Interviews

By Cynthia Sterling

Cynthia: How did you become interested in WritersNewsWeekly?

Colin: Well, I had a friend who used to write for WNW, and she only had good things to say about the newsletter and everyone who wrote for it. I had been looking for a way to talk to people about my views on literature, the publishing industry and just how it feels to be a writer. I thought that WNW was a great opportunity for me to reach out to other aspiring writers and start a real dialogue about what we go through to become the best authors we can be.

Cynthia: What do you think will make your writing different from what readers are used to seeing in WNW?

Colin: I’ve always been, for lack of a better word, kind of weird. I’m a pretty quiet person and I usually just allow my friends and peers to carry the conversation. This tendency has allowed me to just watch how people interact, and over time I’ve developed an odd sense humor that I really think is going to come out in my writing. If someone reads my column and they end up laughing but also feeling like they’ve gotten a new view of a familiar issue then I’ll feel like my personality has really come through for them.

Cynthia: What is the most exciting part of being editor-in-chief for WNW?

Colin: The most exciting thing for me is the people I’m going to get to talk to and get to know. I’m really excited to work with you and our other two writers Brittnee and Danielle. Also, I’m hoping that everyone who reads WNW will take my column as an invitation for a dialogue. What I really want is that while I’m here I can get to know who is reading what I write, and see what they think about issues that we all have to face as writers.

Cynthia: What do you think is going to be your biggest challenge here at WNW?

Colin: One word, deadlines. It seems like a hallmark of youth culture that we love to procrastinate and I am no exception. I’ve obviously had due dates in school, but working with a deadline for something that’s going to be published is an entirely different experience. I’ll have the urge to constantly go over what I’ve written and fine tune the details knowing that a lot of people are going to be scrutinizing my work. I’ll have to balance this urge with the knowledge that I am on a timetable and I have to keep up.

Cynthia: Do you have any initial advice for other writers?

Colin: Dialogue isn’t just something you write for your characters. It’s important for writers to have an almost constant dialogue with the people around them. Whether you love them, hate them, know them well or just met them it is the people you know that will inspire you the most and give you the raw material you need to create new characters. It’s hard to get inspiration if you aren’t talking to people. Writers don’t only exist hunched over poorly lit desks with a glass of whiskey sitting nearby and a cigarette smoldering in the ash tray. A writer’s work reflects their relationships, both healthy and dysfunctional.