Writing

What’s in a Name?

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white and black scrabble tiles on a white surface

Do you know the story of your name?

People always ask me the origin of mine.

“Is it Russian?” Nope. “Hebrew?” Nope.

Basically… My mom wanted to name me Michal, pronounced like Michael, (inspired by one of her friend’s names). And my dad said no.

So, they adapted it and it became more… feminine, I guess?

Well, my mom still got her wish because I cannot count how many times during roll call where “Michael” was called to an overwhelming silence, or where other Michaels in the room hollered out (happened at Starbucks not so long ago), or until they say, “Michael Short?”

And my little voice chimed in from the back with a waving arm, “It’s Mikael!”

Like Michelle but with a K. Mickelle, or like a fairly common spelling McKell. My nickname is Kel, so just add the “Mc” on it. XD

Honestly, if I could be known by just my first name—like Madonna, Beyonce, or Rihanna—I would be thrilled! I love my name that much.

What I don’t really love is how often it’s mispronounced. Correcting people all the time gets exhausting (even if it is part of my job as an editor).

And sometimes correcting folks still doesn’t work. I’ve been called Mikale, Mikayla, Mikella, etc., so many times by folks, even people I’ve known for years, that I’m surprised I haven’t had an identity crisis.

I still remember the essay I wrote, not so subtly directed to my third-grade teacher who consistently emphasized the A in my name—like Mikale. It grated on my skin like a cat’s claws. I really dislike the A being pronounced like that. Her note on my essay read, “Gee, I hope I don’t do that!” Yet her pronunciation didn’t change…

There was one person I allowed to emphasize the A—my paternal grandfather because it’s how he said my name with his slightly remaining English accent, and I loved that his accent crept in on certain words. The way he said the A in my name was more subtle, so it was endearing coming from him.

Occasionally, I’ll allow my brothers and family to call me Michael, as a joke, and I’ll still respond to them. Mostly.

(It’s also oh-so-fun when I get mistaken for a “Michael” over email, and someone responds, “Hey Mike”… I’m not a Mike. Check the signature, folks. XD )

Now that I’ve moved to a multicultural city, I’ve gotten a whole new world of pronunciations for the spelling of my name. I didn’t realize it was such a common spelling throughout the world! The pronunciations differ, and that’s fascinating in itself.

“Mik-AH-yel”… The Spanish pronunciation, for one.

“Meek-AY- il” … Russian-esque.

“MEEK-ell” … French & Swedish—though I do have ancestry from both countries!

There are probably more; those are just the ones I’ve heard most often. It’s been so cool to hear the variations of Mikael!

I feel like my name carries a certain frequency within its spelling and how it’s supposed to be said for my person. All names do, I believe.

And part of me wishes it would be pronounced right more frequently, but what can you do? I know I’m not alone in having to explain how to pronounce my name during introductions.

So, the gift of my name also presents a practice in patience in correcting folks when it’s mispronounced. Which is also a practice in speaking up for myself, I’m now realizing, instead of just letting mispronunciations slide.

That’s why when someone does say my name right the first time, it’s blooming music to my ears and I feel so seen.

(A coach I admire—Amanda Frances—said it correctly recently when she called out a comment I left on one of her livestream events, and my goodness… Can’t remember the last time I felt so elated when someone said my name right the first time without having to ask!)

Overall, though, I feel like our names are important. Names set the stage for the life and the person of who we are. Our names, whether bestowed or chosen, shape us one way or another.

***

It’s really fun to look up the meanings of our names too… Have you done that before?

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With my unique spelling and pronunciation, I feel like that means I’m just meant to embrace my uniqueness—to love who I am as a fully individualized human (something I think we are all here to learn).

To embrace all the different pieces of me, no matter how esoteric or unusual they are.

To embrace my unique desires and wants, since I never really wanted much of what was modeled to me growing up—I already know I’m a generational curse breaker.

To embrace the ways I feel called to express myself even if it’s not considered the so-called “right way” to promote myself and my work.

And it’s a reminder to stand up and be my own person—to be brave enough to shape my own destiny.

