About Me — Cynthia Giles

Basically, I was born writing and can’t seem to stop

The toy typewriter pictured above resembles one I played with probably in first grade. You turn the dial to a desired letter and press down to print it (the keys don’t actually work).

Before that unit, I had a rubber-stamp alphabet that could be used to put words on paper. When I was about nine (I think), my mom got me a real Smith-Corona. And one way or another, I haven’t stopped typing since.

I never had a plan — just kept doing things as they came along. Not sure how I feel about that now!

But here’s what it looked like in practice . . .

• As a student, from grade school through graduate school, I tried to grasp the assignment (what the teacher wanted) and go beyond it. Then I wrote a dissertation, and tried to balance research with original thought, while supporting everything carefully and avoiding the temptation to eloquence.
• I wrote several nonfiction books, in which I tried to balance popular appeal with substantive information. I was moderately successful with a niche audience, but needed to make actual money, so —
• Next stop, corporate life. As a technical writer/instructional designer, I tried to make things so clear that no one could possibly…