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A few weeks ago, my oldest, Wilder, got lost in the woods on the other side of our field. As with most five-year-old boys, he likes to wander. He’s an explorer, often seen with a bag or backpack packed with whatever tools he’s deemed necessary for the day’s journey. A wrench, a bag of goldfish crackers, a spent shotgun shell, once my debit card, and always, always keys. He is also usually accompanied by two of our dogs, Dalton and Dill.
A few years ago, I was waiting for a friend outside a restaurant bathroom. She was having a wardrobe malfunction and ended up being in the bathroom for a while trying to fix the issue. I sat on a crushed velvet fainting couch just outside the bathroom and watched the people that came in and out, most pretty vocal about their family drama, relationship problems, after-dinner heartburn. Others offering fuel for my imagination with their silent brooding. Sure, some were just there to wash their hands, or use the other facilities, but many were there to air grievances, share gossip, tempt themselves with flirtations. The interconnected waitstaff, the regulars, the strangers. Status disappears in death and in bathrooms. We all have to go sometime.
He was acting tough in his new school clothes that he had picked out, wearing clothes with sizes that no longer ended in ‘T’ and were covered in big boy sports imagery instead of smiling dinosaurs. He was too cool with his new Pac Man backpack, with his packed-for-the-first-time Pac Man lunchbox, with the cool hemp-and-clay-mushroom-necklace-from-the-90s he had found in one of his daddy’s memorabilia boxes and now proudly used to accessorize his mostly-matching clothes. We had talked all year about what to expect in kindergarten, about how fun it was all going to be, and he was bubbling with excitement all summer, telling everyone how he was starting kindergarten soon.
They say when a door closes, another one opens. Or that a window opens when a door closes. Or something about a door and a window, and there’s some kind of closing and opening. I don’t know. All I know is, somehow I built an entire house just to walk through the door, and in doing so, the rest of the House caught fire behind me.
At six months, he was talking, and by ten months, he was walking, and now, at six, he asks questions about heaven, and love, and life, and death. He loves telling people he was born in Florida, and so do I. Our little beach baby. He’s so filled with wonder and hope. They say that time passes quickly with your children, that all of a sudden you look up and they’re walking, and talking, and they’re starting school, and driving, and they’re moving away to start their own lives. Lately, I’m hit with an overwhelming feeling of time passing quickly, too fast for me to grab hold of these moments, too fleeting for me to properly appreciate them. How much longer will he be my little boy? It takes my breath away, and there’s nothing I can do to slow it down. Lord, let him always love me like he does now; let me always be his safe place; let him know we will always be his home; and Lord, let me be around for as many moments of his life that I can.
Happy Birthday, my sweet, hilarious, adventure-seeking, precious boy. I am forever changed by you.
Telling a compelling business story for marketing is essential for engaging your audience, building brand awareness, and driving customer loyalty. Here are some best practices to help you craft an effective business story for marketing:
In recent years, it seems like every marketer and brand enthusiast has adopted the title of "storyteller." You can hardly attend a marketing conference or read a blog post without someone proclaiming themselves a master of the craft. But why has storytelling become such a ubiquitous buzzword in marketing? Is it just a passing trend, or does it hold some substance? Let's dive into the phenomenon and explore why storytelling has taken center stage in the world of marketing.
You know we loves stories, and some of the greatest writers, speakers, and leaders have offered wise words on the topic. Looking for great quotes about storytelling or the best quotes about stories? Look no further, friend.
The line moved slowly, winding through the produce section, inching so slowly. Nat King Cole’s calming timber wasn’t working its magic on everyone in the line, and I felt for the Whole Food’s employees, each one most likely wishing he had put in a time off request sooner than the coworkers who did. Your Daddy joined me to wait, and we tried to guess what everyone’s story around us was on this Thanksgiving Day. No one looked happy, and after an hour I laughed to myself. We were waiting to pick up food that we would never eat. Giving wasn’t going to be easy this year, but I was determined that it was going to be worth it.
