As a writer, I strive to intersect my passions and create great content. In this creative essay for RockChuck Summit, I achieved just that. Though I love working like a proper gremlin on my computer, I do adore hiking outdoors. While on the way to Washington I got to hike up a mountain for the first time. This piece combines creative intrigue and emotion with the structure of an essay, an effective concoction of the two styles.
Freelance is unexpected at times, and this work only proved how surprising great stories can be. They can be right under your nose (or hiking boot, in this case).
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Writing for Screenrant has been one of the most brand-focused experiences I've had. At Screenrant, I've honed the ability to conform to brand standards. On the site, my writer voice melds to their needs. This includes word counts, language, voice, and the like. Combined with extensive research work and rigorous deadlines, this experience has grown my talents to create fun content that fits the style of wherever I'm working.
Entertainment writing is a passion of mine and this experience has only made me better at it. I began writing rhetorical film essays on my own blog, Offbeat Rhetoric. However, as my interest grew, I joined The Critic's Den and began writing specifically about Sci-Fi films. In this genre I was able to use my creative writing and research skills. In some of my posts and topics there is a larger history to the films or, in the case of my From The Blackhole series, movies I simply haven't seen, and it's important to put in the research and to get the best possible article.
This essay shows not only my film critic work, but is also a staple of some of my early freelance work. During my time at Residential Housing Services (RHS) Sustainability, I worked on a project for bolstering the sustainable communications of the Information Services (IS) department on campus. One of our first actions was to create a flyer, which we made in Microsoft Word to increase accessibility and usability for people who want to modify it yearly and use it but aren’t proficient or equipped with Adobe InDesign.
With a Microsoft Word and PDF version of this flyer, I also gave IS a style guide and an alternative version if they ever wanted to begin to target students as well. Also, if they also want to create a brand standard-type use for the flyer, I gave a template draft of the flyer, sans words and clip-art. "I had the pleasure of working with Stephanie this year on a Division Wide initiative “RHS Sustainability Initiative” encouraging employees within the RHS division to reduce their printing and paper use as a whole. Working with Stephanie gave me opportunities to learn about the department of Sustainability and challenged me to get out of my comfort zone of communication. This initiative would not have been as successful as it was had it not been for Stephanie and I truly appreciated her passion and her drive to make a difference.” -Michaela Carter, MSU Information Services Intern Stephanie Relates was the original name of my personal blog where I discussed life as a writer, my disorders, and everything in between. For example, my first post was about applying to jobs as a writer and also some of the struggles that can come with it. This blog is about showing a very raw, real side to a writer's life, while also celebrating its victories. Why? Because being a writer or being mentally ill isn't like the glamorized, movie-way they're shown in media. Even when its good, its hard and sometimes weird. I think people should see that.
This blog shows my personal commitment to my work and field, as well as my critical thinking skills even in everyday life. Also the fact I write constantly and consistently because it’s my lifeblood. Now, my blog has moved to my personal website and has been re-branded under my Creatively Disordered creative umbrella. I post on my blog twice a week, with some movie reviews thrown in there when a film compels me to talk about it. This is a technical report and memo for simulating helping a company dealing with email encryption. To create this report, I had to do research about email encryption, the providers of this service, and what would be the best option for my smaller corporation. As I do not specialize in email encryption, I tapped a computer-savvy contact for resources and directions to the best places to look for information. With their help, I created this comprehensive report about encryption services and how to recommend protecting this corporation.
This report displays not only my skills as a technical writer, but also as a researcher and writing for a field I may not specialize in. My research abilities made uyp for any gaps in my professional knowledge, which is a vital skill to have as a writer and editor. The Nuestros Cuentos project was created to help find a voice for latinx/indigenous students in literature. We went to two schools over the course of the semester to not only help write the stories of these children into a book, but also help give them a sense of community within the project.
During the project, the adult volunteers were tasked with describing their experiences in a Sway project so that the students and parents can learn about the volunteer experience at the end-of-year reception. I did this, but also chose to translate all of mine into Spanish so that some of the students’ parents who spoke less English could understand it as well. It wasn’t perfect Spanish, but I wanted them to feel included in our thoughts on working with their wonderful children. This project not only helped expand my group skills, but also pushed the limits of my writing to try to speak to an audience I had never attempted to reach before: Spanish speakers. The ability and desire to learn more and push limits for the benefit of an audience is wildly important for a freelancer, and I intend to apply it to everything I do. This is a photo essay I created shortly before the Flint Water Crisis. I lived in a well-off suburb of Flint for the entirety of my high school career, and the way people spoke about the town had always troubled me. Therefore, during a visit to my hometown while Flint Pride Week was going on, I put together a photo essay on the city. It was also the week I started to hear rumors about the water crisis, before it broke big news.
The work shows my skills as a photographer, abilities in Photoshop, and also my aptitude for multi-modal work. Also, it shows my willingness to use my work for causes that are important. Its a tragedy and I can’t fix what has happened to Flint. But I can at least post this photo essay and see the beauty in their town that people tend to overlook. If you'd like to do more to help to Flint, please go donate to the Flint Water Fund. I worked on this grant project during my final summer of college. In particular, this grant is about putting wildlife bridges over highways in Michigan to decrease the amount of roadkill. It was made with the 1-69 highway by Flint in mind. We had to work on the entirety of the grant, even research and more logistical aspects.
It shows my research and persuasion skills, as well as my ability to write technically, even about topics I feel very passionate about, such as animal issues. I prove through this grant that despite technicality or "dryness" of a piece, I will put my best work forward to create an effective product. This is a hybrid essay of creative and technical techniques that I wrote examining the health benefits of rain. As sun is often preferred and studied for mood studies, I wanted to analyze the opposite. I also personally find great comfort in rain, and wanted to see if there was any scientific foundation to it. Offbeat is what I'm interested in.
This project shows my ability to think and write in a creative yet still professional and technical style. It also proves my flexibility in styles and tone. I love both creative and technical works, and combining the two not only shows the strength of the styles, but also my strength in both as well. |