All Eyes On Nathan McWilliams
John Hitzel
Issue date: 1/22/09 Section: TruLife
"Sometimes, I'll study on my own, beyond what I'm told to read and study, because I would love to be able to speak a second language," he said. "You know, all these international students come by, and they had to learn to speak English, and it makes me feel, I don't know - outdone, that I only know English."
McWilliams began writing in grade school. He said the very first story he wrote was in the second grade.
"I was trying to write a Mega Man story," he said. "It was very, very rough. You couldn't read the handwriting. It would say 'Mega Man fires his Mega Blaster at Sigma. Sigma explodes.'"
Despite his early stylistic hurdles, he kept writing because he had a lot of free time in school. McWilliams said he often finished assignments early and used the free time to write.
"Normally it would be about a popular video game or a really cool story that's out there, and I'd just put my own little spin on it," he said. "Of course, that would be, what do you call it … copyright violation? So eventually I had to say, well, I can make something original."
So far, he said he has enjoyed his classes and his time at Truman, and that he really enjoys the Liberal Studies Program because you have the opportunity to learn about everything.
"I'm thinking about being an English teacher," he said. "Partly because I really like hanging around international students a lot, I've always thought about going to a foreign country and teaching English as a second language."
He said a third installment of "Crystal Clear" is in the works, but his "progress is like a paragraph every two days." He said he does have some misgivings about his aptitude for action writing.
"I tried writing action, and it just didn't work," he said. "The problem with writing action, for me, was that the hero would never get shot, and you know, the hero needs to get shot sometimes."
McWilliams is optimistic about his next few years at Truman and said it has taught him to balance his writing, which is influenced by different people he has met.
"Truman has definitely opened my mind," McWilliams said.
McWilliams began writing in grade school. He said the very first story he wrote was in the second grade.
"I was trying to write a Mega Man story," he said. "It was very, very rough. You couldn't read the handwriting. It would say 'Mega Man fires his Mega Blaster at Sigma. Sigma explodes.'"
Despite his early stylistic hurdles, he kept writing because he had a lot of free time in school. McWilliams said he often finished assignments early and used the free time to write.
"Normally it would be about a popular video game or a really cool story that's out there, and I'd just put my own little spin on it," he said. "Of course, that would be, what do you call it … copyright violation? So eventually I had to say, well, I can make something original."
So far, he said he has enjoyed his classes and his time at Truman, and that he really enjoys the Liberal Studies Program because you have the opportunity to learn about everything.
"I'm thinking about being an English teacher," he said. "Partly because I really like hanging around international students a lot, I've always thought about going to a foreign country and teaching English as a second language."
He said a third installment of "Crystal Clear" is in the works, but his "progress is like a paragraph every two days." He said he does have some misgivings about his aptitude for action writing.
"I tried writing action, and it just didn't work," he said. "The problem with writing action, for me, was that the hero would never get shot, and you know, the hero needs to get shot sometimes."
McWilliams is optimistic about his next few years at Truman and said it has taught him to balance his writing, which is influenced by different people he has met.
"Truman has definitely opened my mind," McWilliams said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Brock
posted 2/11/09 @ 10:37 AM CST
Nathan i cant wait for book three my friend
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