Your name is your name. And you get to choose how you say it and how people address you. There’s power in your name… just as there is power in you.

***

As a fun writing challenge, look up or align the meanings of the character names in your book.

I keep a “spark note” of names I might like to use in future books.

Perhaps you can start a note like that for yourself!

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If you have a unique spelling to your name, love the story of your name, feel free to hit reply or drop it in the comments!

Discovering My Favorite Playing Field

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One place I know very well is the keyboard.

Not entirely sure what was driving me, but I just knew I wanted to be excellent at typing. All in all, I was a little obsessive with knowing the keyboard inside and out; it was my favorite class for that semester in middle school. It felt easy, but still like a challenge that I knew I could master. Something I knew I could be efficient in. (Do I sound like a projector yet?)

How funny is it that now I find such solace in closing my eyes and let my fingers fly over the keyboard, not having to look down. Knowing instinctually when I make a mistake, and my little right pinkie knows exactly where to pop out for the backspace button so I can keep going without missing a wink.

(Not to say I don’t make mistakes when I’m typing, but they are often minimal. Still proofreading this piece!)

The Bluetooth typewriter keyboard my love gifted me on my last birthday—one of the rare gifts that made me cry happy tears.

And I just realized… my playing field is the keyboard. I love to play here, whether or not I’m looking at it. I can watch the TV and keep typing without having to look at down. Or, like I said before, close my eyes and tune in and see what wants to come through them… My fingers know exactly where to sit so I can hit any key I need to from any point.

And being able to type without looking is so helpful for automatic, channeled writing (how this post started!)… That way I just let the words flow without having to worry about where the keys are on the keypads. I just know, my fingers know—it’s practically second nature to me. So, I’m really grateful to my younger self who found such passion and pleasure in mastering something that would serve her for her entire life…

Aside from choir and theater, my computer classes were my favorite. I loved creating things on computers: I loved writing, especially. I spent my free time writing books on my dads’ computers. Then I learned to and loved building websites. I loved coding. I loved making graphics.

Truthfully, I should change that to LOVE because I still love doing these things, and more—where knowing the keyboard landscape further serves me. And those I work with for that matter!

Somehow this is what’s magical to me right now.

And why is this playing field making itself known now?

Perhaps it’s because I’ve been watching a bit of Grey’s Anatomy this week as my recent obsession with Shonda Rhimes has taken root, and I wanted to see her work at work. Which has been very fun from a writer’s perspective.

And an epsiode I watched, one from the first season when Meredith is wondering if she’s cut out for the job as a surgeon… And she ends the episode talking about how she “loves the playing field”.

And it came to me… This is my playing field. Having a keyboard and a computer in front of my to fill the page with words, stories, pretty photos, or graphics. This is my playing field and I love it. And the thing is, it’s not my only playing field, because I also have my imagination as well…

But this is the playing field that helps me to concretize the playing field of my imagination into something real. Something I can save or print or share online. That’s pretty cool!

While I love writing long hand, especially for journaling… Something about typing on a computer keyboard just brings me peace. Doesn’t even matter what I’m writing.

Because it all feels like play to me. When I’m writing my novels, blogs, or even social posts for my business, something about writing on a keyboard is endlessly fun to me. It’s not so much about crafting the perfect sentence or using big or extravagant words… Just the act of putting words on the page through my fingers. I love it.

Maybe this is why the blank page never frightened me. One of the biggest blocks and fears for many writers is the blank page… but for me, I can look at that page and see possibilities instead, and my fingers itch above the keyboard just to add something to it.

When you know something that well… it’s easier to play in it—to explore and experiment. What a delight that is!

What is it you’ve mastered that’s changed or served your life in ways you couldn’t anticipate? What is your “field” for your work, and how can you see it more as a place of play than just a place to do the work?

No matter what work you do, if you can look at the work through a lens of play…

You win.

Lesson on Perspective From a Ladybug

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We had a strange visitor the other day. A visitor that made me immediately grab for a swatter.

It flew like nothing else we had seen in the apartment. We’ve had moths, mosquitos, flies… But this looked different. Like a small beetle or something. Since it decided to camp out so high on our wall, we couldn’t get a really good look at it.

