Kirsten Walther

Copywriter/Aspiring Novelist, Freelance

Class Year

2014

Professional Background

The bulk of my copywriting assignments I complete are for the company Lighthouse Computer Services, located in Lincoln, Rhode Island. However, I have also completed web site and print copy for various other businesses, spanning across the medical and creative industries. The copywriting pays the bills; however, my true passion lies in crafting my first novel, which is currently in progress. I continue to pursue my study of the writing craft by completing online courses, working closely with a writing mentor, and sacrificing my weekends and evenings to my 'Hobbit Hole,' where I depart the waking word for the mad hours in takes to draft the manuscript.

How has being an English graduate from Duke University helped shape your professional success?

Being a graduate of the English program has endowed me with the writing, creative, and critical reading skills necessary to follow my dreams. You need all three if you wish to be well-rounded, successful writer. Skills in the writing craft - to precisely express your thoughts on the page (that alone is a skill severely lacking in today's world; if you only learn to write well, I promise you shall always be in high-demand.) You need critical reading skills to learn to think-- really think--construct logical arguments, experience other cultures and worlds, empathize with characters (and in so doing build your own). Finally, you need creative skills to lead an intriguing and exciting life - this world has so much to offer; only by pushing our creative limits do we begin to take advantage of it.

Kirsten Walther