The New Writer Interview

If the creative talents of this interviewee are anything to go by then 2006 holds much promise and inspiration: unheardwords.com welcomes LaMonique Hamilton to its new writer interview slot...

editor@	LaMonique
When did you start writing and why do you write?
	I'll answer the second part of this question first because it's so much simpler -- I write because I have to. Writing keeps me sane. I started writing when I was about seven years old. I used to come up with plot lines for my Barbie dolls. Eventually, I spent more time writing out the "soap operas" for them than I actually spent playing with them. My friends knew when they came to my house to play Barbie that there would be an intense writing session that proceeded play.
Do you write what you yourself would like to read?
	I definitely write things that I would like to read. I love to read things that are darkly humorous or make me come to some realization about myself, and these are the things that I tend to write. At one point I was very stuck in trying to force my writings to end "happily ever after," but I realized that I never believed that garbage myself, even in fairytales. Now I write pieces that are more true to life. My greatest hope is that I am able to resolve a story in the reader's mind while leaving a few pressing unanswered questions.
When your composing your work, do you often read your writing aloud to yourself?
	I always read aloud to myself! It is one of the best ways to catch syntax errors and make sure your statements flow one into another. I've also been known to tape myself reading my work. When I listen to it later, I can find the holes in the work, the places where it just doesn't make any sense.
Where did the newsletter idea come from and What's its purpose?
	Many of my friends are also writers, and for as long as I can remember we have wondered collectively and individually how writers come to be well-known, but we took no action. Finally, after sitting in the basement of a job that I had come to deplore, I came to understand that if I was going to get any kind of publicity, I would have to do it myself. I decided on a newsletter because I knew that there were people like me who were equally frustrated and desperate to make a name for themselves, and I am a big believer in moving up in groups. I want the newsletter to be a launch pad for up-and-coming writers. I am extremely diligent in this aspect of my work because of the honor I feel in having others trust me to show their words in the best possible light.
Is your colour an important factor in how you write or who you write about?
	All the things that God has allowed me to experience are important factors in how I write and who I write about. My experience as a southern black girl permeates in every piece that I write. There is no way to take that off; I must embrace it. Because of this, I feel that it is so important to know the narrator in every word that you read, fiction or non-fiction. So many people read and/or watch the news, but know nothing of the people and organizations that report the news. There is no such thing as objectivity, just a world full of opinions. The dominant opinions will always prevail. I teach my son that the key to success is to make your opinion dominant. I have found no better way to do that than using my words.
Is that where your tagline, "Use Your Words" comes into play?
	Exactly. I found myself telling my son to use his words before he could even talk, and he would try his best to tell me what he wanted or needed. I see adult situations all around me that beg for the people involved to remember what they learned so long ago -- results come when you use your words. You must use your words to pray. You use your words to tell someone that you want to be with them, or you want to leave them. You use your words to change your life. Writers use their words to change the world.
And finally, who or what do you find inspires your writing?
	Any and everything inspires my writing. The sheer act of living encourages me to write. Even if you only make a journal entry about your last night's dream and what you hope to accomplish in your day, you are contributing to history. That power is inspiration in and of itself.

Thanks LaMonique for Using your words. LaMonique's newsletter is called Slice produced by P3 and is available on request email LaMonique@aol.com - she welcomes new contributions so don't just sit there! Also, her book of poetry Under Every Deep is available from pumpkinpie.
LaMonique is 26 and lives in Baltimore. She went to Morgan State University where she majored in English with a focus on Creative Writing. She says she 'lives quietly and contently' but that she really wants a little dog (smile).