Hello

My path to freelance writing has been a long and winding one. As an undergraduate I filled my schedule with English electives to complement my sociology major and psychology minor. I earned my Master of Social Work and started my career in a community mental health center in Seattle as a psychiatric case manager.

 

Writing progress notes, required for each client after each visit, is typically torture for most of us in the social service field. Perhaps I'm a masochist or maybe I just enjoy writing that much but progress notes didn't feel like a chore. They were a kind of personalized story-telling instead, albeit clinical and concise. I liked the clients' personalities to shine through my notes despite the writing's objective viewpoint.

 

I remember my supervisor receiving a letter from a King County judge commending me for writing such detailed, thoughtful commitment papers to have a client involuntarily hospitalized. I assume my client was less impressed than the judge since the 72 hour psychiatric hold was granted. 

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Eventually I became a registered nurse and channeled my love of writing into patient learning materials and community education presentations. Developing these documents gave me a sense of accomplishment and satisfied my creative side. I experienced these same emotions when I became a postpartum doula. As a small business owner I designed my website, wrote its content from scratch and contributed articles to several health-related sites as a guest blogger.

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In addition to incorporating writing into my professional life, I enjoy putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) in my personal life. I started Snark Mom as an online diary of sorts. I'm a contributing writer for Charleston Moms, a local parenting and lifestyle resource. I love connecting with other women who aren't afraid of the vulnerability that comes along with opening up one's thoughts and words to the world. It's raw, honest and engaging when done with authenticity. 

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