Name: William Love III
First clue you wanted to be a writer; summarize the situation: A non fiction writing class my first year at Boise State. I wrote about an experience where I went with a friend to Canada for the day and was detained at the border by Canadian officials for about two hours.
It was fun recounting the story, but I remember reading it to the class and the response I got. I had all 20 people or so hanging on my every word. The story was meant to be humorous and all of my classmates (who I didn’t really know) were laughing and enjoying the story.
That was when I first realized the power of writing. During my three years of school at Boise State, I realized that I liked having that kind of power.
Earliest remembered writing and publishing experience: I don’t really remember writing a lot as a child; I guess you can say I am just entering high school as far as writing goes because I am learning something new every day
My first published piece that really stands out to me is an article I wrote when I was a reporter for my high school newspaper. The story was about the student council approving a measure to put toilet seat covers in all of the school’s bathrooms. I interviewed a lady from the local health department about why toilet seat covers are a good thing to have. That is when I first learned about pubic lice and other dangers associated with sitting on a public toilet seat without some type of protection.
The story on toilet seats and their dangers wasn’t my first story published, but it is certainly the one I remember the most from my high school days.
What part of your education helped you most on your path to writing? It would have to be getting bad grades. I wasn’t a very motivated student (you can just look at my grades) in high school and when I went to college at the University of Idaho. I eventually took a year off from school and transferred to Boise State. My first semester at BSU is when I took the non fiction writing class from Devan Cook and got hooked.
Who influenced you most along your way and how? Too many people to mention, but my mom, professors and other people I have met along the way. A lot can also be said about my colleagues in the sports writing profession or newspaper in general. I am always reading different journalist throughout the country to get new ideas.
Most satisfying piece(s) you’ve ever written----its audience: I don’t know if I have had a most satisfying piece yet. I am one who always re-reads what I have written and sees ways where it can be improved. I remember reading my story on my trip to Canada a few months after writing it and thinking to myself: “Wow, that needs a lot of work.” That is usually the case for all of writing. I have changed the responses for this several times already.
There are a couple of pieces that do stand out, however. An article I wrote on geocaching for Sandpoint Magazine I thought turned out well. I also received an award for a story I wrote on a drug raid in Pend Oreille County, Wash., that somebody seemed to like.
Your publications or venues for writing: The Cedar Post (high school paper), skits I did on a radio show in college, The Miner newspapers in Newport, Wash., The Idaho Press-Tribune in Nampa, Idaho, a blog on high school sports at the Web site (www.treasurevalleysports.com), a chapter in the book Lessons with Love.
Nuggets of advice for young writers in middle school and high school:
