Genre: Non-Fiction, Health Blog
What has been your most rewarding moment as an author?
The first rewarding moment was in 2020 when I launched my blog and friends and family started reading it and making comments on my posts. I finally had a following, albeit small! The second rewarding moment was winning Third Place in this fall’s 2022 writing contest at San Gabriel Writers League after entering one of my blog posts. It is very motivating.
What kind of research goes into writing your novels blogs and how much time does it take?
While reading books on nutrition and health and going about my daily life I sometimes come across a health concept that I think the general public does not understand very well. I try to relate the concept to my own experience. Then I do some research (online) so that I can link credible references to my writing. I only put a piece of information in my writing when I can back it up with solid data.
What have been some of the biggest helps for developing your writing skills? Written resources, classes or conferences, fellow writers you’ve learned from or have mentored you, other?
My biggest help is my brother! Even though he is not a published writer (yet) he is objective and gives me great advice on my writing. One day I asked him where he learned this skill. He said, “English class in High School.” He must have been the only one paying attention in class! I send him a draft of my blog posts and he points out the grammatical issues and the weak parts. This has helped me immensely.
What kind of books do you enjoy reading and how often do you read?
I read books on nutrition and health. I fold over the corners of the pages and write notes all over the margins so I can come back to the concepts later. The books become references for my future writing. Also, some time back, I started reading first person accounts of the Holocaust (a totally different topic). I can only read the Holocaust books for a short while and then I get too depressed. Then I switch back to books on health and nutrition! The bottom line is, if I am going to spend any time reading a book, it must teach me something about history, or teach me something about health.
What made you consider writing in the first place?
Believe it or not, it was a speaking club (Toastmasters) that made me consider writing. The Toastmasters program encourages its members to become well rounded in aspects other than speaking, such as leadership, communication, project management. One of my projects was to write a blog post. I thought, “how hard can that be?” Several months later, I launched a complete website and my blog was born. (See the link below).
Does the idea of writing energize you or exhaust you? Or both?
The idea of sitting down to write something in my blog is energizing. I wish I had unlimited time and that my back would not get tired sitting at the computer. I have a long list of ideas and topics to write about but often get side-tracked with other commitments that seem to get in the way. I try to write one blog post a month as I think that is reasonable for my readers but even that goal slips!
AWARDS:
Third Place – San Gabriel Writers League Fall Contest 2022
BIOGRAPHY:
Jackie Hunt was born and grew up in Massachusetts, received a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry at Wheaton College in Massachusetts. She worked at the Dow Chemical Company in Freeport Texas for 35 years and retired in 2019. She and her husband have two grown children. As a chemist, she has interest in anything “science” and that extends to health and nutrition. She started a blog after completing a project in Toastmasters where the goal was to “write a blog post.” She combines her knowledge of science and her interest in nutrition to write blog posts that are easy to understand and to help folks on their journey towards better health.
Website: https://myhunt4health.com/
Social media urls: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackie-hunt-2b56b376/
San Gabriel Writers' League 