For about as long as I can remember, I've been a writer. As a kid, even before I learned how to write, I liked to pretend I was writing stories, either by scribbling gibberish on a notebook or by drawing an imaginary keyboard and computer screen on an old cardboard box and pretending to type on it.
Once I could write, I wrote everything I could. I started with diaries, giving them names and writing about every detail of my life in case one day someone wanted to read about it. Later, I moved onto writing fiction, stories that were really just thinly veiled copies of the plots of my favorite TV shows, with animals taking place of all the human characters.
Meanwhile, I was reading voraciously, reading every book I could get my hands on. Every year, during my library's summer reading contest, I had to take 2 to 3 booklets to write down all the books I read during summer break. On vacations, when we'd all pile in the car and drive all the way from Illinois to Florida, my backpack always weighed more than me, as I crammed every book I could in there (usually about 6 or 7). Sometimes I would even finish all the books I had brought, and we'd stop in the book section of a grocery store so I could get another one.
It was this love of reading and writing that finally brought me where I am today, for good or for ill. In college, I first tried to get an English major, thinking that maybe I would be a teacher, but as I progressed through that year, I felt...off, like something was missing. So, I transferred to Columbia College Chicago, and enrolled in their Fiction Writing program.
Once I got there, something clicked, as cliche as that sounds. In my first day of my first class, it felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be, learning exactly what I needed to learn in order to pursue writing, and editing, as careers.
While there, I was selected to be a writing tutor, where I got to meet one-on-one each week with students who were looking to get more writing time in. It wasn't remedial, I wasn't correcting grammar or anything so mundane, I was simply guiding fellow students to help improve their writing, helping them find the true core of their stories. During that program, I was also invited to help edit Hair Trigger, the literary magazine for Columbia College Chicago. As part of a group of about 12 students, I got to read, argue about, and ultimately help select the stories that would be published in the 36th edition. Later, one of my teachers selected one of my stories to be in HT as well, where you can find it today (if you manage to get your hands on a copy).
After college, I was left with the horrifying reality of adulthood. Jobs for writers are scarce; although secretly everyone needs writers, no one seems to realize that, and they all continue to go blundering through emails, press releases, articles and more that are full of typos and other writing disasters. Either way, getting a job is difficult as a writer, but I managed to find a job as an online writing tutor with Smarthinking.com, a job that actually used my degree (go figure). As an online writing tutor, I got to read and review essays from students all around the world. I would help them figure out their thesis, organize body paragraphs, catch grammar mistakes, you name it. It wasn't exactly what I dreamed of, but hey, it was money.
Meanwhile, I began a blog. Friends and family and people on the internet were all raving about these "mommy porn" books, about how they were wonderful and exciting and whatever. Now, I love bad movies, movies that are so bad that they're hilarious, movies like The Room (a true classic) or Food Fight (look it up). I figured that the Fifty Shades books would be like that: a fun, hilarious spectacle. I was right about the hilarious spectacle, but wrong about the fun. So, like many before me, I took my feelings to the internet, and created Caitlin Liveblogs. I read the book chapter by chapter, pointing out flaws in the plot, characters, and writing in general, complete with stupid gifs and lots of swearing. Purely an academic blog, of course.
So, now we're here. I've gotten a different job, one that also (mostly) uses my degree, writing descriptions for products on Amazon (very glamorous), I occasionally get to teach an after-school class for 5th graders where we talk about how to create a good story, I'm still reading, and, of course, I'm still writing. Now, I want to help you.
So...what's the point of all this?
Trust me, I'm still trying to figure that out.
No, I mean, the point of this website.
Oh, that's a much easier question to answer. I think writing and storytelling are two of the most important things we do as humans. Stories inform everything we do, whether they're fact or fiction. Stories shape how we view the world, and I want to make the world better. So let's make our writing better.
On this website, I plan to do 2 things:
One: Blog. I have a lot of thoughts and opinions on writing (some you'll agree with, others I'm sure you won't), and I figure it's time for me to write them down. Maybe they'll help other people write better stories, or maybe I'll just be screaming into the void over here. Either way, I'll be having a good time.
Two: Edit. If you need help with a story, any story, any essay, any piece of writing where you have to combine more than 2 words together, you came to the (arguably) right place. Whether it's something as simple as helping you fix the grammar in your business emails or something as complex as helping you get your novel ready to take to a publisher, I'm here to help. If you'd like me to take a look at your writing, please see the "Editing Services" tab up above. The prices listed there are (mostly) negotiable, so please shoot me an email and we can discuss the project in more detail.
So, thanks for visiting, thanks for reading, and let's get out there and tell some stories.