Throughout her internship, Heather Warriner has put together a Banned Books display, tried out Virtual Reality, assisted with collection development and assessment of our chat reference program, and authored the articles for this newsletter! Despite her writing talents, Heather was not eager to write about herself, so we asked her a few questions.
How has Hunter Library helped you throughout your time at WCU?
As an English major, Hunter Library is invaluable to my studies. If I need a book, I can save what precious little money I have and check it out from the library. There’s always a quiet nook (away from my roommate) where I can read or write my papers. Plus, the online databases have provided me without countless scholarly journals with which to do my research.
What have you learned about libraries as an intern that you didn’t know before?
So far, I’ve learned that making a display is a lot harder than I thought it was! But I’ve also glimpsed behind the scenes work that I haven’t experienced before, such as choosing and purchasing books for the library and learning the Library of Congress Classification system–I’ve only worked with Dewey Decimal before.
What is your approach to writing? And how have you learned to be a better writer?
I try to be as relatable as possible. I want to have a conversation with the readers. Be it nonfiction or creative writing, I want the reader to feel as though I’m having a chat with them, maybe over a cup of coffee.
I learned to be a better writer, not just by practice, but by reading as well. I read all genres by all sorts of writers, taking in their writing styles and comparing it to my own. By reading and taking inspiration from other authors, I learn far more than if I just practiced in isolation.
Favorite literary hero(ine):
This is almost an impossible question. There are so many wonderful literary heroes to choose from, from authors to fictional characters. The first name that popped into my head was James Qwilleran from Lilian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who series. As a child, Qwill was my favorite. A pudgy journalist who left the city to live in the middle of nowhere, as I had done, overcame his alcoholism (less relatable there), and solved murders with the help of his two Siamese cats (living the dream). He was also in a relationship with the town’s librarian, and well, what’s not to love?
Preferred reading (highlight your top 2): novels | nonfiction books |news |poetry |tweets | short stories
