2018 Productivity

Let’s get reflective!

2017 was a busy year, and 2018 was no different. My son turned one, my sister got married, we camped three times (one excursion was a backpacking trip covering 15 miles with my wife), we swam in Oregon rivers and lakes, we traveled (Chicago twice and Arizona), and I took my nephew to see a Trail Blazers game. On top of that, my wife started working a second job to pursue a career in public health, all while I worked my day job in marketing and pursued freelance editing and writing opportunities. It was a full, busy year. And while my wife and I have put together our hit list of things to accomplish as a family in 2019, I thought—much like last year—now would be a good time to take a look back at 2018 and see what ground I covered in my freelance career. Can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been, right? Continue Reading “2018 Productivity”

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Are you a writer, editor, or creator? Sign up for my newsletter!

I’m the type of editor and writer that loves reading about writing. Maybe it’s all the role-playing video games I played growing up—it just seems like reading about writing is a great way to level up my skills. Practice is the best method for improving as a writer or editor, but I do think absorbing as much info as possible is a close second.

In that vein, and because I pay too much attention to my own productivity, I decided to start a newsletter. Continue Reading “Are you a writer, editor, or creator? Sign up for my newsletter!”

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2017 Productivity

At the end of every year, my social media feeds fill with productive creative people touting how much work they’ve done in the past 365 days. Seeing how much everyone has accomplished, it’s very easy to feel like you haven’t done anything at all—or at least you haven’t done enough.

This past year, my son was born. In the most important of ways, it was the biggest year. He’s the best thing I’ve ever had a hand in creating and being with him daily is the best “work” I’ve ever done. Naturally, it was a pretty busy year. (So busy I’m finally writing those post in February!)

While parenting is a life shift that redefines everything, I still wondered how my year stacked up in terms of creative output. Even when you’re having an incredible year, at least for me, it’s hard not to try and tally your efforts. (I’m a bit of a listmaker.) When I crunched the numbers, expecting it to have been a light year in creative work, I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve had busier years, but to have done all this… Continue Reading “2017 Productivity”

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Resources for Copywriters

After nearly a decade working as a writer and editor in journalism, publicity, and comics publishing, shifting my skills to digital marketing copywriting has been a broadening experience. As a job, it utilizes all the same skills I’ve previously engaged as a wordsmith, but it calls on them in new and — sometimes — very different ways. And that’s a good thing: Diverse experience is essential to improvement. You could argue that continuing to write daily is the greatest way to improve, and I wouldn’t argue, but writing about subjects and in voices I’d otherwise never touch has forced a honing of my skills it’d be hard to replicate left to my own devices. Continue Reading “Resources for Copywriters”

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One of my favorite writers explains writing and writers

While I haven’t delved into my favorite living writer George Saunders’ new book Lincoln in the Bardo — as Abraham Lincoln grieving his dead son seems a bit intense for a brand new dad — I’ve enjoyed reading interviews about his process going from expert short story writer to first time novelist. My wife giving birth has waylaid a more thorough examination of this Guardian article, but I wanted to save it here for future reference — for me and you, any writers or editors that love creative process advice as much as I do. Continue Reading “One of my favorite writers explains writing and writers”

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Learning my medium by doing

I’m not a writer.

I can write. I’ve been paid to write. But I know writers. Real writers. Sit down and type for hours because they have to writers, agonizing over every word writers, write or go crazy writers… And I’m not one of them.

Still, that doesn’t mean I don’t have a story to tell. Continue Reading “Learning my medium by doing”

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