When I go through “interesting” times in my life, I write about them. I’ve been writing a lot recently (see below). By committing to the reflective, difficult process of writing my own story, I better understand myself and how I want to show up in this world. Sound like your idea of fun?
Experience something unexpected through personal storytelling
I’ve always written for a living. Today, I spend most of my time writing about someone else’s products or services. But while that kind of writing keeps my external coffers full, it has never filled my internal cup.
The writing that fills me up — where I find “flow” — is more personal.
I love reading and writing about an individual person's life and experiences. The journalist in me loves teasing out the things that make one person's story colorful, painful, resilient and fascinating. The personal stories I’ve told have ranged from full-blown 4,000-word profiles to three-sentence snippets in feature stories. (Get to know me through my writing here.)
No matter how many words a story is, I always want my readers to connect to it on a human, emotional level as opposed to getting just a factual understanding of the person and their situation.
When I have gone through “interesting” times in my own life, writing about them has been therapeutic in ways that never fail to surprise me. Writing untangles the emotions and questions running around in my head and wreaking havoc on my body — all the stress! — and makes sense of them.
Writing literally brings to light things that heal me that I would never discover or benefit from without going through the reflective, difficult process of writing.
Recently, I’ve been writing a lot. In December 2021, I learned that the man I’d been dating for three years was married. Since then, I’ve been writing, and learning things, and healing.
I’ve also been sharing my personal writing and stories with a few other people. One of those people said I could really help other people write their own stories. And I loved the idea! So I’m putting this out as another service I can offer through Punch Content.
Why would this possibly make sense for you?
You’ve gone through something big (big to you, not necessarily the rest of the world) and want help processing it.
You're willing to self-disclose in a strictly confidential setting.
You’ve thought about writing your story before but can’t seem to get started — or get finished.
You’re curious about how writing and stories can deepen your understanding of yourself and the world around you.
People tell you that you should write about your life, but you’re not a writer.
I’m offering two ways to work:
I can be your ghostwriter, writing your story based solely on one-on-one, confidential interviews. We can determine if your audience is you or if you aspire to share your story with other people, and how long or short your story will be, among other considerations.
I can be your writing coach and editor. Together, we will explore the thing you are interested in writing about or the thing you are wrestling with, and then you will write. In my role, I will help you stay on track, get unstuck when you get blocked, see opportunities for exploration, write with energy, trim the fat — all the things that good coaches and editors do.
I don’t have a master’s in fine arts and a clinical mental health degree. I do have a 24-year career as a writer, firsthand experience exploring my own life through writing and a lot of empathy. Plus, serving others is the ultimate way to nurture happiness, so by sharing your story with me and allowing me to help you write, you’d be doing me a favor, too.
OK, here goes. Reach out if you’re curious.
If you’re looking for a different kind of writing coach and help, consider my friend Dan Barden. He’s got all the chops.