Tim Harrod
(1984-1986)
How would you characterize the influence of your YWW experience in your life?
I enjoyed all three years I attended so much that it undoubtedly made writing more appealing to me. One of my favorite places to be is among other creative talents, and this was one of my first such experiences- certainly the first that lasted all day, for weeks. Looking deeper, since there were no professional writers in my family, I suspect it ‘normalized’ writing to me; gathering words into paragraphs concretely became a real thing people do every day.
What’s the best advice you can give a Young Writer (in general or in your specific genre)?
The standard (and correct) advice you get everywhere - to write and write and write - may be the only advice that applies to all writers. Almost everything else is finding your own road map to what works. Not merely what makes you comfortable, mind you, but what gets the piece you’re writing finished and as good as possible! When you’re sweating over a tough job, you’re growing as a writer, so let it happen.
What do you find yourself most often reading or listening to lately and why?
I read more online content than books these days—perhaps a bad choice. In my ears, along with a few podcasts and YouTube channels I keep up with, I get a lot of “Weird Al” Yankovic- his superior musicianship and skewed perspective are a reliable constant in a turbulent world.