Behind the Bylines
Nelida
Meet... Nelida "Nellie" Gonzalez Cutler
Birthdate: February 25th
What was your favorite school subject?
English and History were my favorite subjects in school. That must be why I do what I do today! News is history unfolding, and writing about the news can be challenging.
When/how did you first know you wanted to write?
I've always enjoyed writing. When I was in high school I joined the school newspaper. It was a very small high school and five of us produced the newspaper. I remember riding the New York City subways, rushing to get to the printer in time to meet our deadline. That's when I decided that I'd like a career in what I envisioned as the fast-paced world of journalism.
What do you enjoy about your job?
I like the people I work with because they're all smart, interesting and witty. I enjoy reading newspapers and magazines, following the news and talking to people. I'm pretty lucky—I actually get paid to do all those things!
How did you develop a nose for the news?
I started reading a daily newspaper when I was in sixth grade. Later, I began to read newsmagazines. In my family, we often discussed politics and news events, so reading helped prepare me for our family discussions.
How do you overcome writer's block?
I take a little break or go for a walk. Sometimes, I'll just skip over the part that's giving me trouble and write something else. For example, I'll start a story this way: "Lead sentence Tk..." Or, I'll write: "Sentence explaining all the facts Tk." TK is an old printing term that means "to come". I'll continue writing the story and then return to the lead sentence or the problem sentence when I'm all done.
What do you write best with or on?
I write best on a computer. A computer allows me to move paragraphs around and make corrections easily. When I was in college (back in the old days!), I wrote on a typewriter. Life is much simpler now!
Who do you look up to?
It may sound corny, but I look up to my parents. They left their homeland and emigrated to this country with two small children. They had to struggle to make ends meet, yet they managed to provide us with a lot of "luxuries." One summer, my parents told my brother and me that we were taking a vacation to the one of the world's most exciting cities. The best part, they said, was that we didn't have to travel far. We spent the next two weeks visiting local museums. It was great!
more bylines
