Editor’s Note: Lisa Jane Barron, known as the Writing Huntress, and her husband currently live in a township of 16 people in North Dakota, a far cry from her hometown of Rochester, New York. She’s been writing and spreading, according to her, “Social media hunting cheer,” for the past 3 years through her blogs Hunt Like You’re Hungry and Ask the Writing Huntress.
Once I started hunting, blogging almost seemed like a natural next step. I graduated from Niagara University with a degree in English and writing. When I took a course in creative nonfiction (telling real stories in a creative way), I realized I could utilize my creativity to write about normal, everyday things. Just like my hunting, I feel I got my storytelling gift from my granddad, who was an avid Irish storyteller. I’ve heard he’d start a fishing story, but by the end of the tale, his 20-inch walleye magically had transformed into a 200-pound marlin. My husband likes to remind everyone that he started my outdoor writing career.
When I met my future husband in 2010, I complained constantly about how much I missed writing. He’d simply ask, “Why don’t you start a blog?” I remember laughing, wondering what I possibly could write that anyone would want to read. When I voiced my opinion, he said to write about, “Who you are, and what you do.” I thought about it for a moment and realized I already was the Writing Huntress. Then I remembered what my ex-boyfriend always said when we were preparing to go hunting, “Let’s go! Hunt like you’re hungry. We need dinner!” So, I went with Hunt Like You’re Hungry. My work was unlike the writing I’d seen in outdoor magazines about hunting. These articles didn’t let me see, feel, touch or smell the woods from the hunter’s perspective. I didn’t read about the ghost-like sounds of an owl hooting in the distance, waking a napping hunter just before daylight. So, I started writing about these kinds of things.
After my blog starting gaining more attention, my best friend, a communications major at the time, decided I needed to start a Twitter account. At that time, my perception of Twitter wasn’t good. I figured Twitter was a collection of nonsensical ramblings of people who were bored and didn’t have anything else to do with their lives. But I took advice from someone who knew me better than I did and started my Twitter adventures as The Writing Huntress. I was astounded to find a large outdoor community forming on Twitter at the same time I joined. Hunters and huntresses around the country and even the world realized Twitter was a perfect platform to share ideas, stories, trophy pictures and information. I met other huntresses like me who had the same problems I did – a real awakening for me. I’d only hunted with guys up until then. Without Twitter, I never might have been afforded the chances I’ve had for reviewing products and writing. Today I do product reviews for outdoor companies and write for “Deer and Deer Hunting” magazine and Women’s Outdoor News. The outdoor community is a tight-knit, supportive one.
Day 3: Jane on Why She Likes Bowhunting and How the Sport Empowers Her
Tomorrow: Lisa Jane – What She Sees as Her Future in Hunting
