About Me
Certificate in Professional Technical Writing – University of Washington
B.S. in Psychology – Liberty University
Writer
Technical Writer
The Power of Words, The Power of Story
Once upon a time, a traveler reached the summit of a lonely peak in an empty land full of the promise of being left alone. He had just long enough to admire the unbroken sea of trees flooding away in every direction, then he needed to head onward, or at least below the timberline. Afternoon storms arrived in a hurry and lightning was indiscriminate. It picked off one as well as another, and he had a reckoning he couldn’t miss.
Did you read this far? You did? Great. That’s the power of story. The power of words. And I love words. Words are the medium that carry our history, convince you to buy this toilet paper and ignore that brand, write a check to a non-profit, or labor over a note to stash in your daughter’s lunch box. Fifty people can tell the same story 50 different ways, yet convey all of the necessary information to explain how the chicken crossed the road.
Words express more than meaning – they can be the vehicle for meaningful work, even a meaningful life. For me, a meaningful life means serving God through serving people by communicating what needs to be said to the people who need to hear it.
Messages are as unique and meaningful as the people who receive them.
When I was 14, I entered a horror story competition for The Washington Post’s children’s section and, in a fit of wild inspiration, pounded out a story about a demon-possessed pooch. It was published as the top entry, complete with an artist’s illustration. For a day, this middle school misfit basked in my 15 minutes of gory glory. Not long ago, I designed “newspapers” for a Willy Wonka-themed fundraising campaign for a local non-profit. LOCAL OFFICIAL ISSUES CHOCALERT: “EAT ‘EM WHILE YOU CAN!” Writing copy for WonkaMania was so delightful that I thought “Who gets paid to do this?” (Oh wait, not me – it was a volunteer gig.)
In between projects like this, I’ve added stints as a proofreader, editorial assistant, and marketing coordinator for a non-profit, which is a fancy way of saying that I designed fliers and newsletters, organized workshops, answered phones, and repaired the copier. Like many who serve in non-profits, I wore many hats so that the organization could do what it needed to do: help people. Back at home, I’ve written articles galore, designed and wrote a few websites, designed about a million projects in Adobe InDesign and made words work for me, and for others who needed them.
I’ve used words to create meaning in my life, and I’ve used words to convey meaning in my work. Write words, serve people. It’s a match made in heaven.