Spellbound by Books Since Birth

Like Maleficent to Aurora, I’ve been spellbound since birth—but to books, not curses (thank God). I learned to read and write at four or five years old, and I think I can still feel the dent in the back of my head from too many hours transfixed by a narrative while my skull was affixed to my old wooden headboard. I haven’t always tracked my bibliopathy (my term for an obsession with books), but in recent years, I’ve beat the book-a-week mark, and like any addictive substance, a taste is never enough.

I’ve Written Over 1,000,000 Words

On the writing side of the addiction, I’ve written well over a million words under my byline since 2003, when I was twenty-one, and decided to get serious about building myself into a writing pro. Among those words are ten novels, thirty-five short stories, hundreds of satire pieces, and dozens of local journalism articles, some of which I got paid to write! And if we were living in, say, the 1700s, it would be big money!

Jobs that Supported My Writing

To make enough money to support my addictions, I got an accounting degree and a CPA. Since then, I’ve worked for state and local governments in revenue compliance, which is a nice way of saying I was a tax man. I’ve also worked for private companies in accounting and finance roles. All my respectable jobs are on my LinkedIn profile. My non-respectable ones? We can talk about those when we meet for coffee or, even better, drinks!

Every Job Made Me a Better Writer

Here's the funny thing, though: I used to think of these traditional, safe jobs as thieves—stealing away time I’d rather spend writing fiction, but I’ve realized every job I’ve held (respectable or not) has made me a better writer—and more to the point, a better storyteller. For example, all the audit reports, budget narratives, contract proposals, consulting findings, policies and procedures, and billions (okay, maybe just millions) of emails have forced me to develop sharp narrative skills, even if the content itself was as engaging as staring at 1970s wallpaper (possibly psychedelic but not exactly bestselling stuff).

From Traditional Career to Agency Creative and a Different Kind of Fulfillment

After returning to my Midwest home from a career sojourn to the Northwest, a watershed moment of family crisis and traditional career uncertainty motivated me to deploy said narrative skills as a full-time creative.

Now, this is agency creative, which means, at its most basic level, I’m using words, media, advertising, and marketing strategies to tell others’ stories, and this is great, pays well, and, in addition to making me a better writer, is fulfilling in a fundamental way that traditional jobs (even those with a heavy writing component) just are not.

Left- and Right-Brain Creative

If there's such a thing as left-brain creative, that’s what I do with Seth Kabala & Company. For truly right-brain creative, however, and to make sure my cranium doesn’t grow lopsided, I make my own stuff, which you can experience on my personal website.

Good but not Great

I am a published writer and a damn good one, if my CV is any indication. But I’ll never be great because I believe claiming that label would demotivate me to continuously improve, so I will remain good, continue working as a creative for other brands, continue putting in weekly AIS (Ass in Seat) time, and continue pumping out pages for as long as I draw breath.

Agenda: Be the Best Writer I Can Be

I have no long-term agenda other than to be the best writer I can be, telling clients’ stories and my stories the best way I can to as many people as I can reach. That agenda was assigned to me at birth. It contains unalterable language that says despite fame, fortune, obscurity, or modest means, I shall always write stories.

So why do I write? Because I must.

Because excluding Disney characters, being spellbound is a good thing.

Are You Also Spellbound?

If you’re also spellbound to creative and in need of someone to help break the spell and bring your ideas to life, contact me today to talk about your project.