And our evening quickly turned into a bug-watching night.

“I’ll grab the binoculars,” my love said before disappearing into the bedroom.

“Will we be able to see it since we are already so close?” I asked, glancing up at the little bug on the lime green wall above our LED upright lamp.

“One way to find out!”

After going back and forth, getting dust from the unused binoculars caught in my eyelashes, seeing wobbly views from shaking hands from trying to adjust the knobs and dials on the little seeing contraption, changing positions all over the room, my love announces from the couch that he can see it! I take the binoculars and continue to stand in the middle of the room.

All I can see is a blurry green wall and a fuzzy little brown dot. Still I couldn’t make out what the little bugger was. “Why can’t I see this thing?” I ask, needing to brush more dust from my eyelash, because I’m sure that wasn’t helping either.

Again, another back-and-forth dance resumed with my love and I continuing to change the dials and knobs until he says he can see the little thing crystal clear. I take a look through the binoculars, still to no avail.

I try to change my position, from across the little bug, from right beneath it at a funky angle so I can sit on the couch (but then subsequently tweak my neck), to lying down on the pillows next to me before I can see. Closing one eye, leaving the other open…. Just trying to see.

What my love hadn’t told me was that the dial only affected the right eye, so I started believing my astigmatism was at work and why I couldn’t see the critter clearly since the right lens is zoomed in about twice the size of the left.

(I felt like a real dork when I realized it was the binoculars doing that, and not my “everything-looks-bigger-over-here” astigmatism in my right eye.)

“Aha!” I finally yell, triumphant!

A lady bug! A little yellow lady bug was our unexpected guest. Still, it was hard to see her, and my massive hands were shaking around the tiny binoculars they dwarfed.

We even debated what color the lady bug looked like because it certainly wasn’t red. Yellow? Brown? Tan? We landed on yellow; I had thought it was a hornet at first since I had caught a flash of yellow when it flew away from the wall only to land two feet away from it’s original spot.

Want to know why I finally saw the lady bug clearly?

I had to sit in the exact position, in the same spot on the couch, that my love was sitting in. Any other position or perspective from the room could not provide the clarity of sight with the binoculars that that singular spot could.

Then, of course, I refused to move from that space as I observed the uncommonly colored lady bug as it perched on our wall for a while. We both decided to see what spiritual messages the yellow lady bug might carry (you can discover that here).

And, as I got to thinking—whilst trying to make a little spa for the lady bug to play in, have a drink or a fruity snack from—this was an incredible example of perspective and how no one will see things the way you do. They can wear your clothes, they can learn to move like you, work in a similar job as you…

But they cannot see what you see or the way that you see it.

Your perspective is uniquely your perspective. No one else will see the world as you do. No one else will experience the same things as you even if you’re doing the same activities. Because they are simply not you.

Your perspective is unique. Your thoughts, your feelings, your experiences, your upbringing, how you view things, what triggers you, what makes you smile… So many fractals that just make up pieces of you will effect your perspective.

And with that in mind…

With your perspective, you get to see the world through your own personal lens. And that means no one will communicate the things you yearn to express in the way you do (and will).

So, why (if you ever doubt yourself because other people might be doing what you desire to do) would you ever worry about not stepping into your light and sharing your perspective and being concerned about sounding like someone else? Because you won’t!

The entire make up of your life experiences make you you. Just like someone else’s experience will determine their own perspective.

Just like my upbringing in Utah in a very religious family-centric community colors my perspective, your own experiences will provide a certain type of lens for your perspective.

This is why your voice matters, why each voice matters. This is why your unique story matters. Only you can tell your story in a way that no one else can.

You may think other people have done it before, but they haven’t. They haven’t done it as only you could do it. Only you can.

We all have our own personalities, paths, and yes, perspectives, too.

And when you share your perspective—your voice and stories—then others can relate to and understand you better. It’s when you share the details that make you you that people can also see themselves. How we are alike. How we are different. And how our differences create the kaleidoscope that makes life so interesting and dynamic.

It’s when we share our perspectives that we can more easily step into each other’s shoes, even if just for a moment… For a little perspective. 😉

Now that’s quite the connection to make.

