A Freelancer's Tale

I remember the very first time I ever saw Edward Scissorhands. At seven years old, I was mesmerized by the story, drawn in by the kind, child-like outsider who loved this beautiful woman, though they were seemingly worlds apart. Then, my teenage brother told me something I'd never forget:  Edward was played by an actor, and this fantastical tale was created, and brought to life, by actual human beings. I've been obsessed with craft of storytelling ever since.

 

Whether it was theater, film, or novels, I grew up immersing myself in new worlds and ideas and, though I didn't realize it at the time, was also educating myself. I soaked in lessons from the greats while my imagination was excited and amplified. I revered writers so much, however, that I never dared believe I could be one. So in my mid-late twenties, I turned my mind away from being an artist and went back to school; I even ended up where my Beatnik heroes went, Columbia University. Still fascinated with understanding people and why they do what they do, I decided to major in psychology with a concentration in literature. I studied neuroscience and investigated the effects of brain functions on human cognition and behavior while I read three books and wrote at least two papers a week. In 2013, I graduated and, finally, it was time to enter the "real world".

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My professional writing career began as a brand marketer at The Wall Street Journal. I quickly learned to distill concepts down into punchy headlines and tight copy (ironic given the length of this bio, I know) while keeping brand strategy, positioning, and tone of voice front-of-mind. I continued honing and refining my skills until, eventually, I pivoted to working as a creative development producer at Hornet, an animation production company. Part of my job was to write the treatments for commercial pitches but, before I knew it, I was recognized by leadership and tasked with writing our PR materials, ad-hoc articles, and award submissions, as well. After some time, I left this position I loved due to family concerns and have been freelancing as a professional writer ever since.

 

It was early on at Hornet that I began to seriously consider that I, might actually, be a storyteller myself. Using an employee benefit, I took a week off to focus on a personal creative endeavor:  writing my very first feature film script for an original trilogy. I wrote my first draft that week, and have continued on developing and refining it since. That week broke the dam, and I now have a number story ideas that I can't wait to develop next and which will be spread across theater, film, and novels. All of these personal and professional experiences have given me the confidence to say, at long last, that I am a writer and storyteller – and a pretty damn good one.