Writer, Mother, Linguist, Amateur Gardener, Gourmet Chef, Chanteuse, Tennis Coach & more
Claire Hilbert holds the distinction of loving a full life while at the same time being a keen observer of it. It’s not surprising that she has come to consider writing as her preferred occupation.
A Full Life
From Early On
She clearly recalls deciding at a young age to become a writer one day. A lifelong lover of hearing and telling stories, she remembers crafting a lengthy and memorable short story in elementary school that caught the attention and admiration of her father as well as her public school teacher, an inspiring former priest and storyteller himself, who infused Latin into his lessons. As a person of many interests, she knew that being a writer would enable her to explore those things through her work.
Formative Years
She went on to apply her love of words and language wherever possible while building her experience in a variety of jobs and activities. In high school, she became involved with her school newspaper. After college she managed to fuel her travel bug tendencies by engaging with several international airlines plus by living overseas thanks to work opportunities. Concurrently and henceforth, she has supplied op-ed type articles, essays and reporting to newspapers and publications, including her first paid piece, for a Japanese magazine, depicting what it was like working as an expat in Tokyo (where she taught English for several years). Before long she was flipping between languages, modeling after her more experienced European counterparts.
Influencial Aspects
Ms. Hilbert credits family influences like having an open and curious mind, an adventuring spirit and an affinity for languages for leading her to her lifelong love of writing. Her birth in Germany, an exquisite student experience living with a special family in Paris’ Left Bank, and her time in Japan, followed by traveling the long way home via the Trans-Mongolian Express several months after the Velvet Revolution, all led to plenty of encounters with other curious travelers from around the world. Her countless travels have resulted in her varying proficiencies in French, Japanese, German, Danish and Spanish.
Zeroing in on the Writing
Eventually, upon her return to the States, she supported herself temporarily in a variety of international companies in NYC while re-acclimating to American life. During this time she hosted an exposé-style column entitled “First Hand” for a United Nations newspaper called The Earth Times. From there, her writing has evolved to ever more creative literary pursuits, especially once she realized just how much truths can be adequately conveyed in a variety of writing styles and genres.
Learning to “steal the time”
Ms. Hilbert wrote her first novel, the YA book entitled Jump Rope Girl, over about a 12-year period. During that time she raised her children, taught French at her kitchen table, enjoyed competitive league tennis with her husband, developed small but charming gardens surrounding her home, and was locally active volunteering in the schools (e.g., teaching Writing Workshops to Elementary schoolchildren) and in building sustainability efforts for what became a successful NYS effort to reduce the excessive use of single-use plastic bags. Occasionally, she sang onstage in area venues, often in French! In short, as a writing instructor once explained one must do sometimes, she had to “steal the time” to fit in her writing.
The Bigger Story
There’s a whole big story (of course) on how her journey led her to this point, and how her novel came to be, its iterations over time, what inspired it, and how much she learned just by writing it. If you want, invite her to visit your organization or book club and she can tell you more about it.
Honing Her Craft
Ms. Hilbert has honed her writing craft through studies at the Yale Writers’ Workshop, the Sarah Lawrence College Writing Institute and the Hudson Valley Writers’ Center. She lives with her husband, two sons and two cats in a sweet village along the Hudson River in Northern Westchester, a region she’s called home for more than 20 years.
To check out some samples of what she’s been up to, click here.
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