So, I challenge you to embrace your unique perspective, insights, and stories…

You never know what your light can do in this world when you express your unique perspective, or who you might inspire through the stories that only you can share.

Who knows… A lady bug, or other creature, might visit to share their wisdom with you too.

Have a wonderful week, lovely.

(The lady bug ended up staying for almost three days… I hope they liked the snack and water I left for them.)

A Call to Joy – How TIE Was Born

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I want to tell you a secret…

I want to tell you how and why The Intuitive Editor was born.

Because I realize I haven’t told anyone except my coach in 2021…

Why It All Began

The Intuitive Editor was born because writing is one of the most natural things I do. It’s not something I’ve ever felt self-conscious about. And it was something I became known and recognized for. It’s been my selling point for every job I’ve held. 

I’ve always been a writer, pouring stories onto pages since I learned how to write.

And just like writing, reading fills my soul.

Both reading & writing are where my playtime, my learning, my growth, my self-reflection, and my creativity live and thrive.

I love writing in all the ways it serves me and all the ways I can create new things with just words. I can transport and change others just like what I’ve read has transported and changed me throughout my life.

From Writing to Proofreading…

From my love of writing in all the work and all the jobs I’ve done, I began to love improving writing.

Taking an article and cleaning it up. Making sure headlines and lower thirds are accurate. Proofing emails and brochures before they go out. Shiny, sparkly, and clear.

The writing jobs beautifully segued into editing and proofreading. I fell into it and fell in love. 

There’s nothing like taking a piece of writing and polishing it up so it’s free of errors and clear in its message. Scrubbing out all those errors, typos, and misused verb tenses littering the path along the way.

And I love learning about how to improve my writing and editing skills. Those two passions co-exist within me.

The more I write, the better I get.

The more I edit, the better I get at both writing and editing.

Seems like a win-win, no?

A Call to Pursue My Joy

When it became clear to me during the pandemic that I needed to be writing more, that writing calls me more than anything else I do… I found that my voice and stories needed the space, energy, and freedom to pour from me.

And the work I was doing… Needed a big adjustment to allow that. 

While I love writing in all its facets, freelance writing is actually quite draining for me. In multiple ways. Energetically and creatively.

I knew I needed to find work and build a career that wouldn’t drain my creative juices so much and also felt enjoyable because… I’m simply not available for work I don’t enjoy. I know I won’t be motivated to do it if enjoyment isn’t there, and that’s not fair to anyone.

So, I sat down and explored what work I most loved to do that didn’t suck my creative juices dry.

Enter editing…

Every single job I’ve had, I have proofread, copyedited, and edited countless files and documents. And that’s always been my favorite part of every job!

In every office, I became the go-to proofreader, earning the moniker “The Machine”  since I was so efficient and accurate in catching errors and maintaining style guides prior to print, post, or broadcast.

Even when a close friend or family member sent me something for a quick once-over, I’d get so excited that I would literally drop everything to proofread something for them to help. It became my favorite way to help loved ones. 

Serendipitously, a few years back, I was invited to join a book editing firm as a book editor and copyeditor. And honestly? That was the most excited for a job that I’ve ever been. And it’s been the best job ever—plus, I get to work with a dear friend and mentor who saw my potential. <3

What It All Boils Down To…

I love diving into something to make it better. I love correcting the errors and providing guidance for the writer to improve their work in the future. That’s ridiculously fun for me, and I can literally do it for hours without looking up. 

Sometimes it feels like alchemy… Taking something and making it shine. Spinning words and stories into gold. 

That’s it… I’m a story alchemist.

That obsession and excitement to do that kind of work was my sign—my billboard from the Universe—for what kind of work I should be doing.

Then I Started My Business!

So, now I’m here, with my own editing business. One that incorporates my core strengths: my intuition, writing, and editing prowess. It really is a perfect marriage of my skills. 

And in creating this business, my hope and dream is that my editing business will support other writers & creatives live a more balanced and creatively enriched life while polishing up their stories and increasing their potency—while also maintaining my own creative writing practice. 

