Creative Circle works with the most talented creatives in the business! One is our beloved freelance writer, David Porter. Here’s what David Porter had to say when we asked him about his freelance journey:

What advice would you give to other freelancers?
You have to stay as organized as possible: use your Google calendar, keep a “paper” calendar handy so you can glance at your week if your computer is off, etc. With freelancing, you often have multiple projects going at once, sometimes from the same number of clients, and you have to make sure you get everything done and meet every deadline. Also, say no to nothing and tell EVERYONE you’re freelancing. You never know if/when you’re going to bump into someone who might hire you. You have to promote yourself, network…don’t forget, if you’re freelancing your income tends to ebb and flow. You need to constantly expand your network and seek new business. And keep your portfolio up to date.

When did you realize you were good at writing?
I was working at a large tech company, offices here and in SF, just copywriting mostly, but then I was asked to come up with some ideas, and I put together a proposal for a women-in-tech content campaign. It wasn’t used, unfortunately, but it was a great project (there was a management shift at the company and my entire department ultimately disappeared). I realized at that point that I could come up with interesting content ideas AND execute them.

When was a moment you knew you messed up, how did you cope?
Too many to recount! I have one client for whom I send out press releases via Constant Contact, and I loathe Constant Contact. The big problem I usually have is I forget to change the email subject line; when I make this mistake, I send out a correction right away. It is the most elegant solution? No, but getting it right is what’s important, of course. Finally, I used to write brochures for a cruise line, and I must have been tired because I was describing a famous spot in Athens, Greece, probably the Acropolis, and I described it as “infamous,” which it isn’t! By the time I realized my painful mistake, the brochure was already printed. Thankfully no one noticed, at least no one by whom I was employed, and I decided it was best to say nothing and just shuffle off to Buffalo. Sometimes this is the best you can do (and you are forgiven).

 

About the creative. 

David A. Porter is a writer and editor with extensive social media, public relations, journalism and publishing experience. Over the past two decades he has honed his B2B and B2C communications expertise in a variety of industries, including technology, travel and hospitality, investor relations, political campaigns, music and the arts, and fashion and jewelry. A content creation and distribution specialist, his portfolio includes ad copy, blog posts, brochures, by-lined articles, case studies, long-form content, op-eds, pitch letters, PPT presentations, press releases, proposals and RFPs and speeches; he also edits full-length works by novelists and academics.

Allow me to introduce myself. Yes, I’m an Octopus. But more importantly, I’m a creative. I’m resilient, clever, and smart, and I like to have my hands in many projects at the same time — it energizes me! My mentor (and best friend), The Owl, is helping me navigate this new and exciting journey we call freelancing.

You see, I’ve always been creative, and earlier this year I was drawing on my new coconut (I like to jazz it up and use it to hide from my enemies!). I couldn’t help but show it off to my friends. They loved it, and a few of them wanted me to draw on their coconuts, too. Before I knew it, I was taking orders nonstop — I could barely keep up. Then, the Owl encouraged me to sell my coconut art. And would you believe people actually want to buy it?! Now, I’ve caught the attention of companies who pay me to work on creative projects. Thanks to Creative Circle and my lovely recruiter (and The Owl, of course), I’m building an impressive portfolio.

2022 has been a year filled with tons of questions and some answers, too. I learned the basics of freelancing — finding and navigating client relationships, building my personal brand, making sense of the hiring process, and so much more. Freelancing’s opened a whole new world for me; I’m grateful to spend my days being creative and working on passions, and often working at home alone or bouncing ideas off my good friends. It sure hasn’t been easy, but I’m more fulfilled than I’ve ever been. Thank you for taking this journey with me. Keep up with me as I navigate life as a freelancer. 2023 is going to be one for the books — or the magazines, if you will.

From the ocean and back,

Oliver

 

See more about me here.

The first Hitchcock film I saw was Rear Window. I was mesmerized—not only by the film’s taut suspense and thrilling plotline but also by the economical and stylish approach Hitchcock took to telling the story. I eventually dove deeper, and films like Vertigo, Notorious, and The Birds took their rightful place on my list of most-loved movies. When I eventually went to school for graphic design, I learned about Saul Bass, the designer responsible for a number of Hitchcock title sequences, including Vertigo, Psycho, and North by Northwest. I then discovered that Hitchcock himself had at one point dabbled in graphic design, and everything clicked. It made total sense to me that the man behind these films—which have been celebrated for their bold artistry and visual storytelling—had a background in design and advertising.

