Meet Carol Mitchell | Author, Educator, & Editor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carol Mitchell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carol, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Today, I am the author of eighteen books for children and one adult novel (to date), What Start Bad a Mornin’, and the founder of a publishing company, CaribbeanReads Publishing, but I came to my current career in creative writing fairly late in life. After my first undergrad and post-grad degrees I worked in finance and IT, both creative pursuits in their own way. Up to that point, I’d written a lot of short stories and enjoyed writing fiction, but I never considered writing as a career path until I wrote my first children’s book in 2007: Adventure at Brimstone Hill, set on the island of St. Kitts. Like many children’s book authors, I wrote the books that I wish had been available when I was a child and books that I wanted my children to read. That meant entertaining books that featured Caribbean life authentically. At first, I struggled to get my work even just viewed by publishers. Caribbean publishers seemed only interested in academic books that would be taught in schools thus guaranteeing them a market. I made my way around this, however, I recognized that the barriers I faced were also problems that other Caribbean authors were encountering. I wanted to share my knowledge and experiences and to provide opportunities for others to see their work in print. Out of this, CaribbeanReads was born.

At the same time, I started writing more short fiction for adults and had a few of my short stories published. All of these pursuits, writing for children, writing for adults, teaching writing, and publishing felt like home. I found that I loved writing and working with authors. I decided to pivot from the world of IT and business and pursue my passion for creative writing.

Please tell us more about your career. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
As a creative, I wear many hats. I do my own writing, and I also help others pursue their writing careers. I also write for multiple genres, and I’m often asked what it is like to be both an author of children’s books and of stories and books for adults. The truth is that I have always been one to pursue multiple projects at the same time. (The jury is still out on whether that is a good idea or not!) The joy I find in writing differs from one genre to another.

For my children’s books, I am all about the audience, making the books fun, entertaining, and real so children will love them. When young people express how much they love Chee Chee (a character in several of my books) or how excited they are about seeing books set in the island where they live with characters who look and experience life like they do, that excites and motivates me. For the writing I do for adults, this is more about me. My work is by no means autobiographical, but I can immerse myself in many of the ideas that intrigue and worry me as an adult, and have those emerge on the page.

Writing is challenging for both genres. What I have learned most on this journey is the importance of understanding the craft of writing. As a reader, you might look at a book and imagine that it sort of popped out of the author’s head that way, but every good book is the result of a process that can be quite long and in some ways, painful. I meet so many people who have the potential to be talented writers. They have creative ideas and imaginations. The reality is, however, that raw talent only gets you a first draft. The real work starts after that, refining characters and scenes, building a narrative that works, and so on. In my own early work, I recognized that I needed help through that process of polishing and making my stories reach their highest potential. My response was to seek out formal training. I applied to workshops, completed a certificate course in editing, and then an MFA. These helped with my understanding of the craft behind writing. I learned the rules so that I could write better, choosing to follow the guidelines or ignore them, but ignore them with intentionality–with an understanding of the consequences. Seeking opportunities to learn more about writing also gave me entrance into a creative writing community and a cast of supportive friends from whom I continue to learn every day.

Regardless of whether I am writing for children or for adults, I love the work of writing: learning to love my characters; worrying on a sentence; finding the right word, phrase, metaphor to create the atmosphere and convey emotions. This may be why I enjoy editing and teaching as well, I learn so much from dissecting work and rebuilding it into something more appealing.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Wherever I travel I am always on the look out for street art. Murals are often an outlet; the inhabitants expressing their innermost feelings about their home: the beautiful and ugly parts as well. This is no different in Atlanta and I highly recommend that, as you traverse the streets of Atlanta, you look out for murals and art installations.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Nerissa Golden: business coach, speaker, educator, founder of GoldenMedia was one of the first people to believe in my ability to write. She not only encouraged me, but she walked and lived her talk so that I saw the possibilities. Livingston Jackson, Atlanta wedding photographer of Jaxon Photography is another person who showed me how a dream could become reality with hard work and perseverance.

Website: www.carolmitchellbooks.com

Instagram: @writewithcarol

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/writewithcarol

Image Credits
Jaxon Photography