‘The Narrative’, my first poetry collection, in late 2020. Currently, I am writing my first fiction novel and collection of short stories. I also have plans on starting a short story podcast soon.
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?
The road has definitely not been smooth. Even though I love writing, I didn’t always know what I wanted to do with it. Should you monetize your art or keep it as a hobby? I went to college but dropped out months later and got a job. I held a lot of random jobs in stressful environments that would leave me too drained to even think about writing or creating. When you get used to that routine, it becomes a little more difficult to imagine being supported enough to pursue your art. You have to do the work to align with your purpose and get connected enough within to have the courage to pursue the art whether you’re supported or not. I also struggled with marketing my first book. You think as soon as you publish, the book will sell itself, but that isn’t the case when you’re self-published. It takes a lot of time and effort to connect with the right people and make an impact. It took practice, commitment, and consistency to establish myself as a full-time writer and accept myself as a creative.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a writer and published author. I am most known for my book, ‘Black Girl, You Can Do This’, which I wrote to inspire young black girls and black women to know themselves before they know anyone else. I have received the most beautiful feedback from that book. Many women also resonate with my poetry collection, ‘The Narrative’. It was my first time attempting a poetry collection, so I am proud of myself for putting my heart on the page. Anyone who reads my writing knows that I am passionate about black women healing themselves from the inside out. My non-fiction writing covers subjects such as choosing self-acceptance over self-abandonment, guilt and shame from wounded pasts, practicing your craft and aligning with your calling, slow and intentional living, abundance, stepping into your personal over playing small, and more. Right now, I am writing my first fiction novel series and a collection of short stories. I am most proud of the work I have done internally to really align with my authentic voice that allows people to feel me through my words. I love when women reach out to me and let me know that my words shifted things in them or made them feel seen. I want black women to feel seen and known for my pages to be a place where they can rest and open themselves to the abundance of possibilities for their lives. I write from my soul without restraint because I deeply love what I do. Writing with passion and love, infused with my own personal power, experience, and a deep appreciation for the gift of writing is what sets me apart from others.
What’s next?
I have so many plans for the future – to keep writing, of course. I plan to continue doing the work on myself and experiencing joy, ease, and rest enough in my days to write from an aligned space. I’m looking forward to diving deep into the characters and story I’m developing in my fiction novel series. I’m also looking forward to my collection of short stories being finished, but I am not rushing them. I am eager to continue practicing my craft and watching the stories unfold. I am excited to contribute to the fiction genre that got me through a lot in my formative years.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @authorbrittni
- Other: TikTok – @authorbrittni
Image Credits
The personal photos of me in the dress standing in water and sitting in the grass were taken by Tanya Wideman @tanyawidemanphotography The photo of myself standing in all black and laughing was taken by Shekeidra of @smarchephoto