Although he was interested in the visual arts from a young age, The Master of Suspense did not initially have dreams of being involved in the movies. A lover of art and design, he enrolled in drawing and design classes in 1916; however, when his father died, it became his job to support his mother and siblings, and he began working as a technical clerk for a telegraph and cable company called Henley’s. He quickly grew bored with the clerical nature of his work, and a higher-up in the advertising department agreed to let him try his hand at ad layouts. It was clear Hitchcock had the skill for it, and he was soon promoted to the advertising department in 1919, where he began drawing graphics and writing copy. As he later told French filmmaker Francois Truffaut, this was his “first step toward cinema.” Later that same year, he worked as a movie title card designer for Islington Studios in Britain.

These early stages of Hitchcock’s career familiarized the director with the principles of design, such as contrast, perspective, shape, line, and movement. It was with these elements that he first learned to economically tell a story through advertising, leading the viewer’s eye and infiltrating their subconscious. This is exactly what he would go on to do in film, albeit on a grander scale. As he himself declared, “My mind is strictly visual.”

Hitchcock is a master when it comes to framing. Each shot is carefully composed, using contrast and perspective to heighten emotion, create suspense, and build character. In North by Northwest, there are two sequences in particular which have been cemented in film history for their brilliant use of contrast and perspective: the first is Cary Grant being pursued by an enemy crop duster—which grows from a dot on the horizon to a giant, murderous machine—and, near the film’s end, a harrowing scene in which Grant and Eva Marie Saint climb the gargantuan, precarious faces of Mount Rushmore. In the memorable Psycho set, Hitchcock varies the shapes of the buildings to create visual interest. As he notes, “The architectural contrast between the vertical house and the horizontal motel is quite pleasing to the eye.” The Psycho house has since become one of the most iconic sets in film history, and is still visited by tourists to this day.

In the 1954 thriller Rear Window—arguably Hitchcock’s biggest crowd-pleaser—the director confines himself to a single set and shoots almost exclusively within or through the window of a single apartment. It is through the windows of the surrounding courtyard buildings that our protagonist glimpses the lives and routines of his neighbors, each window a canvas on which Hitchcock composes minimal but lively tableaus of everyday life. Like an effective logo or ad, these images communicate a massive amount of story with a single glance: a gregarious dancer entertains a roomful of men; a solitary woman dines at a table set for two; a man carries his bride across the threshold. Through Hitchcock’s economic artistry, we not only engage with the plot, but the film’s themes of voyeurism, loneliness, and companionship find their way into our subconscious.

In Psycho’s famous shower scene, Hitchcock uses seventy-eight camera shots to show the murder; however, nudity or actual violence are never seen—instead, we glimpse an extreme closeup of a screaming mouth, a medium close-up of silhouetted figure holding a knife, a pair of feet moving in what appears to be bloody water, and, eventually, the water swirling into the abyss of the drain. Individually, each shot is meticulously composed, but shows only a granule of information; when strung together, they create one of cinema’s most famous and horrifying sequences.

In Strangers on a Train, Hitchcock gives us another iconic murder scene, but this time in a single, twenty-second-long shot. The crime is shown in warped, fisheye reflection through a pair of fallen eyeglasses. These glasses are an important part of the film’s visual language, much like the camera lens in Rear Window, the bell tower in Vertigo, and the stuffed birds in Psycho. “I was quite intrigued with them,” says Hitchcock about these feathered props. “Owls belong to the night world; they are watchers.” These shapes become symbolic, and, like a designer placing an icon on a piece of signage or arranging a group of shapes within a brochure, Hitchcock uses these objects to convey information and arouse emotion.

As Hitchcock commented to biographer Charlotte Chandler, “Klee could have made good storyboards.” He was referring to the German artist Paul Klee, known for his colorful, cubist paintings and surrealist instincts. Hitchcock’s visual sense is equally impeccable, and is at its most brilliant in Vertigo, which in recent years has come to be regarded as one of the greatest films of all time.

