I had the pleasure of meeting Catherine Nelson-Pollard, a freelance writer based in Switzerland, at the Geneva Writers’ Conference, where she was on the Writing on the Web panel. She also has a radio program on World Switzerland Radio. Visit her at http://www.livinginnyon.com/.

What brought you to Nyon?
Husband’s job. He came here to work for an environmental organization, we
moved here 8 years ago from Scotland, before that we were in South America for 6 years and before that I lived all over the place. I wasn’t brought here exactly kicking and screaming from Scotland but I loved my life in North Berwick on the East Coast, we were a short train ride from Edinburgh which is fabulous city and we were just 10 minutes from the sea and fabulous beach walks. I had a lovely part time job and lots of great friends and wasn’t that keen to move. However, now I simply love it here and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else, but in this expat life I know you can never say never.

What keeps you in Nyon?
Still because of my husband’s job, but also because of mine now and the fact
that I love this town. The quality of life is superb, we have the lake and
mountains on our doorstep and Nyon has a lot to offer. It is host to Paléo,
one of Europe’s largest music festival and a fabulous documentary film
festival and many other events throughout the year.
       I love it so much I started a blog on it called www.livinginnyon.com which now has a regular readership. I had no idea it would become so popular, that was completely unexpected, but I love letting people know what’s going on and meeting new people through it.

What books are on your nightstand?
There are a pile of books which are a real eclectic mix! Work books related to my freelance expat writing, and for the show I broadcast on World Radio Switzerland http://www.worldradio.ch/ called Expatlife.
       “A Broad Abroad” by Robin Pascoe
       “Gen Expat”   by Margaret Malewski
Then for non work reading there’s 
       “Jan Kjaerstad  The Conqueror” – A book I haven’t started yet but was given to me by a good Norwegian friend for my birthday last year.
        “Adrian Mole – The Prostrate Years” by Sue Townsend.
       “Alan Titchmarsh – Nobbut a Lad”  Alan Titchmarsh is a famous gardener from Britain and although I am not green fingered at all, he writes about his
childhood and growing up in the town of Ilkley in West Yokshire in the North
of England. I grew up in a small village called Addingham near Ilkley and
went to school there, just a few years later than him, reading the book
was a real trip down memory lane for me.  
       “A visit from Voltaire” by Dinah Lee Kung, I haven’t read this yet either
but I bought it at the last Geneva Writers Conference book shop. I also
picked up a copy of “New Letters”, a magazine of writing and art published
by the University of Missouri. This particular edition attracted my eye as
it said it had a poem in it called “Mirrors of Damascus” by a Syrian poet
called Abed Ismael and although I don’t read much poetry I am interested in
anything to do with Syria as we recently had the most fabulous, fabulous
holiday there. 
       Latest issue of Monocle magazine, it’s innovative and is constantly coming up with some interesting ideas of how countries or companies can improve themselves.  I like to read the articles from its international writers.
I’m a big fan of the editor Tyler Brulé, he also writes a column in the
Weekend Financial times, it’s one of the first columns I turn to, along with
another column called “Expat Lives”.
       “From our own correspondent- A celebration of fifty years of the BBC Radio Programme”. (The pages are stuck to each other and all curled up as it fell into the bath when I was reading it. Soaking in a bubble bath is the best
place to read a book).
     Woman magazine- Diet special, I’ve been at my pc an awful lot over this last winter during which, I’ve munched my way through loads of chocolate and biscuits. I’ve done no exercise at all either – so it’s taken its toll on the old derriere and waistline. How the magazine will help, goodness knows
but heh, it’s a start. 

What book makes you laugh out loud?
Anything by Bill Bryson, Sue Townsend or Alan Bennett

What advice would you give to struggling writers?
Patience and perseverance, find a mentor, join a writers’ group. I believe
if you have any success at all, no matter how small, you should pick up your
own trumpet and blow it out loud.

What is the best advice you have ever received?
It wasn’t really advice, it was more of a revelation. A successful published
writer once announced at a conference she had never been to university, and I thought, “if she can do it so can I”. I always had a chip on my shoulder
about not pursuing further education and doubted that I had any writing
ability, but after she said this I felt ready to tackle anything. I felt the
same way again recently when I read the journalist Lynne Barber say in a
Mslexia magazine interview that she still has problems structuring an
article, I thought “crikey if she has problems after all those years of
writing then I don’t feel too bad about the fact that I struggle with
structure too”.

How does living in a foreign country affect your writing?
It affects most of it, I specialise in writing about expatriate issues and I
have written a screenplay around the subject.
 
What tips would you give to someone wanting to blog? Wanting to publish articles in newspapers and magazines?
For print writing, start small, even if some of that work is unpaid. I wrote
a small unpaid article in a newspaper and it led to an enquiry from an
editor who was looking for writers for a new magazine. I ended up writing
for that magazine for over two years. Follow up any editorial enquiries
immediately.
       I am a big fan of blogging and was part of the web panel at the Geneva
Writers conference. However you have to keep the blog up, particularly if
you gather a readership and it does takes time away from other writing, but
equally blogging is great fun and I love its interactive nature with bloggers from around the world.

At what hour of the day does inspiration strike? (Or what time of the day do you feel the most productive?)
I’m not really a morning person, more of a “curtain up” girl which
essentially means when the curtain come up in the theatre, at around 19:30
that’s when I come alive, I can then write until the wee hours of the morning. The downside is that over time dark shadows appear under the eyes and it’s then I need a few early nights. 

What is your favorite place to work?
In winter in my study, surrounded by family and travel photos, posters on
the wall, messy desk and a cup of Yorkshire tea. In summer I take a notebook and pen down to the outdoor pool on the lake side in Nyon. The pool looks on to Montblanc and over to France, the view is absolutely stunning. If I really want to spoil myself I buy a first class ticket to the top deck of one of the paddle steamers that cruise up and down the lake. I sit in a
deckchair, admire the view and pretend to write, but really I just daydream
and sunbathe.

What’s next?
I’m not going to start anything new until I’ve dragged out the screenplay
again, added a couple more scenes and then actually sent it off somewhere
rather than let it sit on the shelf for another year, the same applies to a
children’s story I wrote years ago. I’m great at starting stuff but not so
hot at finishing anything, as my husband will testify.