Kiko Enjani is a science fiction and fantasy writer, coder and artist, whose works can be on Kikoenjani.
Kiko spoke to myNetwork about how they do it all.
How does writing, coding and artistry relate with each other?
You need to engage different parts of the brain to create codes and write fiction, but both call for creativity. Design is of paramount importance when creating art, and I often incorporate my designs into the visual presentation of my codes. Three-way symbiosis. The more I do of one, the better I get at the other two.
How much of your writing work do you post on the website?
There’s actually a lot on the site, but the content can only be retrieved by me. Currently, there are just three e-books and one letter which are available to the public, but there are seven more e-books and about 12 letters that only I can access. This is because I have to plan and rework some ideas and articles before publishing them.
What do you mostly write about?
About fictional worlds where characters are just trying to survive. I like creating new worlds and this forms a huge part of my prose, although I usually end up deleting most of it because my readers are not that patient with long reads. Whenever I start going into detail, I usually dive really deep, describing things like the width of the tiles in every room, the precise length of a corridor, the way humans organise their institutions, and the timetables in a school that no one even goes to.
How did you get into coding? What do you love about it?
The first time I interacted with coding was when I was in primary school playing a game called “Logo”, where you use mathematical symbols and instructions to move a tortoise across a screen. I must have been eight years old. Later, in university, I took an undergraduate course in information technology, majoring in programming.
How do you handle anxiety and writers’ block?
I can’t write when worried about finances, or if there’s external upheaval such as post-election violence or crime. If I code or design a logo and get paid enough, then I find it easy to write. I get worried about selling my content because my audience is so diverse. I don’t know what they’d like to read. At the same time, they probably like my work because it’s unique. It can be confusing. My strategy is to just release content that is of good quality, make it as accessible as possible to the public and see what happens.