First of all, Vertigo distinctly showcases Hitchcock’s genius when it comes to color. In one of the film’s many breathtaking scenes, our protagonist gazes at a beautiful woman wearing an emerald wrap as she moves through a bloodred restaurant interior. Later in the film, these same shades of green and red recur in the form of costumes, props, and lighting, alerting the viewer’s subconscious the the emotional weight of the scene. Hitchcock’s use of line to create emphasis and motion can be seen in the film as well, whether it’s in the shot of a woman standing by the Golden Gate bridge as it recedes in the distance or in the climactic sequence involving a set of perilous, square-spiral tower stairs.

Hitchcock’s films are an endless visual feast, and something new can be unearthed upon each viewing. Just last month, while on holiday in France, I attended a Saturday night showing of Rear Window, a film I’ve seen no less than two dozen times. It was during this screening that I noticed a particular shot as if for the first time: that of Grace Kelly’s Lisa, who, having broken into the murderer’s apartment, gesticulates across the courtyard to her admiring, watchful boyfriend. In the apartment below, this image is reproduced: the suicidal Miss Lonelyhearts approaches her own window, hypnotized by the music of a male neighbor. In an instant, the spinster has become a shadow self for Lisa, drawn by an outside force which promises companionship. The energy emanating from this shot is heightened even further when, seconds later, the killer reappears two windows down, approaching his front door.

About the author.

Daniel Nolen is a writer, designer, and performer in New York City. He has written about design, music, film, and theater, and can be found regularly and happily taking in concerts, shows, and exhibitions around the city. He also co-hosts the weekly comedy/variety show Cast Offs, every Monday at 8pm at Club Cumming in the East Village.

When I decided to write a little something for Pride month this year, my mind started racing.

I wanted to write an inspiring, thought-provoking piece about how living your true authentic life can bring about productivity, make you a better citizen and human, etc.

I thought about writing an ode to the first openly out and proud manager I worked for, and how he helped lead me to the practice of respectfully sharing my truth in a world filled with conflict and hate.

I thought to write an exposé on Rainbow Capitalism, but who would try and top Alessandra’s amazing piece from last year?

I kept writing paragraphs of fluff until I scrapped all those ideas and asked myself: If I had one chance to connect with my fellow Circlers and share how I feel during this Pride month, what would I want to express?

One emotion kept visiting me again and again – Gratitude.

Thank you.

Thank you to all those out there who allow others to be their true selves.

Thank you to the folks that wake up every day and decide to show up with empathy and humility.

Thank you to all that allow me to be as sassy and silly as I can be while getting my work done.

Not all LGBTQ+ folks are as privileged as I am to work in a place that celebrates diversity the way Creative Circle does.

Is there work to be done? Absolutely. But in less than the year that I’ve been here, I have seen such great reception and encouragement from everyone on our team. Allowing others to show up as themselves is such powerful support, and if you think it isn’t appreciated, I’m writing to tell you it is.

 

About the author. 

David Allen is a Recruitment Coordinator from Chicago and is a member of the PRISM and Leading Green ERGs. He has a passion for equality, diversity, and inclusion, which is what brought him to Creative Circle in the first place! He enjoys yoga and painting, and just welcomed a new nephew, Logan, to the family.

Sometimes we are blessed by the muse and find a flow so profound we see God. Most of the time, we do not and have to slug through a horror-inducing first draft in order to get anything decent. Everyone’s journey through their own mind is different, and the differences expand as we work with different mediums. Here’s how I tackle writing for this one… most of the time.

PITCH
It starts with an idea. This will often come from something going on or the yearly focus du jour. Maybe I read a Reddit post that got me thinking about a certain topic. Maybe it’s something I’m already passionate about. Maybe I just have a vague idea of a concept I’d like to explore. Maybe it’s Mental Health Month and I’ve got tidbits galore to share. Either way, I compile those ideas into an email and send them off to be green lit, rejected, or adjusted to fit the publication’s needs.

