Writing a ‘totally lit’ life

Published On: 21 April 2020Categories: News
Kylie Minns making a speech at the podium after winning the "Why do I care?" writing competition at the 2018 Gala LunchWhen Kylie was a little girl, her world was ‘The Neverending Story’.

A world she came to see as nurturing and safe, being an only child, with adventure as top of mind.

“I’ve always loved to read and write. I spent a lot of time reading books. Anything that involved an exciting story I just loved to read it,” she says.

To this day, nothing has changed.

The act of writing has lit up her life. Through the years, it slowly started to develop into a story to which she keeps adding new things every day.

Kylie is a writer, a mother and a carer. She also works full time as a Senior Customer Care Specialist for a Disability Service Provider.

She cares for her two sons, aged 17 and 14. They both have Asperger’s syndrome and ADHD.

She writes children’s books, flash fiction and short stories. Lately, she writes more about her children.

“I’m letting their lives inspire my work so I can encourage inclusion and understanding amongst other kids.”

“I’m a carer. I like using my experience to help other families to get through it all, and access the services they need to help their own family.”

Life as a carer hasn’t been easy for Kylie, but she’s always known where to turn to.

“Sometimes I just reach out to Carers Queensland when I need advice. It’s good to have someone to talk to and remind you that things aren’t quite as bad as you think they are.”

In 2018, Kylie won Carers Queensland’s ‘Why do I care?’ Writing Competition.

Winning made her realise that writing was not only something that she really enjoyed doing but something that other people seemed to enjoy reading too.

“I wrote that piece sitting on the couch on my phone. When you’re caring for your family and working, you need to find the time to do everything,” she says.

“It was a wonderful feeling to have a bit of hope when your life has been difficult. Sometimes it’s worth it to
try.”

“When I went to the Gala Lunch that year, and I had to prepare a speech, I really wanted to use that as an opportunity to advocate for my sons, but also to advocate for all the other carers out there, doing the same thing I do.”

“It’s hard work, and you fight, and you fight. I just wanted to make sure that all those other carers knew that we care about each other.”

“As carers, we’re always putting our families first and having another opportunity to say ‘this is why I love them, and this is why I do it. It’s because of them’.”

The competition was a real confidence boost for Kylie.

“It gave me confidence to keep trying. It helped me realised that if you try, you can get good results, so what can you do next?”

Even though her days are extremely busy, her perseverance keeps her going.

After the competition, many of her projects have come to fruition. Kylie is getting married in August. She has written four
children’s books manuscripts, sent them to publishers and is now waiting for a response.

Furthermore, last year she launched Totally Lit, a monthly podcast to celebrate reading, writing and creating literature, where she chats with readers, writers, illustrators and all types of creators of books and stories.

“Everybody has been so supportive that it got me thinking, what else can I do with this? I started acknowledging my own talent, I’ve done the podcast and I’m interviewing more established authors, and they’re saying Yes.”

“The latest podcast was released at the beginning of February and the next one will be at the end of March. The idea is to have a new podcast at the end of every month.”

The Totally Lit podcast is on iTunes and you can also find Kylie on Facebook under the same name.