Name: Mindy Cameron
First clue you wanted to be a writer; summarize the situation:
I was a junior in high school. My literature teacher was very inspiring. One time, in front of the class, she singled out a paper I had written and said it was well done. She said I definitely had a writing “style.” From that day I have thought of myself as a writer, and writer with a style!
Earliest remembered writing and publishing experience: High school newspaper. I wrote about serious issues -- school district budgets and school board matters. I have always been drawn to issues and ideas more than breaking news such as disasters, crime, etc.
What part of your education helped you most on your path to writing? Any class that required writing, whether journalism courses, English, literature, history, etc. Teachers who took the time to read my work and critique it were essential to my learning.
Who influenced you most along your way and how? Shirley Malcolm, that high school teacher. She later moved to the college I was attending and I took a linguistic course from her there. She was a wonderful teacher.
Most satisfying piece(s) you’ve ever written----its audience: I think I wrote some very good columns for the Seattle Times editorial page when I was the editor of the page. I didn’t hit a home run every week, certainly, but every now and then selected a topic from the news, or from my life experience, and, based on reader feedback, touched many people. I came to realize the importance of writing about people or even personal experience as a way to illuminate public policy issues. For example, I wrote about having had an abortion many years earlier, using that experience as a vehicle for cutting through the political rhetoric surrounding the issue. I had a huge response (mostly hand-written notes; we didn’t have e-mail in the early ‘90s.)
Your publications or venues for writing: Mostly newspapers, first as a reporter, then as a columnist. I have also written for television newscasts and documentaries. After retiring from the newspaper I researched for a longer piece on the history (1950-2000) of the Seattle Public School District, which was published in pamphlet form in 2003.
Nuggets of advice for young writers in middle school and high school: Write, write, write. Read, read, read. You cannot be a good writer if you are not an avid reader. Have something to say. Write it, then rewrite and revise until it is the best you can make it. Aim for clarity. Read it aloud. Use short sentences and active verbs. Apply critical thinking skills – to your own work and everything you read.
