I'm Mary, The Grateful Scribe

Hi, I'm Mary, and I’ve been writing since I was able to pick up a pen, starting with my first epic poem at age six (“My mom is very nice. She’s been that way more than twice.”) But as time went on, my childlike love of words was drowned out by “practical advice” from others who told me that writing was a great hobby, but not something that you make a living at (unless you enjoy starving).

Over the years, I proceeded to work a variety of day jobs ranging from corporate cube farms to show-up-in-sweat-pants mom and pop shops. They all paid the bills, but none of them filled my heart. (They did, however, fill my creative reservoir with more characters and you-can't-make-this-stuff-up moments than I'll ever be able to use.)

But I just couldn’t let go of my dream of making a career out of doing work that I love. So, in my off hours, I took on freelance writing projects as often as I could, developed screenplays and danced endlessly around writing a novel that had haunted me for decades.

But the status quo still had a hold on me. And my co-workers were only too happy to tell me of the aspirations they had sacrificed in the name of supposed job security. They were painters. Interior designers. Musicians. Even a perfumer.

But as each day passed, I saw myself in them more and more: a frightened creative, rubber stamping my dreams as “idealistic” at best and “unachievable” at worst.

Why can’t you just be content? Who are you to break away from the pack?

And then I remembered something Steve Jobs said to his team during a creative meltdown over their wildly unfocused product line after his return to Apple in the late 90s:

Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.

He eliminated all the extraneous products, cut the line down to four computer models and saved the company.

He decided what not to do. And it was time for me to make the same decision.

Since then, I have been happily working on everything from corporate video scripts and web content to editing jobs and marketing pieces. I also wrote and produced two short films (Anniversary and Waiting for Goodbye) and was honored to have them screen at several festivals, both in the US and England. And the novel that I was terrified to write? With the help of a killer story coach, Jennifer Blanchard, I finished the manuscript and Waiting to Wake was finally published.

I've always been a big believer in the power of gratitude to transform. But having received the gift of trading an inauthentic existence for one that is genuine has deepened my capacity to appreciate beyond measure. To devote myself to doing what I love. To be who I really am.

And that is, The Grateful Scribe.

Whether you work with me as a client, read my books or peruse my blog, I am here to support you in your own creative journey. By encouraging you, I encourage myself. Word by word. And I thank you for giving me that opportunity.

With blessings,

Mary