Wordy & Nerdy #3: My (not so neat) writer’s journey ✍️

In a LinkedIn post last week, I promised to tell you how I became a writer.

And, since I never break promises… buckle up.

Picture this:

It’s September 2015.

I had just moved into residence at Trent University’s Champlain College.

I was bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and ready to spend the next 4 years learning about anthropology.

And learn about anthropology I did.

Raise your hand if “Student” was your whole identity for the first two decades of your life!!!

I studied our evolutionary ancestors, bones, and dirt.

I did an undergrad thesis on llamas and alpacas.

I almost failed Non-Calculus Statistics I.

(That last one has to be some sort of rite of passage, I swear…)

Did I write a ton throughout those 4 years at Trent?

Absolutely.

Did it ever cross my mind, even once, to be a writer?

Absolutely not.

Me to me.

Now, let’s fast forward a bit to September 2019.

I’m at the University of Toronto’s downtown campus to start another degree — my Master of Museum Studies.

At this point, I wanted to work with kids in museum education, so I did everything I could to get there.

I volunteered at the Royal Ontario Museum.

I took courses on educational programs and childhood development.

I beefed up my resume by writing for my department’s student-run blog.

(Foreshadowing, perhaps?)

After all, I only had 2 years to learn everything I could about museums…

Because I would get a job in a museum immediately after I graduated, of course.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Then, in 2021…

Well, we all know what happened in 2021.

I finished my degree online, graduated online, and watched tons of museums close.

But, despite not working in a museum post-grad… I definitely still needed a job.

(People expected rent and stuff… rude.)

So, to make that happen, this is what I did instead:

→ Data entry at an insurance company + admin work for a lawn care company.

→ Then, I did comms + fundraising at a mental health non-profit.

→ Then, I did freelance writing in the evenings on Upwork.

→ Then, realizing I liked writing, I did in-house writing at a (VERY) awful agency.

→ Then, I got fired from said awful agency (a blessing in disguise).

And then… I just didn’t apply anywhere else.

I figured I’d give full-time writing a shot for a few months.

If it worked out, that would be swell.

And, if it didn’t, I’d start applying for “regular” jobs again.

(Spoiler alert: It ended up working out.)

Me after the Universe grabbed the wheel but ended up being a good driver

So, now that we’re all caught up…

Here’s the part where I acknowledge that my “journey” is not as neat as you probably thought it was.

(Or not as neat as you maybe wanted it to be.)

My origin story isn’t one where everything was simply destined to be.

I didn’t learn to type on a keyboard before I could walk.

I didn’t say “long-form content” as my first (3) words.

I wasn’t a creative writing prodigy in school, either.

(Ironically, I struggled with creative writing… too few boundaries for little Mel, y’know?)

But yet, here we are.

Somehow, when people ask me “What do you do for work?”

I get to say “I’m a writer.”

And, if I may show a little pride… I’m a pretty decent one, too.

So, the moral of the story here?

There’s no “right” way to get where you’re supposed to be.

You might open your li’l baby eyes, fresh out the womb, and know in your li’l baby heart that you’ll be a writer when you grow up.

Or you might go to school for 6 years, work a bunch of random jobs, and accidentally discover a passion for writing along the way.

Both are fine. Both are good. Both are valid.

The Universe works in mysterious ways.

And sometimes, her surprise plans will change your life.

They did for me.

Thank you for coming on that ride with me!

Wordy — 5 Writing Resources

Since the first part of this newsletter was longer than usual, I’ll keep these next few sections short ’n’ sweet.

Here are 5 cool writing resources I’ve found over the years.

1. Improve link accessibility with WebAIM’s “Introduction to Links and Hypertext”​
2. Test your Subject Lines with Omnisend’s Email Subject Line Tester
3. Offer reading time estimates for your audience with Read-o-Meter​
4. Detect your bullshit levels with the BlaBlaMeter (this one is fun)
5. Double-check your capital case with Capitalize My Title

Nerdy — Top 5 Videos

Here are 5 of my favorite nerdy videos from the past two weeks.

1. This Reel of an impossibly small micro-crocheted duck​
2. This TikTok about the hyrax (heads up: there’s swearing)
3. This Reel about hexagon quilts (thanks Madi!)
4. This Reel of a glass-blown T-Rex head​
5. This Reel of some really cool birds

Bits & Bobs

• Have thoughts, ideas, comments, or feedback about W&N? You can respond to this email or fill out my feedback survey!
• If you want to read old versions of W&N, they’re uploaded to my Medium page a few weeks later.

Just a friendly reminder:

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That’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again (for you or other people). 💃

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see ya in 2 weeks.

— Mel

P.S. My subscribers got to read this newsletter on March 19th. 👀

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