Simone Smith Interviews AliciaC
Insights from the Grand Prize winner in the HubPages Rigorous Review Contest
In your Profile bio, you share that you have a degree in biology and that you teach high school biology. I get the impression that your Hubs' level of detail, use of concrete facts, and thorough analysis of the technical way in which things work is a result of your particular training and profession. Are there any other ways in which you think your background in biology have influenced your writing and videos?
My background in biology has enhanced the fascination with living things that I’ve had since childhood, and I hope that this fascination shows in my writing. I love to observe animals and plants, learn about the latest health discoveries and investigate how the human body works. I find writing about these topics very enjoyable. My biology training has also taught me to analyze research projects, experiment results and health claims very critically. There’s a huge amount of science information on the Internet and in the media, but not all of it is accurate or valid! Making videos is a relatively new venture for me, but I’m excited by the idea of creating original videos of living things. They're a great way to document my observations and discoveries. I think that good videos are an excellent tool for sharing information.
You submitted some excellent entries in our Rigorous Review contest. Your Grand Prize-winning
Video review of organic and non-GMO sprouted grain Manna Bread was particularly thorough and fabulous. What inspired you to review bread of all things, and why did you decide to go beyond simple Hub form and make a Video?
Thank you, Simone. I’ve discovered that writing about something that doesn’t interest me is difficult. Manna bread does interest me, however. It’s unusual because it can be made from only sprouted grains and water. It’s healthy, it tastes good and I eat it often. The fruit versions are delicious! I created a Video because I wanted to show that manna bread has a dense texture and isn’t compressible, unlike regular bread, and I thought that demonstrating this in a video was the most effective way to present the information.
I first discovered you through your Hubs on animals, which are quite polished and beautiful to boot- why did you start writing those?
I love animals. I’ve had pets in my family for a long time, including dogs, cats, birds, gerbils, a hamster and fish. I enjoy studying the behavior of wild animals in real life and watching them on videos. When I began writing at HubPages I chose the topics that interested me the most, including animals.
Many of your Hubs also cover areas of health and nutrition- how did you learn so much about those subjects?
I took a few health and nutrition courses when I was at university and enjoyed them very much. Since then I’ve continued to study these topics on my own. I like scanning science news sites on the Internet on a daily basis (except when I’m very busy) and I read the articles that interest me. These are often health articles. I keep up to date with the latest science information because I find it very interesting, and also as a high school teacher I think that I should keep learning new things to help my students.
When you first joined HubPages, what were your goals? Have they changed since you joined?
When I first joined HubPages I wanted to earn money while doing something that I loved - writing. I still have the same goal. I’ve always liked to write. When I was at university there was a period when I seriously considered changing my major from Biology to English, but in the end I decided to stay in Biology and take English courses when I could.
Do you have any particular HubPages ambitions for the year 2013?
In 2013 I would like to increase the size of my Hub portfolio significantly, but I’m not going to set a particular Hub number as a goal. I create Hubs quite slowly, not only because I teach full time but also because my Hubs tend to contain a lot of details. I keep telling myself that I need to write shorter Hubs that are faster to create, but once I’ve chosen a topic I find it very hard to stop researching and writing. These are such enjoyable processes! The only part of creating a Hub that I don’t like is the proofreading at the end.
Another 2013 goal is to improve my video-making skills and my knowledge of video editing programs. In addition, I’m looking forward to meeting lots of new people at HubPages!
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