Name, Age, City and State: Jill Williamson, age 34, John Day, Oregon

Job-title: Novelist

Web/blog site URL: www.jillwilliamson.com

Give us your job description in 25 words or less. I write fiction books for readers of all ages.

Describe a typical workday. I briefly check my emails to see if there is something that needs to be addressed right away. If I’m working on a new book, I pick up where I left off. I try to write several pages a day. If I’m rewriting, I try to get through a few chapters a day. Then I try to read and critique a chapter or two for someone in my critique group. I go back to my email and try to answer them all. Depending on the time of year, I might have to work on marketing stuff or update my website or blogs.

What led you to realize that you wanted to do this type of work? Back in 2004, a new Harry Potter book came out, and a new barrage of debates within the church community flared up as to whether or not the books were evil. The debate inspired me to write my own teen novel that all Christians would love. Yes, I was a bit naive. I have since learned that no one likes every book. But that’s how I got started. I was inspired to try and write fast-paced adventure stories that glorified God.

Did you have any heroes or mentors in your industry that you admired? The first Christian speculative fiction novel I ever read was Frank Peretti’s This Present Darkness. It opened up a whole new realm of possibilities for me.

What type of education or training was required to land your job? My bachelors degree was in fashion design, so I needed to learn to write fiction. That’s not as easy as it sounds. I went to numerous writer’s conferences, joined critique groups, read dozens of books on the writing craft. I entered contests to get more feedback. I wrote and rewrote six novels. All this took me about four years.

What do you love most about your job? It’s creative and fun and anything can happen. Plus I get to work out of my house.

What one part of your job do you wish you could hire someone else to do? Manage my emails, take care of the marketing and website stuff, and run my errands. These things are really time consuming and distract me from writing books.

What advice would you give to teenagers wanting to get into your field of work? Read fiction novels. Lots of them. Write stories and make yourself finish one. Check out National Novel Writing Month. www.nanowrimo.com You set up a profile page and every November everyone tries to write an entire book. It’s great practice for training yourself to write fast and get the story out. You can always spend the rest of the year going back in and rewriting.

Also, study books about writing fiction.

Once you’ve got a book written, if you can, join a critique group. This is a group of people who are writing novels. You read their books and they read yours and you give each other feedback. I learned so much from reading other people’s stories. You can find critique groups online and through writing organizations. Try different ones until you find a group that is right for you.

You can also go to college and major in English. This is a great major to keep you writing all the time.

How does your job allow you to use your God-given gifts? This job uses my over-active imagination, my love of stories, and my tenacity. It allows me to connect with people in a special way. God trusts me to tell people stories to entertain and maybe even inspire or teach. It’s an incredible honor.

Do you have any hobbies or off-hours pursuits that teenagers would find of interest? My husband is a youth pastor and we spend five nights a week doing church activities. We are both involved in Young Life. I play guitar for myself, for youth group, and for Young Life. Sometimes I play with the church worship team. I can still sew, and I occasionally design dresses for myself or my daughter.