Becoming a writer
Ballard, Shawne

SHAWNE: Hello, my name is Shawne Ballard. I am a student here at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. I've been going to school here since the summer of 2001. I came back to school here as an adult returning student at age of twenty-five years old. When I first came here I just wanted to get into college, get a degree, and get out of here. But that's when I'd say reading and writing found me. I first majored in English and I've had quite a bit of English out of the way and I've met a professor here and before long I ended up in the writing program here as well as a double major. I started taking writing courses and fell in love with writing. Along the road I was a university intern for several years. I took as many writing and English classes as I could, advanced classes and such. I plan on getting my PhD in professional technical writing and furthering more into the study of writing. Writing has been very helpful in my life, not just at the university level but at every level of writing. The forms of genre of writing and reading have made a real impact in my school as well as my own professional life. What really jumps out at me is the nonfiction avenue right now in writing is very popular. So much in the Stephen King and creative writing things that people are thinking of is just kind of being pushed out the door a little bit by this nonfiction writing which is basically true stories, somewhat, or creative true stories to a new level. The genre of nonfiction was really made popular in the 1950s by Truman Capote when he came out with "In Cold Blood", which was a very inspiring book to me for him to write that at that particular moment. Well that's a little bit about me, Shawne Ballard, and why I like to read and why I like to write. Thank you very much and that's it.