See You Soon, WriteByNighters

Posted by Katie Schnack in News & Events      1 comment

Oct
20

Dear readers, dear comrades, I have some fateful news to share. My time interning at WriteByNight is coming to a close, and you won’t be hearing from me much more after this moment. Don’t cry! I will still keep myself visible within the Austin writing community, publishing some articles for BE Magazine, revamping my own blog, and visiting open hours at WriteByNight with my massive unpublished manuscript in hand just so I can look and feel like I’m of literary importance

But my time here has been well spent. Justine and David are amazing writers, and have a lot of knowledge to share. (My last shameless plug for WriteByNight–if you haven’t met them yet, come stop by and check out all WBN has to offer!) I also got to write lots of blog posts and hear back from awesome readers, as well as meeting many amazing Austin writers.

To be honest, I don’t really know what to say in my last blog post. I learned so much, but I don’t think writing about all of the details will make the most entertaining post (a step-by-step tutorial on how iContact can help you connect with your customers, anyone?) so I will leave you with four semi-silly yet true bits of knowledge that I gained from my time at WriteByNight.

1. There is only one space after a period. Um, elementary school typing class? You FAILED ME. Why oh why, computer teacher with the crazy last name I can’t remember, did you tell me that there were two spaces after a period? Props to Justine for calling me out on this, to my semi-embarrassment. No props to my college professors and editor at the school paper for not addressing my two-space mistake.

2. Everyone’s reading tastes are different, and that is okay. My co-intern and I would discuss authors we loved, and I was taken aback when I learned she had not read Anne Lamott, as she was when I admitted I had never taken in a word of Joyce Carol Oates and that I don’t really understand the glory of the short story. But really, who cares? It is great that our tastes are different, and we all have something unique to bring to the pot. Embrace your style, embrace who you are, and charge forth with reckless abandon. No judgments!

3. How to be a fierce businesswoman. Justine is awesome at running her own business–she is straightforward and organized, polite yet feisty. Don’t get in her way, and if you do, she will still treat you with respect but demand the same back. She taught me about how to deal with editors who don’t pay, and how to think more business-minded in my freelance endeavors.

4. There is a chip factory on E. 6^th St: El Milagro Tortillas. What? Those delicious, unsalted tortilla chips that I have been pigging out on are a product of Austin? Props to Walmart for allowing me to buy to super, super local. And lucky for Justine and David–if they ever run out of tortilla chip goodness, they can practically reach out of their front door and grab a refill. Bring on the queso!

I am sad my internship is coming to a close, but am grateful that I did it. Justine and David are two awesome people who are working hard to refine the Austin writing community. They have so much to offer, and there is so much exciting stuff coming up at WriteByNight. Keep reading this blog for literary goodness, and I hope to see all of you Austin writers soon!

Katie’s work has been featured in Austin Lifestyle Magazine, Redbook Magazine, Thrillist.com, and Homerun.com. She is also excited to be contributing to the new Austin publication BE Mag, launching its first issue this November. Prior to moving to Austin, Katie worked as an associate producer for an NBC affiliate in South Florida.