Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn, Oh My!
Like Dorothy, I started down the yellow brick road of social media marketing with nary an inkling about how many twists and turns my path would take. That's when I found my Scarecrow, Emily Schmidt. (Minus the "no brain" part.)
Emily signed on to become my first intern and help me unleash the potential of social media. She is entering her sophomore year at Stanford University with a major in English and a double minor in linguistics and modern languages. Here's a little more about her....
Why/when/how did you become interested in writing?
I don’t want to sound cliche, but I’ve honestly been interested in writing my entire life. I’m a big reader. I was the type of kid that went to the library once a week in the summer, checked out a sky-high stack of books, and finished them by the next visit. I also loved to make up my own stories. In first grade, I wrote the famous story of how my dad brought home a beta fish and it eventually died. It’s funny how some people know what they want to do since childhood and others don’t. Over the years, my English teachers also cultivated my bibliophilic nature and encouraged me to write for myself outside of class.
Why do you want to become a writer for a living? What kind of writing do you want to do?
I want to educate people from a platform I believe is powerful and accessible. You can teach the public through television, radio, and social media among a variety of others, but I think the written word is especially important because it can take so many different forms. Writers can be novelists, poets, playwrights, journalists, translators, essayists, bloggers, columnists, critics, copywriters, speechwriters, screenwriters. There are many more I haven’t named, but I’ve made my point. Writers have the freedom to find their niche and share their message with the world in whatever format they please. I haven’t found my niche yet, although I’ve dabbled in journalism, poetry, and novel writing.
What are your favorite things to write about?
I love to write about people--how they interact, prosper, break down. I’ve always been observant and people-watching is one of my favorite pastimes. I enjoy writing both fiction and nonfiction, but the nonfiction must be more than fact repetition. This is why I love reading biographies and family histories. In the past I’ve created characters based on my family members, friends from high school and college, random people on the street, and my own imagination. Building a person out of words is like putting together a thousand-piece puzzle. There are so many unique aspects to a single character that non-writers don't think about: original hair color before the bad dye job, childhood pets, favorite family vacation spots, allergies. These are the things that make a character believable and my job as a writer is to draw portraits from words.
Favorite book?
That’s such a toughie for an English major, but probably Cane River by Lalita Tademy. It’s the multi-generational story of Tademy’s ancestors in the southern slave trade. I’m a history and genealogy junkie, so I devoured it in a day. I admire her dedication to historical accuracy while allowing imagination to make the women more believable for 21st century readers.
Favorite author?
This question is a little bit easier. My favorite author is Judy Blume, hands down. Not only did I discover her as a kid, but I had the pleasure of hearing her speak when I was a junior in high school. The first book I ever read by her was Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Her last and most recent book, In the Unlikely Event, has something in common with all of her other books: a clear narrating voice. I admire her talent for owning each character she embodies and separating one from another.
Who was your earliest "writing coach"? How did s/he help guide you?
Although I’ve had many people read over my writing throughout the years, I think the first person who positively influenced my approach to writing was my 11th grade AP English teacher, Joy Vander Vliet. She encouraged me to write with no regrets and to be proud of everything I put out into the world. If I’m not proud of a piece, then it shouldn’t be published. To this day, she and I continue to keep in close contact. Not only is she my main writing mentor, but she’s also like a grandmother to me. We recently met for lunch after I got home from college and caught up on everything going on in our lives.