just words writing

a loose collection of stories, essays, and poems from Doug Messel, writer and content marketer.

reclaiming creativity

I’m a writer, and I always have been. It’s what I’ve wanted to do my entire life. For the past ten years, I’ve spent more time building brands online than my own personal body of work. just words writing is my attempt to change that.

I love my day job, but there’s a chasm between writing blog posts for SaaS companies and staying up late to feverishly write short stories. A true dichotomy between digital marketing and drafting poetry. By sharing that kind of work here, my deep desire is to rekindle some inspiration and take ownership of my work, free of the influence of AI, client constraints, or guardrails.

The first steps on this journey are to work my way through the prompts of The 3 A.M. Epiphany by Brian Kiteley. I’ll also be sharing photographs with each piece I write as an exercise in stretching (and developing) a new creative skillset.

Please join me on this journey and follow along on Instagram.

“How odd that I can have all this inside me and to you it’s just words.”

David Foster Wallace
  • Weather Vane Pattern (ca. 1939) by Winifred Luten. It's a black dog on a beige background.
    Black Dog
    There’s a big black dog out there in the street, and it’s pacing back and forth in front of the yard.
  • The 3 A.M. Epiphany
    The 3 A.M. Epiphany is a book of writing prompts by novelist Brian Kiteley. For the next few months, I’ll be writing and sharing short fiction exclusively based on those prompts.

about the writer

Doug Messel is a writer and content marketer based in the suburbs of Kansas City. When he’s not desperately trying to come up with ideas for short stories, novels, screenplays, tabletop RPGs, or video games, he enjoys reading and listening to music. He’s also pretty fond of his family, which includes his wife, Erin, son, and dog.