Name: Pam Eimers
First clue you wanted to be a writer; summarize the situation: I never actually set out to be a writer, but as I look back I realize that I always wanted to gather facts and inform others in some way. At some point in high school (1968-1972) I thought I’d like to be Barbara Walters. I liked the idea of exploring a topic, interviewing people and then making that information available to others. And I was pretty good at writing news stories for the school newspaper (not so good with creative articles).
In college I got the idea that I’d like to write consumer information booklets – you know, the ones that come from the consumer center in Colorado. Everything you need to know about shoplifting, washing machines, avoiding car repair rip offs, or winterizing your home.
Later in college I visited the Campbell’s Soup Company. Standing in the photo studio surrounded by the distinctive kitchen ware featured in their print and TV advertising, with a view of the test kitchen in the background, I decided I wanted to write advertising copy.
Two years later I became a teacher.
Earliest remembered writing and publishing experience: (I had a Thanksgiving poem published in the local newspaper when I was in the 5th grade. “Today is our Thanksgiving time, the turkey in the stove is fine. The beans are in a pan to warm, while father husks our yellow corn…” Perhaps, Marianne, you’d like a copy?) As a high school senior I wrote for the school newspaper. Part of my assignment was to write a column for the weekly town paper describing for the readers what was going on around the school. To me it was just an assignment that I was always getting in just under the wire.
Later, I learned that one of my cousins serving in Vietnam always looked forward to receiving the hometown paper, and reading my name on that column brought him closer to home. It is perhaps that single experience that stays with me as an example of the power of the written word once it leaves your hands.
What part of your education helped you most on your path to writing?
My ninth grade English teacher, Mrs. Higgins, came out of retirement to teach the overflow group of students in my exceptionally large class. The 15 of us trudged through the rain and snow every day (anyone remember the winter of ’68) to our makeshift classroom out in the bus garage. Mrs. Higgins was strict. We wrote every night. Not a lot, but enough to drill in the rules that still echo in my head whenever I’m writing.
Who influenced you most along your way and how?
Most satisfying piece(s) you’ve ever written----its audience:
My most satisfying pieces are some that I wrote the last two years as the Public Relations manager for our local hospice. I’ve had the opportunity to visit with patients and write their stories. A volunteer photographer accompanies me and snaps b/w photos. An exhibit of our photos and stories will open this spring at a local art gallery. People love to share their lives – especially as they near the end - and I’m honored to listen and commit it to paper as a legacy for their families. It’s amazingly satisfying to read their stories back to them, watch their smiles grow and know that this tiny window into their lives means so much to them because it will survive.
Your publications or venues for writing: Sunset magazine is the first publication I was paid to write for. Hired as a staff editor in the food department, my job was to develop article ideas and bring them to the pages of the magazine: develop the recipes, style the food for photographs, research and write the text and photo captions. It’s safe to say that I wasn’t hired for my writing ability, but that was the place I corralled my writing skills and became more focused.
Simply Seafood, Herb Quarterly, Publications International books and magazines, and Veggie Life – all magazines that hired me for my recipe development skills more than for my writing abilities, but along the way my writing skills developed, too.
Syringa General Hospital and Yolo Hospice – nonprofits for which I wrote newsletters, new releases, reports, newspaper and magazine columns and even a speech here and there, plus I edited other’s writing.
Nuggets of advice for young writers in middle school and high school:
Keep a journal. I’ve not done this, but I wish I had. Every now and then I sit down to hammer out a memory or some thoughts, and I would love to have the discipline to do this regularly. It doesn’t need to be perfect or even completed. Start the habit now, and you’ll be surprised how your writing develops. You will also have a place for all the thoughts, ideas and experiences that are the basis of most writers’ work.
Write letters. Pay attention to grammar, syntax, and spelling. It’s good practice and fun, AND most importantly, you are connecting with another who appreciates your attention. Life is about relationships. Build and nourish them. Writing is a fabulous vehicle for caring.
If only I’d take my own advice.