Name: Kelsi Camp
First clue you wanted to be a writer; summarize the situation: In high school I realized that I could easily imitate writing styles. I wrote a review of the Little Mermaid for (ahem) my sophomore English class. I still have it – it’s terrible (I was trying too hard to be funny) -- but at the time I liked it, and my teacher liked it too.
Earliest remembered writing and publishing experience: In third grade I would load a clipboard with notebook paper and write Ramona stories (you know all those Ramona books by Beverly Cleary?) starring me as Ramona and my sisters as the antagonists.
In fifth grade my friend Maria and I decided to start a newsletter. For some reason, I was the only one who wrote any stories for the first issue, so I was listed as the sole author. Maria made photocopies on her dad’s office equipment, and we distributed them to everyone in the fifth grade. The plan was that she’d write the next issue, but that never happened. I was embarrassed.
And my family got a computer when I was in ninth grade and I started writing stream-of-consciousness stories and parodies of books I read, for fun, just to type. I liked typing.
What part of your education helped you most on your path to writing? Since I'm not technically a writer, or at least have no employment as such, I don't think I can claim to have had any “path.” I don’t know, English classes?
Who influenced you most along your way and how? Ha.
Most satisfying piece(s) you've ever written----its audience: I’ve written many brilliant pieces but I have no audience. I should say my thesis... the PDF version is available to a worldwide audience.
Your publications or venues for writing: I read something the other day about the “democratization of writing” that has happened with the Internet. Traditional venues for publication can be hard to get into, but online venues are readily available and easily accessible. I have a hundred (give or take a few) online journals or blogs (or blahgs) of different persuasions, some for fiction, some for everyday journaling, some more “artistic” than others.
There’s also National Novel Writing Month (
Back when I was gainfully employed, I started writing a limited-distribution fake weekly email newsletter, which was a hoot and a half. Still, despite all the technology, my main venues are notebooks, which is to say, nowhere. But I recently got a real gig – I’m supposed to be writing an article for the local running club’s newsletter. Deadline: 9 days. Haven’t started yet.
Nuggets of advice for young writers in middle school and high school: Read. Write.
