Check out David's award-winning story "I Kept Driving On" and then return here for a chat with the author.
WOW: Congratulations on placing second in the Q2 2026 Essay Contest! How did you begin writing your essay and how did it and your writing processes evolve as you wrote?
David: My essay began as a freewriting experiment following a conversation with my sister about our early lives and shared experiences. What started as a collection of memories evolved into a more deliberate narrative and, ultimately, the foundation for a series of linked essays and a memoir.
WOW: It’s fun to hear what can come of a bit of freewriting. What did you learn about yourself or your writing by creating this essay?
David: I learned that the act of recalling and shaping formative moments is not just reflective but generative; meaning often emerges through the writing itself.
WOW: Can you tell us more about the novel you’re writing? What has that process been like?
David: I’m currently working on a novel that draws on my experience in financial services while reimagining its settings and characters through fiction. The work has required a shift from recollection to construction—shaping character, tension, and narrative arc rather than relying on memory alone.
WOW: Which creative nonfiction essays or writers have inspired you most, and in what ways did they inspire you?
David: I was particularly influenced by The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. Her portrayal of instability, resilience, and family dynamics resonated with my own experiences and reinforced the idea that my story was worth telling.
WOW: Oh yes, that’s definitely a formative book for memoirists. If you could tell your younger self anything about writing, what would it be?
David: I’d tell my younger self to stay with the work and take it seriously earlier, though I suspect he wouldn’t have listened.
WOW: Anything else you’d like to add?
David: I came to writing relatively recently after a thirty-year absence, which has made the process feel both unfamiliar and necessary. I would encourage anyone with even a passing curiosity to try it. There is a cathartic sense of closure in carrying a piece through to its final punctuation.
WOW: Thank you for sharing your wisdom and your writing with us. Happy writing!
Interviewed by Anne Greenawalt, founder and editor-in-chief of Sport Stories Press, which publishes stories by, for, and about sportswomen and amateur athletes. Engage on social media @GreenMachine459.
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