a loose collection of stories, essays, and poems from Doug Messel, writer and content marketer.
reclaiming creativity
I’m a writer. I always have been. It’s what I’ve wanted to do my entire life. But 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 pet hotels and staying up late to feverishly create short stories. I yearn to write something that isn’t supposed to convert. By sharing that kind of work here, my desire is to rekindle some inspiration and reclaim my creativity, free from the influence of AI or client constraints or KPIs.
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
- I miss the Tastee Treet sometimes
I miss the Tastee Treet sometimes Frozen feasts in styrofoam cups The sounds of straws scraping a plastic Dissonant drone of cicada song Thick weight of an overcast evening The stickiness of late August nights Incessant irritation of pinprick mosquito bites welting up The last gasp summer sweetness New blossoming love beneath the bleachers - Rabbit Season
One Saturday morning, Steve decided to take his son Dylan out to shoot rabbits for the first time.
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.