Because the Universe knows this girl has piles of stories coming out of each finger tip that she wants to put to the page. (I’ve got a couple over here in the Bookshop!)

When it comes time for me to send my books out into the world, you can bet your bottom dollar that I’ll be hiring an editor or two myself.

After all, even editors need editors!

Want to Work With Me?

So, if you’re ready to step into a more divinely led creative path, putting your stories onto the page, and building a creative practice that’s in harmony with the rest of your life… I’d be tickled & honored to help you shape and polish your written works too.

Thanks for being here and hearing my story. <3

Doing An Editing Business Differently

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I am here to do things differently. I feel like I have known that for a long time.

When it came to starting an editing business, I did a bit of research into what other editing and proofreading professionals were doing to promote their work—from their websites, to their social media, etc. I saw editors sharing their tips and tricks to catch errors as you write. Things they catch all the time as an editor/proofreader. Providing tools to help others edit or proofread their work better.

And as I looked around, I realized that’s not at all what I wanted to do with my editing business. I see the formula, and I don’t want to use it.

I believe through inspired actions on a new path, I can still find success with my editing business.

(In fact, that’s a common thread in my life… If I see one path, you can bet I’ll want to do it my way. And hopefully show you that you can do things your way too. )

I’m pulling back the curtain a bit on this since I want to be transparent.

My editing business is different.

I have no interest in teaching you how to write. Or how to proofread your work. At least, not at this point in time.

Of course, I could make resources for that, but that’s not the way I want my editing business to work or even how I want to promote it. (UPDATE: Now I have a Self-Revision Checklist & a mini-course email series, From First Draft to Publish Ready available for free!)

My goal is to inspire more creative flow & freedom.

To unlock the treasure trove of stories within you so they can pour out with fewer obstacles and challenges.

To encourage a healthy, harmonious relationship with your creativity.

To help you seek more joy, beauty, and nurturing in your life—to ultimately take care of yourself, and thus the insightful creative within you.

That way you can write what you’re meant to write from a more balanced and healthy space.

I care about the creator within, much more than trying to teach you how to edit your work.

I’m not knocking that as a valuable skill, because it most definitely is. (Ideally, you would revise your book before sending it off to an editor, for example.)

But I care more about you getting to tell your story. Period.

I want you to find the joyful flow that sparks your creativity and sends you flying down the path of writing the book and telling the stories you’ve always dreamed of sharing with the world.

I want the words to flow out of you with ease.

You have a voice, and you have a story to tell.

And I want to see you use it for the highest and best good.

I want you to find the balance in your life, so you’re not struggling to survive while also trying to sustain a creative routine. Because that’s not sustainable.

I’m a firm believer that when you take care of you, your creativity will come.

That’s what matters to me.

When you take care of you,
the creativity will come.

Editing and proofreading have been the heartbeat of my adult career.

And then, if you so choose, I can help you with the more technical editing know-how to help you clean it up, so it’s clear, easy to read and understand, and free from discrediting errors and mistakes. Because that’s another way of how I love to help support creatives and writers. Whether you hire me as your editor when you’re done getting your story onto the page, that’s up to you!

(Does this mean I’m turning into a creativity/book coach as well as a book editor? I don’t know, but I’m open to it. The downloads and inspired actions I’m getting for The Intuitive Editor are taking me in a direction I wasn’t expecting, and I’m loving the journey.)

So, while you may not find “can you find the mistake” posts on my Instagram page, my hope is that you will feel inspired to pick up that pen or get out your keyboard… And get writing. Get working on your creative dreams. Show up for them like they want to show up for you.

And do it for you first. Create what you want first.

And keep it fun. Try not to force it from a painful place.

My hope is that by enjoying your life more and engaging your creativity, you start to create a life you’ve dreamed of (or something even better!).

Just like I’m creating a business that feels good to me.

Let’s start to see creativity differently together.

Do Expectations Serve Your Creative Process?

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blank paper with pen and coffee cup on wood table


Did I tell you I’m writing a book?

