Name: Virginia de Leon
First clue you wanted to be a writer; summarize the situation: From the time I was in fourth grade, I loved words. I won nearly every spelling bee at school and almost went to Washington D.C. for the national spelling bee (I couldn’t spell “zaguan.”) I used to memorize the roots of words and their origins – ie. “phil” in Greek means love; “phyll” means plant or green; etc. Because I was such a word nerd, I figured I had to learn how to put them together in coherent sentences.
Earliest remembered writing and publishing experience: My first publishing experience was a negative one, actually. I was in high school and the newspaper assigned me to write a story about the school’s dance club. So I did, but someone – an editor, I presume – rewrote the lede using some kind of dance cliché. I never wrote for my high school paper ever again.
What part of your education helped you most on your path to writing? My English teacher in high school encouraged us to read a lot – not just the books for class, but other novels as well as articles in magazines. Reading taught me a lot about writing.
When I was a junior in high school, that same English teacher recommended that I send some of my essays to The Seattle Times for a high school journalism workshop. I got picked to go and had the time of my life. About a dozen other teens and I spent a week at the University of Washington where we stayed up late at night writing, editing and publishing our own newspaper. That’s how I got hooked.
Who influenced you most along your way and how? My mentors – teachers and other reporters – through their example and encouragement.
Most satisfying piece(s) you’ve ever written----its audience: A few years ago, I wrote a story about catastrophic loss and grief – kind of in an essay form after a very horrific accident involving a family with five young children. I interviewed parents who had lost their children and others who have suffered catastrophic loss. It was so hard to talk and ask people these questions, but there was something very therapeutic about writing the story. It was an unusual story to run on the front page of the newspaper, but I heard from many families and others, even people who had never lost children. I guess it was satisfying because instead of focusing on the gory details of the accident, I was able to write a story about grief and loss, which affects all of us in one way or another.
Your publications or venues for writing: Mostly newspapers, although I've had a few articles published in magazines and newsletters.
Nuggets of advice for young writers in middle school and high school:
- Read a lot – fiction, nonfiction, magazine articles, the newspaper, poetry.
- Write in your journal everyday.
- Find a mentor.