This may be hard for some to hear, but all blogs are not created equal. Yes, I know you think your story, your experience, and your POV is important, but how do your readers feel? When it comes to blogging, there are some tricks of the trade to ensure your blog doesn’t suck. Let me help you find your way when it comes to writing and maintaining your blog.
Family stories are a great way to capture the moments, relationships, characters, and quirks of a lineage; family stories are often memories of multiple family members that are compiled into an objective narrative that can be passed down for generations. The point of writing your family story is to remember an era as well as the intimacies that made your family unique and that made you who you are. Family stories often share the cultural, social, and political history of the time period in which they are written to fully set the scene. Like memoirs, family stories use narrative components like dialogue, setting, and description to tell a rich story for the audience: your family.
Graduation is an event marking both achievements and transition. For graduates and those who love them, graduation is an event of both potential and possibility and of reservation and anxiety. There’s the question of: what comes next? Even for graduates who know the college they will attend or the job they will walk into, there is still an element of uncertainty for what the future hold. A great graduation speech will embrace the positives of potential and possibility that comes with change and transition while also quelling the inevitable nerves that arise when one is moving forward into the great, wide unknown.
They say two things are for certain in this life: death and taxes. Traditionally, when we die, friends, family, and / or clergy eulogize us. Usually, the final words said about the departed are positive ones that honor the life we led, the love we shared, and the accomplishments and events that mattered most to us. Unfortunately, many eulogies end up being generic word crap, which leaves friends and family even more distraught (assuming you were a decent person and they’re not just showing up to make sure you’ve really left the proverbial building). This is just one reason you should write your own eulogy.
Gen Z, AKA the folks born between 1997 to 2012 (and up to 2015 because as we’ll learn from their grammatical predilections, members of Gen Z don’t do full stops) have followed the Millennial lead in reinventing accepted grammatical norms, which is fine…grammar is the system and structure of a language; it’s not stagnant—it’s living. It makes sense that with the technological revolution that there’d be substantial grammatical shifts. This grammar guide for Gen Z is designed to explain some of the most important modifications.
Writing an Airbnb listing probably seems like a simple-enough task, but you aren’t the only person putting their rental on the market. What sets your listing apart, and why should someone pick your rental over another? Learn how to write a stellar Airbnb listing in a few easy steps!
I’ve always felt like bloggers get a bad rap. There is this notion that bloggers aren’t “real” writers, but what does that even mean? Anyone who spends their time writing is a writer, but for some reason, published authors seem to be the only writers who are taken seriously. However, writing blog posts can ultimately lead you to that published title by helping you flesh out details and see what followers enjoy. Read on to learn about how to write a book by writing a blog.
Public speaking can feel terrifying, especially if it’s for an important event or in front of a large group of people. For most of us, public speaking isn’t something we have to regularly do, but at least once in your life, you’ll probably be asked to give a toast. Writing a toast doesn’t have to be panic inducing, for there are many ways to collect your thoughts and convey your message with heart and confidence. Read on to learn about the ins and outs of writing a toast.
Whether we are opening our browsers to order new shoes or are an entrepreneur looking to bring in more clients to our online platform, understanding keyword research is integral to the task at hand. What is keyword research, and why does it matter? Read on to learn more about keyword research and become an SEO pro
I’ve never wondered what it’s like to be in a gestational state, but thanks to 2020, I found out anyway. Think about it. A year ago, as of this writing, Americans were put on lockdown. We were literally stuck inside for the better part of a year. Everything was confusing. Things got dark (mostly our jokes, but still).We heard lots of voices from the outside, but more often than not, none of it made any sense. The longer we stayed in, conditions were increasingly cramped. Everything, including the freelance writing industry, transformed rapidly, and just as things change rapidly for a new baby in her first year of life, things are still evolving. So, what has changed and what does the Pandemic mean when it comes to work for writers in 2021?
