During her eight-year journey as a columnist, Victoria Hugo-Vidal has shared her experiences as a millennial navigating life in Maine. The insights she has gained reflect not just her personal growth but also the evolving nature of her writing style. In her latest piece, Hugo-Vidal delves into the origins of her writing process and the unique influences that shape her work.
Hugo-Vidal credits her mother, the bestselling author Julia Spencer-Fleming, with inspiring her writing talent. While Spencer-Fleming specializes in murder mysteries, Hugo-Vidal’s approach is markedly different. She writes primarily from her smartphone, often drafting columns in a Google email draft, a habit she adopted long ago. This method allows her to write anytime and anywhere, whether she is nursing her child at night or working at her previous job stocking shelves at a local store.
In discussing her creative process, Hugo-Vidal reveals that she often struggled to generate topics when she first started writing under the pseudonym “The Maine Millennial.” Initially accustomed to being assigned topics in school, she found it stressful to come up with content weekly. Over time, she developed the ability to generate her own ideas, which now encompass a broad range of experiences and reflections on millennial life.
Charting the Millennial Experience
The central theme of Hugo-Vidal’s column revolves around the millennial experience. She interprets this theme broadly, reflecting on her personal life, which she describes as “often pretty average.” Her debut column focused on her experiences using the dating app Tinder, and since then, she has chronicled significant life changes, including getting married, becoming a parent, and navigating homeownership.
Hugo-Vidal acknowledges the challenge of maintaining a writing routine, noting that the structure of delivering weekly columns has served as a strong motivator. She humorously points out that despite completing 18 years of formal education, she has essentially assigned herself homework for life.
The candid nature of her writing has not gone unnoticed. Some readers have commented on the personal nature of her columns, which often resemble a journal of her life. Hugo-Vidal embraces this characterization, stating that she aims to document the average millennial experience. Her journey has included various milestones, from adopting dogs to donating a kidney, each providing rich material for her writing.
Engaging with Current Events
Hugo-Vidal also engages with broader societal issues, with about half of her columns addressing contemporary topics. She reflects on her opinions regarding current events while walking her dogs, often using her column as an outlet for her thoughts. This engagement with the world around her adds depth to her writing, allowing readers to connect with her perspective as both a millennial and an individual.
Despite occasional criticism regarding the relevance of her opinions, Hugo-Vidal recognizes that her subscribers demonstrate an interest in her voice. The requirement that only subscribers can comment on her pieces highlights that her insights resonate with a dedicated audience.
In her eight years of writing, Hugo-Vidal has navigated a spectrum of experiences that reflect both personal and societal narratives. As she looks ahead, she anticipates that parenthood will provide ample material for her future columns, ensuring that her journey continues to evolve and resonate with readers.
