Today we are psyched to introduce you to Caitlin C, one of our favorite writers from Jersey City, NJ! Check out our blog every Wednesday for a new interview with our super talented and very interesting WriterAccess writers. For more featured writers, visit our Writer Wednesday category.
How long have you been writing? What first piqued your interest in the craft?
I’ve been writing professionally for about 10 years, but I’ve been interested in writing since way before that. I first published my own “magazine” using crayons and my mom’s typewriter when I was about 7. I guess I’ve just always loved stories, and nothing else really compares to trying my hand at writing them!
Which writers do you consider your biggest influences?
I have a lot of favorite writers that inspire different parts of my writing life—I adore George Saunders’ humor and Cheryl Strayed’s honesty and compassion, but Joan Didion just never fails to awe me, no matter how many times I read her. I still can’t figure out how she writes just clean, clear, powerful prose, but I’ll keep trying!
What genre of writing do you enjoy the most?
I enjoy reading nonfiction, but I’m an omnivorous and promiscuous fiction reader at heart. Classics, YA, New Yorker short stories, graphic novels, Dean Koontz novels…I try to be open to inspiration and entertainment wherever it may come.
How do you handle writer’s block?
Deadlines! Seriously, though. Deadlines. Having accountability to a client or myself makes me stop whining or wishing I could do something else and forces me to sit down, get focused, ignore the Internet, and get something on the screen. Once I’m in the thick of a piece things usually flow pretty well, but I tend to procrastinate until the last possible minute!
What words of wisdom would you like to share with other writers?
Despite what I just said about procrastination, time management is really helpful. Trying to realistically block out sections of time each day (and factoring in wiggle room for whining and time-wasting) helps me meet my monthly goals. The other little gem of wisdom is one I’ve just started internalizing in the past year of writing for WA. Writing is a skill, a valuable one, and there are so many people who simply cannot do it. Keeping that in mind gives me the confidence to take on more work and longer assignments. It’s like I’m putting the shingles on a roof or planting a garden—our clients usually have a big picture project in mind and we writers have the skills to make this one piece, the written content, exactly how they want it. When it comes to content, it’s not about my own unique snowflake take on the topic, and I’ve found that perspective really freeing and humbling. Writing can be such a personal act, but it can also be a helpful kind of service; I like to be crystal clear on which type of writing I’m doing when I sit down each day to work.
Caitlin C is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
Louis Roe is a content marketing intern at WriterAccess. Contact Louis on Twitter @lojoroe or by email Louis.Roe (at) WriterAccess.com.