Despite the fact that blogs are still numero uno in terms of a brand’s content strategy, blogs sometimes get a rep for being boring. The reason is that there is a glut of genuinely boring blogs out there that use cheap tactics to scream for attention and then, when you finally look their way, there’s zero substance. It’s like when your kid interrupts your kundalini meditation to tell you what Chloe or whoever on YouTube did on Minecraft, and before you know it, you’ve glazed over like a donut and fear you may never find anything interesting again. Terrifying. Let us show you how not to bore your audience into a coma.
Working from home takes a high level of independence and tenacity, but the rewards from the WFH lifestyle are endless! For most of us, we can make our own schedules, wear comfortable clothing, and eat/clean at our leisure. However, one of the best WFH perks is the fact that you can work from home from anywhere! What does that mean, and what does that look like? Read on to find out.
As a business owner, you wear many hats. Whether you’re a solopreneur or have a team helping with various aspects of your operations, running a company can be very overwhelming and time consuming. There’s accounting, customer service, marketing… the list goes on! With a never-ending to-do list, one thing that can oftentimes fall on the backburner is blogging. There are many reasons why you should be blogging in 2021, including better SEO, building trust with your audience and establishing yourself as an expert in your industry (more on that here). This form of content marketing is critical when it comes to growing your business, so here are a few reasons why you should outsource this task to the experts:
Whether we believe it or not, we all have a story to tell, but the way in which we tell our stories can define the content and our identities. How do we tell a story in a way that is meaningful, impactful, and accurate? Read on to find out.
While writers and storytellers should be lauded every day (what? Where else would we get our information and entertainment?), there are a plethora of days throughout the year each year designated for celebrating writers and storytellers. To help everyone plan accordingly, we’re listing the 2021 writer and storyteller holidays that will let writers and readers when they need to jam out with their stories out. It’s about to get lit…erature up in here (up in here).
2020 was a disruptive year, so it’s no surprise that 2021 has a few SEO and blogging shakeups. Relax…Google isn’t reinventing the algorithm and blogging is still blogging, but there are some modifications for 2021 that every copy blogger, blogger, brand, website (you get the idea) needs to be aware of to rank well and prosper.
To celebrate my birthday today, I put my Apple watch into my desk drawer and took my old watch to the jeweler to have the battery replaced. I created an in-office schedule for myself that offers limited yet consistent weekly availability to my clients and an out-of-office schedule that creates more availability to my family. I turned off all social notifications on my phone. I turned off the news. I turned on some Lionel Richie. I felt better.
With the New Year upon us, it’s time to set some 2021 resolutions! Working from home became much more popular this past year and it looks like remote offices will continue to be prevalent for years to come. Whether you’re new to the WFH lifestyle of a seasoned pro, it’s helpful to set expectations and create healthy routines in order to thrive both personally and professionally. Here are some our goals for the year ahead and tips about how to work from home.
2020 has sucked, can we just say it? What a horrible, rotten year with loss and grief at every turn, a mean-spirited and endless election, a year of nothingness - no concerts, no openings, no parties, no family dinners, no leisurely strolls through the grocery store to mindlessly select the week’s menu without concern for the availability of food or the need to wear an uncomfortable mask and eye everyone else suspiciously for signs of illness. But wait…there’s optimism ahead?
America is a rich tapestry of geographies, climates, cultures, and people divided and united into states, cities, communities, and neighborhoods. America is a land with a rich history of migration and immigration; it’s a country of pride, passion, and power, as well as one of sorrow, struggle, and strife. There is no one story that fully captures what it means to be American, which is why the PBS American Portrait Storytelling Project was manifested to tell all of the stories.
They’re finally here, the 2020 holidays, and we’re not just Elf-level excited because we love the holidays, we’re also jumping for joy because the holiday season means we’ve almost survived the giant trauma bond that’s been 2020 (break out the bubbly). That in itself is something to celebrate…but it shouldn’t be the focus of your holiday marketing strategy. Rather, holiday marketing and any storyteller marketing for that matter should tell your audience the story they want to hear, manifesting the reality that they want to exist. So, here’s how you manifest the reality your audience craves.
