Write What You Know, Learn What You Don’t
By Lisa Payne
The air can feel cold when the graduation robe comes off. As real-life looms, being in college can sometimes feel like a warm parental embrace. You are given the safety of structure, support and guidance. But for as much as college is beneficial, many people struggle with the next leg of the journey.
Going to school specifically for creative arts gives you an Algarrobo, Chile-size swimming pool of career options. Art may be subjective, but it is also universal. Your art is your passion and you can carry it in a suitcase with you wherever you go.
As a creative writer, you are as good as your tenacity and words per minute. But as for job title? It can change job to job, year to year or not at all. If you went to school for creative writing, your wide-ranging skillset can sometimes cast so large of a net that it leaves you wondering where to start. Do you try to get published on your own? Get an agent? Find a 9-to-5?
As a former creative writing art student at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), I was comfortable in the confines of school. I focused on developing my art and little else. But this is why I went to graduate school. This was my time to build. Despite the supportive launch from my graduate school professors I still felt unsure where exactly I wanted to be. I started scrolling through job postings for copywriter positions at companies and agencies I’d never heard of. I even got a response back from one agency practically yelling at me for applying to a job I had no experience in. I was shocked and dismayed. My positivity was held back because I simply wasn’t sure what I wanted to do or how I could aptly be compensated for it. I also just naively didn’t see opportunity. But like a kid wandering around a candy store without realizing she’s actually at the Willy Wonka Factory, I did what many post-graduates do. I did something else.
Before graduate school, I lived in Iowa City for my undergraduate work. Post-undergrad, I stayed in Iowa to work as a writer/producer at the local ABC affiliate. While the experience I received there was invaluable, fate was brewing up something far different than I could’ve ever predicted. I used to thumb through fitness magazines and websites over my lunch hour at the TV station. I loved working out but didn’t feel excited about the gym I was at. In Iowa, there weren’t the wide-ranging fitness classes like they had in bigger cities. I quickly discovered a then super-trendy gym called Crunch Fitness. The gym itself was nationally-recognized and known for their wild classes like kickboxing, cardio striptease and club-like spinning. And as soon as my application to graduate school in Chicago came back confirming my acceptance, I bought a new gym membership.
All during graduate school I followed up class with a heavy kickbox workout at the Crunch Fitness just a few blocks away. It was an outlet I enjoyed because I was surrounded by a bevy of people punching, kicking and building camaraderie. One thing was for sure, I loved the community of like-minded people doing something exciting and productive together. 100 people climbed into the steamy studio every week. Elbow-to-elbow and with music blasting, it was like being in the cool crowd at a dance club. It was exhilarating!
One night before kickboxing, the instructor came over to me. She was like a local celebrity. Everyone wanted to be friends with her and everyone wanted to have a body just like hers. All she said was, “You’re here all the time. You know the moves. Why don’t you teach this class?” She needed a sub who particularly knew her style so members wouldn’t miss out when she needed time off. And I thought, I need a part-time job. Soon enough I got certified. It didn’t take long before I was on the schedule and teaching in between classes at SAIC. It seemed like a good fit while I was still in school. But once I graduated, I was going to be a writer.
Sometimes it’s the space between one thing and another-those moments that feel like treading water that really make a person strong and a fighter. I wasn’t getting the jobs I wanted after school. My confidence dwindled. So, I expanded on the opportunities that were right in front of me-even though they weren’t really what I wanted. I got hired on as a personal trainer at the same gym I taught at. Even though I came to enjoy my newfound job in fitness, I struggled with where I was and where I thought I should be. But as life happens, if you work hard opportunities won’t pass you by.
The editor of Today’s Chicago Woman magazine (TCW) often frequented my abs class. She was kind enough to mention me in the magazine a few times. But it was then that I thought, I could write about fitness for this magazine. I asked her to lunch and before I even had the chance to pitch her the idea, she asked me to write for the magazine. We laughed as I pulled out the sample article I had written for her. At the time this seemed like a mere, funny coincidence.
Through TCW I networked to meet two phenomenally strong PR savvy women who had created the city girl guide, Cheeky Chicago. It was here that I advantageously was given creative control over content topics. My first official column! I wrote about everything from local gym openings and fitness influencers to events and fitness advice. This column became the highlight of my week and so I started to invest more of my time into creating new content ideas. I was writing what I knew.
At the time, the NBC show Chicago Fire had been filming in Chicago for a little over a year. Their sister-show Chicago P.D. joined them not long after. So, when I heard that the actress Sophia Bush was set to star in the second show, I knew I had to interview her. So I pitched this idea to the Cheeky girls. It seemed like another coincidence, but they had actually just received a press release stating Sophia was promoting dog adoption in the area. I thought I could use this time to also ask her about her lifestyle and workouts. One press pass later, I got a one-on-one interview with the amazingly talented actress. All because I asked.
In this pivotal moment, I gained confidence and a field of interest. I was using what I knew in the field of fitness to gain access to opportunities in writing. These coincidences were more than just coincidences. The enthusiasm and energy I put into my job as a trainer and fitness instructor came off naturally. So, I inevitably began advertising both my personal training services through Lisa Payne Fitness and my writing through Writer Lisa Payne. But as the years passed, I made the decision to write more.
That word, “Decision”-and the feeling of certainty that comes after it is the most comforting feeling in the world. It’s a prong on a ladder, a divot in the mountain. Once you take a number of steps forward-big or small, you gain a sense of empowerment.
Since TCW, I’ve written for over 20 publications that include more than 400 blog posts, a few ebooks, social media and more. I’ve also hosted and produced a TV pilot called The Fit Wire, taught a graduate course in Exercise Physiology, walked in a fashion show for Lululemon and started a whole new venture in social media and marketing.
In the past year, I decided to turn the page and start something new. I wanted to market myself in a number of categories that included writing, editing, content management, social media and marketing. I took the time to investigate what employers’ current expectations were and I began filling in the gaps in my experience and education. Whatever I didn’t know, I learned. I went online and got certified in content, inbound, social media and email marketing. I also got certified in Google Analytics and even learned AdWords and some HTML. At this point it may feel as though I was taking a hard turn left in my career, but that wasn’t the case. While I can write on almost any topic, employers often wrote me off for only having experience in health and fitness. I wanted to remain as versatile as possible while still enjoying the process. Even though I was frustrated, I persisted. My persistence paid off. Soon I accepted a position at a marketing agency that took everything I had been working on into one central role. It would also allow me to have more of a leg in the door to other new opportunities as opposed to just a foot. Plus, the agency role? It’s on a fitness-related account. Health and fitness didn’t have to be the thing holding me back as a writer. It could actually be an ace in my back pocket.
If you do what you love, and you don’t let go, you can achieve anything. I went to graduate school to become a writer, but I didn’t know what I wanted to write about or how to support myself with those skillsets. I felt like coming into a career as a fitness instructor and trainer was just something I’d do until something else came along. Even though I was extremely passionate about fitness, I didn’t realize that it didn’t have to be one or the other, or that one could support the other. If you want something bad enough, never let go. And what you don’t know, you learn!