You know that feeling when you figured out what you’re meant to do? When you find that thing that just feels right?
This is how I felt during my first few weeks of journalism school. I was a wide-eyed kid from small town Saskatchewan living alone in the big city.
Too nervous to ride the city bus – but I knew one thing for sure – I was not going to get cut from this program.
Even when our profs gave us the “look to your left and look to your right – these people will not be here next year” speech.
I knew I’d be there.
And I was. A first year class of 450 and a fourth year class of 75. And one of those was me.
I loved j-school. Interviewing people, learning about them, writing their stories – their hopes, fears, passions, and experiences. I was good at it too.
I have a knack for getting people to open up and trust me. It’s because I listen. I genuinely care.
This is exactly what I bring to my clients.
An openness to understanding and learning about your challenges and those of your clients.
My job is to write words that help your clients – words that connect with them, that educate them about your products and services, so you can support them.
This is what I do. I write good words that work.
I’ve been working for a long time… I graduated from Carleton University, in Ottawa, ON with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in 1994.
I’ve lived a big life with my share of ups and downs.
I’ve made career switches from working in a news agency to technical writing to professional bike racing to content marketing.
Through all of this words are my constant.
When I was living in Belgium and racing my bike all over Europe, I used my Ottawa.cx blog to give people an inside look at life as a professional bike racer.
And now, I use this website to write about the goings on in my life – the ups, downs, and the stuff in-between. I thought people would stop reading once I stopped racing – but the opposite has happened.
A reader I’ve never met sent me a message saying “it’s like you’re sitting there talking to me and I’m drawn in, I can’t stop reading.”
This is why I write.
And whether I’m telling your story or mine – I put the reader first. I remind myself that we’re all the same – we have challenges, fears, wants, questions, and we all just want to be seen.
This is why I do what I do.
I’m Vicki. I’m a writer. I’m a storyteller. I live with a chronic illness. I live a big and fulfilling life. I set big goals and then work as hard as I can to achieve them.
- 1st Degree Black Belt and Team Canada member and bronze medal winner at the World ITF Taekwon-Do Championships, Thessaloniki, Greece, 2003
- Team Canada member at the World Cyclo-Cross Championships, Tabor, Czech Republic, 2010
- Public Speaker and advocate for disability awareness
- Volunteer Peer Support for people living with ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s Disease, and ileostomies
- Co-Founder of the Ottawa and Area Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis Support Group
- Co-Founder and President of the Ottawa Women’s Cycling Club
If you are curious and want to learn more about me and my life story, I wrote a book. It’s called An Unlikely Elite. It’s free.
Let’s talk about how I can help you tell your story.
Good Words Work 