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If you can come up with some great ideas and put them down on paper,
the Army might have a job for you.
Army Kid Reporter Corey Filiault got some tips from a staff writer at Soldiers Magazine.
[♪jazzy music♪]
Thanks, guys.
As a budding author, I think I need a few tips.
Beth Collins is a writer for our Soldiers Magazine. Maybe she can help.
Who exactly do you work for?
I am one of the writers on staff
at Soldiers Magazine, which is the official magazine of the United States Army.
[Filiault] How did you find the opportunity to come work for a magazine
dedicated to soldiers?
I actually am an Army brat. I grew up in the Army.
And so I then got a job after school with the Army Public Affairs intern program
and went to the Defense Information School.
I really loved to write, and there was an opening at the Army News Service,
and it was just a perfect fit and it was good luck.
So is this your favorite job that you've been working at?
Yes. It's a lot of fun.
I get to meet some amazing soldiers who have done some wonderful,
truly heroic things.
Has a story ever really hit you home personally?
I interviewed two women who were survivors of *** assault actually,
and it was very emotionally draining.
But I think that the end product really made it worthwhile,
and I hope that if it can help one soldier who reads it
and looks at it and says, "Maybe I should go and get help,"
then it definitely is worth it.
[Filliault] Have you ever had trouble while in an interview coming up with questions?
[Collins] Of course. That happens to everybody.
What I normally do is I'll do one of two things.
I'll either pretend like I'm taking notes to just give myself a couple of minutes
to let my brain regroup,
or I will just kind of roll with the punches and just make up a new question.
Do you enjoy working under a deadline, or does that stress you out?
Oh, I have to have a deadline.
If I were not to have a deadline, then something would simply not get done.
[Filiault] Do you think it's important for young writers
to have someone that they can look up to?
[Collins] Yes, absolutely.
And a most important thing, too, is to have somebody other than your mom
or your best friend who will honestly critique your work
other than just saying, "Oh, this is so good, sweetie. You're so talented."
When do you usually get your best ideas?
Actually, I get a lot of ideas in the shower,
I get ideas when I'm walking the dog, when I'm on my commute on the Metro,
sometimes right when I'm about to wake up in the morning.
Do you have any tips for young writers?
I think the first tip would be to write,
to write as much as you can,
because you're not going to improve unless you practice it.
And then carry around a little notebook,
and if you have an idea for a plot or an essay or a poem or a story,
write it down, because later when you try to go back to it, it's not going to be there.
I learned a lot about writing and that there are a lot of really cool stories out there in the Army.
And like Beth suggested, I have to practice.
I'm Army Kid Reporter Corey Filiault, and you're watching Army Newswatch.
[♪upbeat music♪]