Volunteer Spotlight: Breanna Broad
The Mighty Pens would be nothing without our volunteers. We wanted to make sure everyone got the recognition they deserve. Each week, we’ll be spotlighting one or more of our volunteers and they can tell you in their own words a little bit about them and why they are a part of the Mighty Pens team.
Today we’re shouting out Breanna Broad (she/her)! You can find her on Instagram and her website should be up and running soon, too!
Q: Tell us a little about yourself.
A: I grew up in a small town of Southern Indiana, but portions of my heart live in England and Japan. I love traveling and can’t wait to pick my next destination once the pandemic is over. Besides writing, my primary pursuit is languages. Currently, I work as an English as Second Language teacher and I have studied three languages: Japanese, French, and Korean. My dream is to create a duo career as a YA fantasy author and a Japanese translator.
Even though writing is my earliest memory, for years I have ran away from this dream because of a societal need for career stability. Throughout the years, a spirit whispers in my ear anytime I stray from the path. So today, I am taking a stand to pursue writing as my primary vocation in my life.
Q: Tell us about your pets! Or dream pet, if you don’t have one.
A: Right now, I have an adorable pug named Demon who acts like a baby. Sometime in the near future, I would like to adopt two huskies.
Q: What are you currently reading/watching? What was your last 5 star read?
A: Reading: Addie LaRue by VE Schwab and Writing Your Novel From Start to Finish by Bates
Watching: Big Bang Theory, Supernatural, and Sailor Moon (in Japanese without subtitles)
Q: Are you a plotter or a pantser?
A: Definitely a pantser! I tend to get the basic idea for a story then start hacking away then I may come up with a five point outline of the bigger scenes, but that is the least amount of planning I do.
Q: What’s your favorite writing snack or beverage?
A: COFFEE! I need coffee to survive haha. Food would either be a bag of goldfish or a meat, cheese, crackers, and grapes combo.
Q: What’s in your ears while you write?
A; Nothing usually. I sometimes listen to music when I write. It depends on the mood because sometimes it can be distracting.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about writing? Least favorite?
A: My favorite part is when I’m totally free to discover different scenes and connections within the stories, especially when I can handwrite some scenes.
Least favorite part is figuring out how to restructure a story in the editing process. I might know what changes need to be made, but actually making the changes can be difficult sometimes.
Q: Have you participated in NaNoWriMo before? Have you won? Are you participating this year?
A: I have participated several times before, but I have never won before. I hope this will be the year to finish projects, since I have not finished anything in a while. I will be participating this year! And I will win! And I won’t care about editing – at least not until 2021.
Q: What do you write? And if you can, tell us what you are working on now or will be working on for NaNo.
A: I primarily write YA Fantasy. Right now, I am writing short stories as they’re difficult for me; however, I will be starting a new project for NaNoWriMo. Even though I don’t have any ideas right now, they will come to me on November 1st. Trust me, once the strike of midnight happens on Halloween, my pumpkin will shatter and the pumpkin seeds will fill me with creative energy (Cinderella reference). At least I hope so.
Q: Any advice for someone who is joining the Mighty Pens or NaNoWriMo for the first time this year?
A: Use this time as an excuse to write every single day even if it’s only 100 words. NaNoWriMo can be a stress-free time to accomplish something in your writing rather than stare at a blank page or worry about the structure of the sentences. The most important part about writing is to just write. So any kind of writing accomplished in November is WINNING!
Q: Are you a Mighty Pens vet or a newcomer? Why did you decide to become a volunteer?
A: Semi-vet. I participated in the 2018 Mighty Pens campaign and had a ton of fun with it. I decided to become a volunteer because I wanted to get more involved with the organization rather than just an attempt to raise money. I really enjoyed it in 2018 and am glad to take a more active role this year.
Q: What’s your favorite part about the Mighty Pens?
A: The community. The Mighty Pens brings together people who share the same passion for a Mighty Cause! Especially in the year 2020, it helps me meet new people and make a few friends along the way.
Q: Do you have a special connection to Every Mother Counts? Or just like raising money for a good cause?
A: Just raising money for a good cause. Helping save lives and writing a book at the same time seems like a good use of my time.
