Meet John Williams | Freelance writer and MFA mentor

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

Hi John, why did you pursue a creative career?
In a way, I didn’t choose it but it chose me. From a very early age I enjoyed writing stories and comic narrative poems and drawing pictures. Back in school days it was all about relieving boredom and making my buddy a couple of desks over laugh. I started on a science track in college, but never stopped writing and when I finally realized I wasn’t meant to be a doctor, I started writing for the college literary magazine and at some point–certainly not at first–I began to think about pursuing it in earnest. Over the following years I got some formal education and had a ridiculous number of jobs, always trying to find time to write and a way to get published. That process was hand-to-mouth, and quite difficult, but gave me life experience and material and really enabled me to develop as a writer. The compulsion had found me.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
For me there was nothing easy about the road to publication. It’s a tough field these days, with so few people reading books, not to mention political groups trying to take books out of people’s hands. Also having to deal with the handicap of being a white male! Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to compete for readers with writers who were long prevented from telling their stories. It’s just a tight market. I am most proud of writing almost every day, never giving up, and telling the stories I have been given to tell. Those are the main lessons I’ve learned: tell your own stories, be honest, tell the truth, and never give up. I always think in terms of providing entertainment, and I believe my stories are the harvest of a lifetime of experience, and like no one else’s.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If he/she had never been to Atlanta, I would time the visit for a show at the Fox, and if the timing was right, a concert by the ASO. We would also visit the High museum, spend some time in Piedmont Park and the Botanical Garden, and go micro-brewery hopping. I would take them over for a day in Decatur. I’m not really a clubber, but I would try to find some good music in a venue like the City Winery. I love all that, but I’m really more of an outdoors person. We would definitely make a trip to the north Georgia mountains, and canoe the Flint. Then we’d go to Macon for an Allman Brothers pilgrimage. We would visit my friend in LaGrange who runs a flight school, and go flying.

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?
The three books that more than any others created a love of writing in me were, unsurprisingly, books I encountered at a young age. “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” still feels like an old friend to me. Also “Treasure Island.” When I started pursuing writing seriously, I wanted to do to readers what those authors had done to me. And, a little later, “Silas Marner”–the book where I realized authors were like magicians, creating an illusion for the reader.

Many people have been supportive in this journey, none more than my dear friends Rheta Grimsley Johnson and her husband, Hines Hall.

Website: johnmwilliams.net

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manwalkingbackward

Other: Blog: johnmwilliams.net/blog