I Always Enjoyed Writing. I Just Enjoyed a Steady Salary More.

I've always believed I was born a storyteller.

Though I realize infants can't talk and their charade skills aren't yet developed, pretty much as soon as I spoke my first words, I started creating grand stories. As a kid, I couldn't get enough of Sesame Street and The Electric Company. Sure, those shows were entertaining and funny and featured huge talents, including Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno and Lily Tomlin, but I watched because I loved to learn.

I begged my mom to teach me to read and write before I started school. Thankfully, she obliged. I loved spelling difficult words out loud, and it became almost like a party trick. My dad would say, "Hey, Lynda. Spell catastrophe." And I would do so willingly.

In high school, two of my AP English teachers encouraged me to become a writer "when I grew up." I thought that was laughable. How does one have a career as a writer? I need to pay my bills!

As a 17-year-old entering college, I thought, quite honestly, that was terrible career advice. I appreciated the compliments, of course, but I wanted a career with a regular paycheck. That's my dad talking, by the way. He believed in following a path with a pension. My mom believed in following your passion. Thankfully, throughout most of my career, I've landed somewhere in the middle.

As a television journalist, I wrote and edited copy every day. As a Chief Communications Officer for a law enforcement association and editor-in-chief of its magazine, there was so much writing I rarely left my desk. Later, while earning my Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in screenwriting, I spent my evenings writing screenplays and essays after spending all day writing at work. My hands literally hurt.

And now, here I am... writing blogs and, hopefully, your story.

Time to once again break out the wrist braces, palm rests and vertical mouse.

All the writing I've done has been so different. Some days it felt like I was changing hats so often that I was starring in one of those movie makeover montages. Looking back, I realize every one of those roles required a different version of me.

Every piece of writing has a different job.

A news story has a job.

A press release has a job.

A speech has a job.

A website has a job.

Even screenplays have different jobs, whether they're feature films, television pilots or shorts.

That's become one of my Halligan Media philosophies. When the wrong type of writing is used for the wrong purpose, the message loses its impact. Sometimes it disappears altogether.

Looking back, those two teachers certainly made an impact on me. It just took a little longer than they probably expected.

What I've learned since high school is this. Writing isn't one skill. It isn't one career. It's a way of thinking.

Writing is the ability to think differently for different audiences. If you're fortunate enough to write across multiple industries and disciplines, you have to know how to change your voice on a dime, redefine your purpose and shift your strategy.

• As a journalist, my job is to inform. 
• As a communications executive, my job is to build trust and protect reputations. 
• As an editor-in-chief, my job is to make other people's ideas stronger. 
• As a screenwriter, my job is to make people think and feel. 
• As a blogger, my job is to teach and connect. 
• As a writing consultant, my job is to help someone else sound like the best version of themselves. 

In the newsroom, I was known as the spelling, grammar and punctuation police - for better or worse.

Today, technically correct writing is easier to produce than ever, thanks in part to AI. But technically correct writing isn't necessarily effective writing.

Effective writing begins long before the first word is written.

That's when the naturally curious reporter in me takes over. I get to know the person, step into their shoes for a moment to help them say what they really mean, then step into the shoes of the reader, viewer or audience to determine what will resonate most.

That's where writing becomes communication.

Become a writer? As a career?

Well... I'm not laughing anymore.

As it turns out, I've spent nearly 30 years making my living as a writer.

Not as a poet.

Not as a novelist.

Not as a songwriter.

But writing - for my career - every single day.

After all these years of searching for the best words, the clever words and the right words, I've realized writing has never really been about words.

It's about people.

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Every piece of writing has a job. If you have something important to say, I'd love to help you communicate it in a way that connects with the people you want to reach. If you'd like to learn more about Halligan Media or explore how we might work together, reach out to me at Lynda@HalliganMedia.com.

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