RESEARCH
Here’s where we dive in. I spend a lot of time here solidifying my idea and thesis. What exactly is it I’m trying to share/explain/provide resources for? Where do these resources live? What are other people saying about this topic? Especially people who disagree with my point of view. I always try to present counterpoints and add balance to any topic I tackle.

DISASTER DOCUMENT
We have not started writing yet. The disaster document is like my living bibliography where I throw the links to every source I’ve consulted and perused in my research process. I’ll paste key info and quotes I might want to use here as well. If I have interviewed anyone, this is where my transcriptions might live, as well as any other resources they’ve directed me towards.

This document is typically in Pages, where I do most of my writing. I also use SimpleNote to take quick notes and throw in links before transferring things into an official document. I jump between those two to refine my organization process and eventually format it so it makes sense to me, although it might not to anyone else.

VOMIT DRAFT
This is where I start laying out the goodies. Sometimes I start with an intro, sometimes I start with a particular point I’m excited about. I’ll go through and fill out all the points I wanted to get out. Sometimes I’ll remember something I might need a source for so I’ll look it up really quick, or if I’m being really “good” and in the zone, I’ll make a note to look it up later.

STRUCTURE
Some people may structure before they vomit, but I don’t roll that way. There is a rough structure, sure, but once I get the main points down, I’ll figure out the order they should really be in and find the narrative that will get me to a conclusion that makes sense.

This is not always the case. Sometimes I’m just trying to lay out information, in which case I want to structure it in such a way that each section builds on the last. Even if it’s just a presentation of referential knowledge, there should still be the shadow of a narrative holding it in place.

PLAYING WITH COOKIE DOUGH
Writing is rewriting and this is the meatiest part of it all. I’ll start going through each section and refine the wording, cut what doesn’t fit, and generally turn the cookie dough vomit into something resembling a cookie so it will be ready to bake.

TAKE A BREAK AND SCREAM
We get to the point where I start to ask myself why did I want to write about this. Why did I think I could take this utterly complex and nuanced topic and distill it into a 1,000–2,000-word piece. What drugs was I on? How did I think I was smart enough for this?

Here are things that might happen here:

  • various sighs, groans, and screams
  • staring at my documents and rubbing my eyes while I curl into my chair or onto the floor
  • exclaiming “why do I always do this to myself” whenever my husband walks into the room

Then eventually, I might:

  • switch to another task
  • go for a walk or swim
  • dance my frustrations out
  • practice the piano
  • meditate, preferably outside
  • take a nap or just lie down with my eyes closed
  • roll around on the foam roller

Usually, it’s something physical or some form of rest.

RESTRUCTURE
Okay, at this point I’ve stepped away, and now it’s time to come back and make sense of it all.

Hopefully, I can see more clearly and am ready to move around, cut things, and fill in any blanks. I’ll grab any bits of research from my disaster document that might still be needed, or grab whatever other sources might be required to complete the flow. I may just throw them in to edit later, or I may just write it in on the spot depending on how generously the muses are blessing me that day — or if I’ve gotten enough sleep, food, and water.

EDIT
Now we’re talking. We’ve got words, a narrative, and a structure. Time to go through and edit the damn thing. This is honestly the easiest part for me. Creation is a struggle, but honing is a challenge I love. Snip, snip, and reword. This is where we get it tight, fluid, and strengthen the narrative structure so the flow makes sense and presents the information in the most digestible format possible. I know you’re busy and need to move through these words smoothly.

SUBMIT
There comes a certain point where I can’t take it anymore and will just send off the article (usually because I said I would have it the night before and it’s the following morning). My editor luckily knows and understands this about me and never gives me grief for it.

RESUBMIT BECAUSE I FOUND NEW EDITS TO MAKE

Usually happens a few hours after I press submit. For some reason, I need to be “free” of the deadline in order to separate myself and see the words clearly for the very final pass.

FINAL EDITS
My bff Kevin (who manages this blog, say hi, Kevin) will usually let me know if there’s a link I forgot or trim verbose sentences and superfluous points.

Thanks, Kevin. He’ll send them to me to make sure none of the meaning has changed. Once everything has been OK’ed by us both, it’s ready to publish.

REST + RESET
Finally, I can rest, exercise, eat, and get ready to do it all over again!

 

About the author.

