Meet Kristen Stark

Summary

Kristen Stark, a humor writer from South Carolina with a background in stand-up comedy and a penchant for expressiveness and sarcasm, shares her acronym-inspired self-description, her journey into writing on Medium, and her approach to crafting stories amidst her day job responsibilities.

Abstract

Kristen Stark introduces herself as a writer whose acronym spells out qualities like kindness, resilience, and nutty humor, suggesting a personality that is both engaging and down-to-earth. Specializing in humor, she admits to an aversion to serious writing and recounts her history of jotting down jokes in a notebook since her twenties, with a brief stint in stand-up. Stark's writing journey on Medium began in October 2021, marking a significant milestone in her development as a writer, supported by the Medium community, including mentors like Elizabeth Emerald and Michael Burg, MD. Despite her northern roots and an adventurous past abroad, she now writes from South Carolina, balancing her creative process with a day job, often using her phone or a spiral notebook to capture ideas. Her writing process varies, with some pieces coming together quickly while others linger, leading to overthinking. Kristen's choice to write on Medium stemmed from a search for a humor writing platform, and despite an initial rejection from Slackjaw, she has continued to hone her craft.

Opinions

Kristen Stark values humor and expressiveness, as evidenced by her reluctance to engage in serious writing.
She acknowledges her resilience and adaptability, having overcome a strong humor defense mechanism to complete the acronym challenge.
Her self-deprecating humor and candidness about her writing process and its challenges suggest a humble approach to her craft.
Stark appreciates the support she received from the Medium community, particularly from fellow humorists who encouraged her early on.
She holds a light-hearted view of her past escapades, referring to her study abroad experience with humor and acknowledging her more calmed state now.
Despite the distractions and potential repercussions, she prioritizes writing over her day job, indicating a strong dedication to her passion for writing.
The mention of her rejection by Slackjaw, followed by a dismissive "Fuckers," reveals a resilience to criticism and a determination to continue writing.
Her playful self-comparison to Christ, followed by "Amen," suggests a tongue-in-cheek attitude towards self-importance and a consistent thread of humor throughout her self-presentation.

WHO does your acronym say you are?

K = Kind, most of the time R = Resilient I = Interested in people S = Sarcastic T = Thoughtful E = Expressive N = Nutty

I tried to get out of doing the acronym because it pains me to be serious.

The Everything Fun Squad encouraged me to try again and I overcame my strong humor defense mechanism. Look at me! Growing and shit!

WHERE are you located?

South Carolina as of 2020.

BUT, I was born and raised in New Jersey and then I lived in and around NYC for ten years so I am definitely a northerner, as they say.

I also studied abroad in Manchester, England when I was 21 and I was drunk and/or high very often during that bender. I mean… majestic soul-filling travel experience. I have calmed down now, thankfully.

HOW do you write? Describe your process.

When I get an idea I write a line or two in Notes on my phone or in my spiral Notebook of Nonsense. Then, I start fleshing out the story on a free morning while I am supposed to be doing my real job.

The ever-observant Krystal caught onto my little bad employee routine and called me out once, haha. I am doing it as we speak. It is 9:38 AM on a Thursday and I am writing this while my inbox pings. Never hire me.

Sometimes I can complete a story in 1 or 2 days. Others take longer to finish. Those stories are usually a wreck because I overthink them, but I still learn something from the smoldering ruins.

WHY did you choose to write on Medium?

I was Googling places to write humor and somehow found this place.

I wasn’t sure I could even write humor in essay format. I was only writing one-liners and short jokes before this, which no one saw but me.

I read a couple of humor stories* when I was considering Medium. I thought they were funny and I had a “Maybe I could do that” moment, so I tried. Elizabeth Emerald and Michael Burg, MD (Satire Sommelier) were really supportive in my early days and that helped me to keep at it.

*The stories were in Slackjaw. I submitted one story to them last year and it got rejected. I never tried again. Fuckers.

Fun fact: The name Kristen is derived from “Christ” and I think we can all agree that I am very Christ-like.

Amen.

PROMPT RESPONSE | NAME GAME

Meet Kristen Stark

But why on earth would you want to?

WHO does your acronym say you are?

WHAT genres do you write about?

WHEN did you start writing?

WHERE are you located?

HOW do you write? Describe your process.

WHY did you choose to write on Medium?