Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Clare.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
After high school, I intended to pursue a creative career in writing and publishing. I wanted to be a published author and screenwriter, so I majored in Creative Writing and minored in Film Studies at Ohio University. I figured the degree was enough, but I didn’t have reliable resources (like finances, mentorship, a step-by-step plan) to see that through right away. I worked odd jobs after graduating in 2011 and one of those was writing content through Scripted.com. I picked up various assignments that ranged from blogs, social media copy, product descriptions and press releases for smaller start-up brands. My first gig was writing 100 tweets about Western films for an independent film production company. I did this while still working on my creative writing with fiction, nonfiction and screenplays.
It was still very challenging to find full-time work as a creative writer for media companies, publications and ad agencies. I didn’t know then how competitive those positions were and how many skillsets you needed to bring to the table. This was early 2010s, and most of the employment I was applying for called for creative skills in writing, multimedia design, video production, social media management, PR and “light administrative work, as needed.” The pay was pretty low, too, and I really felt underqualified and, frankly, inferior despite knowing how passionate I am about my work and how skillful I am with writing and storytelling. So, I decided to more earnestly pursue my dream of writing for film and returned to Ohio University for my master’s in film production.
Grad school was everything people say it is: competitive, overwhelming, intense. My three-year program was rough and I felt like I’d been chewed up and spit back out of a creative machine. In some ways, it was exactly what I was seeking — time away from the job market to hyper-focus on my talents and soak up as much knowledge as humanly possible in the field of cinema. I didn’t want to just learn the building blocks of a video editing program but the entire philosophy behind the craft. Same for screenwriting, genre studies, sound design, etc. I wrote, directed and edited five short films in three years, and I produced and crewed several others. My grad assistantship included digital content creation for the film department website and I’d snagged that role thanks to all those content writing gigs I did right out of college.
I sought balance once I finished my master’s degree, so I applied to full-time jobs with regular hours. Although I assumed I would move to L.A. or New York, I didn’t feel prepared to take on the incredible stamina necessary for surviving in those cities. My sister invited me to move in with her and her family in Cincinnati, particularly because the film production business had begun booming, so I happily accepted and began looking for day jobs. I landed one of the first positions I applied for as Content Marketing Manager at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, a professional, Tony Award-winning theater. Once again, content writing had followed me. I absolutely loved this job. Not only did I have an edge because of my master’s in film, but I came across as a bit of a unicorn — a detailed and organized writer with a knack for creativity, a toolbox of artistry and a whole video production skill set. I also got to be a theater kid for four years, and I fell in love with the art even if I was on the sidelines watching productions rehearsals and figuring out creative and engaging ways to promote it. I loved it so much.
Then, 2020. Cancellations. No in-person performances. Remote work. I was furloughed because we had to cancel an 11-show season. In the interim, I pursued more content writing and marketing gigs and began writing about arts and culture for publications, By the time my furlough was up, I’d already carved out a niche for myself as a freelance writer and storyteller. I tearfully told my boss that I wasn’t returning to my position (in the vein of “the great resignation,” I just couldn’t go backwards after the events of 2020). However, I’ve retained the Playhouse as one of my biggest clients as a solopreneur, which makes me wildly grateful and stupidly happy. I now balance content marketing for brands of all kinds with writing feature stories about the amazing creative class here in Cincinnati for publications like CityBeat, Cincinnati Magazine, Dramatics Magazine and others.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Good god, no. So bumpy. Detours, roadblocks, u-turns, no gas, broken-down cars. I’m privileged in a lot of ways, but it wasn’t smooth.
I’m the first in my family to pursue a creative career, and I refused to settle for a career that was stable but horrendously boring and without personal meaning. I had a lot of contentious conversations with my family in which I defended my choices because they simply didn’t understand why I’d starve artistically rather than buy a home in my twenties.
I’m also the first in my family to pursue graduate school (for a master’s in fine arts, no less), so there were few people who could relate to the unique insanity that is the grad experience.
I was one of three women in my graduate class of 12, so I felt really alone in my challenges of navigating production as a female-identifying filmmaker, code-switching in workshops and on sets, and trying to overcome personal insecurities while attempting to tell myself I was smart enough and just as capable of being there — when really, I was exhausted, slightly terrified, angsty and, well, angry that the disproportionate power dynamics of the film industry are what they are. There’s a special kind of inner turmoil that comes from being just outside the norm in an industry or grad environment like that.
I’ve never had money, throughout my life, so I have a lot of student loan debt and some endless credit card bills. But if there’s one thing that my stubborn pursuit of a passionate, fulfilling creative career has taught me it’s this: I’m hella scrappy and even if I’ve had to white-knuckle my way through my career, it’s the path I’ve chosen for very good reason. I’m still building my business, so I’m not exactly rolling in dough, but after just nine months of full-time freelance life, I’m a lot better off than I was a year ago and I earnestly believe that my hard, hard work is leading to an incredible payoff.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
In terms of my creative work (my currently unpaid writing pursuits of manuscripts and screenplays), I have a creepy obsession with the characters I create. I’ve always been a character-driven writer (this makes me rather skillful with brand content for my clients). I love to understand their complexities, flaws, quirks, gifts, strengths and personal superpowers. I want my stories to feel as if the characters are breathing on the page, on the screen. I’m passionate about writing stories from a deep POV, particularly the POV of a woman. I want my stories to take you into the mind of a girl in the world.
Professionally, I use all my training in written and visual storytelling to compose evocative copy and content. I intuitively find themes, motifs, symbols and narrative arcs when my client gives me input for a project. I specialize in writing “between the lines” so that a brand’s messaging fully embodies the traits of its brand personality. The tone of voice and language I use for my artistic clients are wildly different from the tone of voice and language I use for my finance and tech startup clients. How creatively satisfying it is for me to “speak” in different characters! I also use the muscle memory I’ve developed from editing film — focus on peak emphasis, “kill your darlings” so that you stay on message, find the motive for every single word choice, paragraph break, content structure, etc. It looks very simple when I present a 400-word brand story, but I assure you, there’s a finely tuned method to my madness.
How do you define success?
Going to sleep at the end of a workday feeling 75% proud of your work and 25% determined to keep perfecting it. Also the ability to keep the lights on and feed my pets.
Contact Info:
- Email: natalieclarewrites@gmail.com
- Website: nataliecwrites.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nataliecwrites_/
Image Credits
CallMeRideout Photography
