nDash Writer Profile for Nicola Smith

For a number of years I worked as a features writer and reporter at a newspaper in New Hampshire. I wrote "Harvest," a non-fiction book about a farm that was published by the Lyons Press in 2004. From 2017-2019. I received grants to develop a play about female veterans, based on interviews with women from all branches of the military, that is in development for a tour, when theaters re-open.  

 I have a wide range of interests, and feel comfortable writing about a wide range of subjects--art and art history, film, books, food and gardening, history, and criticism.

The first duties of a writer are  accuracy and clarity; after that, it's about style and voice and how to make a particular subject or person shine.

 Working in journalism, with its access to people from all walks of life, taught me the importance of listening and interviewing, follow-up, and translating what you hear and what you research into lucid, accessible prose for a general public, particularly in subjects where I may not have a deep well of knowledge.

 I've worked as a freelance editor, both for a publisher and as an editor for individual projects. Writing, reading and editing are what I do best, and I have a real sense of gratification when I write a story that is fairly complex, requiring a fair amount of research.

I also help others improve their writing, whether they be blogs, non-fiction or fiction.  

I spent my early childhood in Denmark and England, but grew up in New York City.  I have a B.A. in Art History from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, and an M.F.A. in Film with Honors from Columbia University in New York, where I was awarded a prize for screenwriting. I live with my family in Tunbridge, Vermont.