Creatives always have their favorite projects — these are mine from over the years.
Have questions about any of these pieces, my growth as a writer, or are you a writer who wants to swap stories?
Original Fiction: Little Boy Wishes (1995/2011)
Years ago when I was freshly graduated from college and living back home, new neighbors across the street included a little boy of about 4 years old. His innocent and sweet heart inspired me to write a Christmas short story, in homage to O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi. Little Boy Wishes then sat in a drawer until, in 2011, I spotted a tiny paragraph in my local daily newspaper calling for original Christmas fiction submissions, for publication on Christmas Day. Weeks later, my original fiction was published in the Christmas Day edition of the Democrat & Chronicle newspaper.
View More to read an excerpt of my short story.
Literary Journalism: John Figur's Life (2014)
Learning and then writing about the life of Chili, NY resident John Figur was both a humbling and harrowing experience -- but certainly not more harrowing than living his life. By age 4, John along with his family was a refugee in Eastern Europe while WWII raged all around them. Retelling his life story in three columns of newsprint hardly does justice to John; I've often thought his life story to be worthy of a major motion picture. As we sat at his kitchen table, the emotions under John's memories were palpable 70+ years later. I have never forgotten John and his warnings about fascism, way back in 2014.
View More to read about John Figur.
Business Communication: Wine Symposium of the Finger Lakes (2015)
Being invited to both write for and attend this major wine event was a double-treat. Though the Wine Symposium of the Finger Lakes took place only twice, this weekend of food, wine tasting, and education attracted wine industry professionals and enthusiasts from around the world. I contributed to the writing and editing for the website and print collateral. One important element of the project was the event program, a booklet that would go into the hands of every attendee. My favorite part of the program was researching the event venues and composing new content to describe them -- all historic spaces located around the City of Geneva, New York.
View More to read about these venues.
Business Communication: ARC Life newsletter (2018)
Over the six and a half years that I wrote more than two dozen issues of Ontario ARC's seasonal newsletter, this issue is my favorite. The purpose of the newsletter is to inform families, donor, sponsors, and other stakeholders about the service agency's activities, and we did so with intention to frame that information around success stories. That's not easy when you have a lot of information to convey in a limited space; the trick is in accomplishing that task while telling an engaging story. The 2018 Q2 issue was synergistic. My liaison at the agency and I were so gratified at how beautifully and seamlessly that task was accomplished in this issue. In telling the success stories of three individuals, we told the story of how Ontario ARC transforms lives.
View More to read the Spring 2018 issue of ARC Life.
