Yet another way to write your bio.

During an interview for Clementine Daily, the lovely Erin Loechner asked me: “Tell us how you became a writer!”

And thanks to a recent round of majorly-helpful media coaching, I actually had a coherent answer.

I said:

It all began with a raging sugar addiction.

Allow me to explain:

When I was a wee tot, my parents trundled me over to the local coffee shop.

They asked me what I wanted to drink — and, being responsible, health-conscious adults, they were hoping I’d say “wheatgrass!” or “rice milk!” or “chilled water with a slice of lemon, please!”

But despite the fact that I was too young to read, I’d learned how to recognize two very important words: “hot” and “chocolate.”

So, I told my parents, “I want hot chocolate.”

They smiled and said, “Oh sorry, sweetie, they don’t have that here.”

But I pointed to the sign and said, quite calmly, “Yes, they do.” My parents were stunned. (I had untangled their web of deception!) I got my frothy treat.

And in that moment, I learned a valuable lesson:

When you use the right words with the right people at the right time, you (usually) get what you want.

I’ve been fascinated by the power of language ever since.

And from English tutoring to student journalism to technical writing to public broadcasting to copywriting to blogging to book creation, words have always been my work.

Pretty solid, right? It gets even better.

A few days later, I got an email from Corrina Gordon-Barnes. She said: “Hey Alex — that interview you did for Clementine? It’s got a great outline for writing your bio, buried right in plain sight. Have you shared that template before?”

Me: “Um, no … but I sure will, now!”

Behold: yet another (astonishingly simple) way to write your own bio.

It all began with …

Allow me to explain:

When I was …

And in that moment, I learned / discovered / realized …

{Insert career-shaping epiphany here}

I’ve been ______ ever since.

And from _____ to _____ to _______, ______ has always been my work.