It’s a story that’s been brewing within me since high school, but somehow now is the time that it feels right to get it all fleshed out. It’s taking directions I don’t think I was expecting when I first started envisioning it 15 years ago, and I find that exciting. I have a general map of where it’s going but also releasing the reins to see how the story wants to be told…

I’ve always loved writing. As a little kid, I was the kid sitting in the shadows of the big brick building, notebook in hand and just jotting down story ideas as they came to me. I can’t count how many stories I’ve written, but just writing stories alone has always felt natural—creating characters and new worlds to explore as I wrote them down.

It came as no surprise when a healer in NYC told me that my sacral chakra was thumping and bumping with stories that wanted to be born, like warriors yearning to burst through into the world. 

When the pandemic began, it felt important to return to my creative writing practice. As something to create, keep myself engaged, and to give myself permission to work on something I really wanted to work on.

My mermaid novel, the one I’m presently working on, practically danced onto the stage of my mind and said, “It’s my turn!” 

While I previously self-published my first novel in 2015, I cannot say I have any expectations for this mermaid book… Kind of like I have no expectations as for how the nitty-gritties of the storyline will work out, as I let the inspirations come as I go. I’m typically a pantser (writing by the seat of your pants, a NaNoWriMo term), not a plotter, though I do believe an outline can be helpful. I don’t know what I’m going to do with this book yet, how I want it to be published, if I want to go self-publishing again, or if I think I’d like to shop it to agents or to a traditional publishing house.

I’m finding that I love just being in the process of writing it, without any expectation of what will come of it once the book is fully written—though I can already tell it’s a book of epic proportions. Somehow, this book has been transforming into an epic environmentalist fantasy mermaid rescue tale (or tail?), and it’s quite a thrill of a ride to see how it all unfolds. 

Which leads me to what I’m musing on today… 

Expectations.

Where, how, and why we have them, and how they ultimately serve us and our creativity. Particularly in regards to our dreams or what we want to accomplish. 

This morning, in my reading time, I kept coming across the idea that God/the Universe/Source experiences life and itself through us as human beings. That expectations can get in the way of truly experiencing life to the fullest and essentially separates us from what IS by focusing on the future rather than the present. It does harken back to the whole “focus on the journey, not the end result” concept. How you can never truly know how something will work out and how expectations can set you up for disappointment, resentment, or even anger. (From Conversations with God, Vol. I)

The idea of releasing expectations to allow yourself to immerse into the experience you feel inspired to take, from my understanding, is how things can turn out even more magical than you plan for. Allowing yourself to do something for the joy and pleasure of it without having to think about the end result can open up universal possibilities to fill in the gaps and create something more than you imagine. 

Why not take a passionate step forward even if you can’t see the way ahead
or what’s at the end of the road?
Why not enjoy the journey toward something you want,
but also allow yourself to be open to something even greater if you take inspired action?

Life wants to be fulfilled through us. Life yearns to be experienced just as we as humans yearn to experience life. If we put expectations on everything that will happen to us or how things will turn out, we could cut ourselves off from the universal flow that wants to work with us. We cut ourselves off by focusing on the future outcomes rather than staying present in the moment to our needs and inspirations as they come.

By staying open, by releasing attachment to outcomes or results, we open the doors to be surprised by life, by the universe, by the greater power present in every creation in this world… 

So, I invite you to take a look at where you may be harboring expectations when it comes to your dreams, how you can release your hold on them, and how you can start taking inspired action just because that’s what feels right to you in the present moment.

Do something just to do it, because you love it. Not because it will get you something, somewhere, or someone. Focus on how it feels to do it in the moment so you can carry that feeling with you—because, ultimately, it’s the feeling of what we desire that we are chasing. 

Stay present. Take a breath. Release expectations for how it will go or end.

And go write that book.* Just to do it. 

***

* – Or any other activity you feel lit up by. 😉

As a writer, I’ve been through the editorial process with my own editor (and plan to again—even editors have editors). It’s not as scary as you might think! I credit my editor with helping my story to truly come out how it was meant to… And I want to help you do that too!

If you’re in the market for an editor who also knows what it’s like to be in the writer’s shoes (thus knows how to make it more fun and easeful), check out my editorial services here. I look forward to hearing from you!