Alessandra is your friendly neighborhood writer, coach, and facilitator with a varied history of experience from digital agencies and corporations to yoga studios and gyms. Her expertise and interests range from fitness and wellness to self-care and personal development to intersectionality and justice to science and creative cultivation. She has worked on and off with Creative Circle since 2014, originally as an NYC recruiter, later as an internal sourcer, and currently as a community wellness and culture specialist as well as a contributing writer for this here blog. You can find up-to-date offerings or sign up for her newsletter at alessandracalderin.com.

From Tiffany Carlson, project and marketing manager:

I graduated NIU with a degree in marketing and have worked my way up over the years into Project Management and now Marketing Manager roles. I love the creative side of things, making visuals, writing copy, etc. But also love the detail-oriented side, planning timelines, budgets and wrangling the team to stay on track.

In my off hours I’m a big reader, I love anything to do with fashion/beauty and LOVE to travel!  I just got back from Belize where I finally snorkeled with sea turtles, and I held my first shark!

“Working mom” is at the top of my list. No one calls my husband a working dad, yet he takes on just as much responsibility with our children as I do. No one asked him if he was returning to work after our children were born, yet that was a hotly debated topic in my circle. When I was pregnant with my son back in 2016, a friend of mine expressed sincere shock that I was planning to return to work after I had the baby. Nothing will give you back those precious years; how could you waste them at work? I cried for two days straight because of comments like these. Okay, some of it was hormones, but I was still upset.

Then I realized, I am a better mother because I work. I don’t judge my friend for giving up her career; everybody should make the choices that make the most sense for themselves and their families. But I like my job, I like my coworkers, and I feel like they make me, well, me. In fact, I was excited to come back from parental leave because it felt like getting back to myself. I’ve spent years building my career, so having the professional part of my life stop abruptly to focus on a new baby was incredibly jarring.

For me, there was so much worth in turning that part of my brain back on and realizing the contribution I can make to people outside of my household. I feel valued by my coworkers in a much different way than I feel valued as a mother or spouse. I realized that I need both in my life. It also sets an example not only for my daughter, who is too young right now to understand, but also for my son who sees that a woman can be both a mommy and a boss and that those two things are not mutually exclusive.

Returning to work was an adjustment. In fact, going back to the NYC rat race after my first child was born was more jarring than the sudden stop. The pace, the commute, and getting back into that swing took time. There was a much easier transition back after my second child, who was born during the pandemic. I didn’t have the opportunity to see friends or much family, so the feeling of external judgement wasn’t there anymore. It was also a much more manageable process easing back in the second time around.

Back to the subject of phrases that should be retired — “work-life balance” is next on my list. There was never a balance for me; the scales tip one way or the other and your attention needs to shift where the load is the heaviest. The idea of an uninterrupted, harmonious balance is an unachievable concept that sets us all up for failure.

Now that many of us have spent the better part of two years working from home, that scale is broken… gone for good. Kids interrupt your Zoom meetings, you take work calls at 8:00 p.m. while cleaning up from dinner, and there is never any break or differentiation between home and work. It is all one and the same. So how do you achieve perfect balance when there is no separation? You don’t.

It can often feel like we live in a constant state of no winning. There is no help, no life raft, especially with small children. You try your best to be present, but you are constantly splitting your focus between all the people that need you. You feel depleted with no end in sight. But you keep going and take some solace in the fact that we are all in it together and that your situation is not unique.

My employer gets it. I work for an organization that understands we’re whole people and that we don’t work in a vacuum. What happens in the world or within your own home impacts your work. And that’s okay. I’m lucky that my employer offers parental leave when so many others do not. And I’m lucky to have a team who understands that life happens and gets in the way of work sometimes. What is shocking to me is how many organizations do not realize that. So many parents are trying to fit within the constraints of a professional box that was built for another time and another place with different expectations.

There are easy days and difficult days, but what keeps me going is knowing that I, like every other “working mom” out there, am doing the best I can. And sometimes my focus needs to be on taking care of myself when I can’t take care of everyone else. Thankfully I have a partner who is in it with me, and we work through it together.

 

Author.

Lauren Ferrara is the Creative Circle VP of Recruiting & Delivery. She’s also a wife and mother of two.