Melissa Luz

What was your favorite book as a child?

My favorite book as a child was The Little Prince. It was my mother’s favorite book, and she used to read it to me all the time. I think that’s why it means so much to me. It reminds me of her, of being small, of listening carefully to every word. Later, when I was learning to read, it was the first book I ever finished entirely by myself. I remember feeling very proud. It wasn’t just a story anymore — it was proof that I could actually read on my own. I still see it as the book that started everything for me.

What was the original reason or motivation why you started writing creatively?

I don’t think I started writing because I had a clear goal. It wasn’t like “I want to be a writer.” It felt more urgent than that. As a kid I was already obsessed with literature, and at some point, loving it so intensely stopped being enough. I needed to respond to it.

Writing became a way of existing inside the things that moved me. I didn’t start because I believed I had something important to say, but because I couldn’t just consume stories anymore. I needed to create them, to test language, to see if I could make a sentence hurt or resonate the way other sentences had affected me.

It’s very close to that idea: I did not choose literature. I discovered that without it, I would disappear. It’s the place where I feel most like myself, and sometimes the only place where I fully exist.

What was the most adventurous or thrilling thing you ever did/experienced?

I spent a few weeks in Uruguay doing volunteer work with my school. We helped reform schools, painted walls, visited nursing homes, and talked to people from the community. I didn’t speak any Spanish at the time, which was honestly terrifying in the beginning. But I still made friends. We mixed Portuguese, Spanish, gestures, and a lot of laughing. It was the first time I was really out of my comfort zone, and it showed me that connection doesn’t depend entirely on language!

Do you listen to music while reading or writing?

Yes, always! My mind works very fast, and I don’t really enjoy silence. Having music in the background organizes my thoughts. Depending on what I’m writing, I even create playlists that match the mood of the text. Sometimes I need something calm, sometimes something intense. Music helps me focus and keeps my thoughts from running in ten different directions. It’s almost like it gives my writing a rhythm.