We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bryan Milstead a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Bryan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Here at Valley Verbomania, our mission is rooted in a deep enthusiasm for
etymologies and passion for language! My journey began as a 2x Scripps National Spelling Bee participant, which is where I first discovered the importance of words as something more than just elements of a sentence. Rather, they originate from notable events, cultivate connections across cultures, and are equipped with identities that span generations. Stepping up on countless spelling bee stages not only kindled my love for competition, but the story that each word possessed.

After graduating out of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, I knew there had to be a way I could share the wonders of words to people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. Everyone deserves to the chance to celebrate their intellectual achievements and enhance their vocabulary! Thus, Valley Verbomania was born out of this mission for education and inclusivity. Creatives, especially writers, can share their work and exchange ideas, all within the context of wordplay and self-expression.

By publishing work from writers and artists across the globe, I continue to learn alongside our contributors. It’s truly been a privilege to hear from such a diverse set of voices and how each person has their own journey with language! So far, we’ve published two issues (view them on valleyverbomania.com!), hosted a prose competition on existentialism, and posted dozens of word-related tips on our Instagram (@valleyverbomania.lit). However, this is just the beginning.

Looking into the future, Valley Verbomania hopes to continue hosting our “Verses, Metaphors, Voices” tutoring initiative, a network for both emerging and established writers to acquire free literary assistance. Additionally, we hope to collaborate with other literary magazines and youth-run initiatives (like Valley Verbomania), fostering cross-organizational dialogue. In all of this, Valley Verbomania hopes to fulfill its core mission: building a community where words are a universal tool for connection.

Bryan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Absolutely — hello, reader!

My name is Bryan Milstead, and I am the founder and editor-in-chief of the Valley Verbomania Literary Review. At the core of Valley Verbomania is an unwavering dedication to expanding access to word-related knowledge. This is achieved through various forms of digital expression, such as our website (valleyverbomania.com) and social media (@valleyverbomania.lit on Instagram and Tiktok). The former is where we publish issues, changemaker interviews, and writing competitions. On the other hand, the latter focuses more on outreach initiatives, posting word-related tips, and managing our literary tutoring network.

Something highly interesting about me is that I’m not only passionate about words, but also STEM! This amalgamation of analytical and artistic thinking is what fueled my journey from the Scripps National Spelling Bee to founding a literary magazine. The backbone of science are research papers and literature reviews — both of which require proper grammar and composition skills. Moreover, I believe there’s always a narrative hidden within data and how it can be analyzed from an ethics-based, humanities perspective. This same intersectionality is something I hope Valley Verbomania encourages creatives to pursue all across the world.

With regards to the Spelling Bee, it was one of my most (if not the most) deeply transformative experiences. The Bee taught me far more than word origins and definitions. Instead, it allowed me to gain confidence, the courage to stand confidently in the face of pressure, and learn why sportsmanship is crucial for friendly competition. On stage, under warm spotlights, each word was a reflection of cultural exchange over centuries. Realizing the profound nuance of words is exactly why I started Valley Verbomania: a platform where creatives are encouraged to share their rich, unique stories through writing and art. In this way, we are the living entries in a humongous dictionary, strung together by emotions, the human experience, and a desire to create.

Valley Verbomania is different from other literary magazines due to our emphasis on the deeper meanings and origins of words. When publishing stories, we make it our goal to highlight their historical and sociocultural nuances. This is done through interactive themes for each of Valley Verbomania’s issues, curating collections of works that share a common literary thread.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

When I first started Valley Verbomania, one of the first things I contemplated was how we could establish a social media presence. I wanted our literary review to reach a global audience but knew this endeavor would take lots of time, creative marketing strategies, and, what was arguably the most important factor: learning how to graphic design! Even when we first started posting, our main goal was to make them as aesthetic as possible. My first point of advice is to ALWAYS recognize that visual appeal matters just as much as the content itself. Secondly, don’t be afraid to experiment with color schemes, wacky fonts, and themes! This is ultimately how you will transform your magazine’s feed from an announcement board to a full-blown hub of creativity.

As Valley Verbomania started to grow our community of word warriors, we learned the importance of follower engagement. Your audience will connect most with posts that invite participation or support for your brand. For us, that includes author spotlights, interactive writing prompts, and polls about post ideas. This leads me to my third point: giving people a chance to see themselves reflected in our content is how a magazine/business/organization can cultivate a sense of belonging.

Lastly, for those just starting their social media presence, my biggest piece of advice is to start small and focus on consistency. Share content that provides inspirational/informational value, and remember that growth doesn’t need to happen in one day, week, or even month!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Personally, the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is exploring and shaping seemingly incomprehensible ideas into words. Writing allows individuals to take abstract thoughts and coalesce them into stanzas, paragraphs, or even entire pages! However, the ultimate satisfaction occurs when you finish writing that last sentence of a literary work and reflect upon the transition from draft to completeness. This sense of accomplishment is what inspires me to continue writing, no matter how uncertain the process may feel.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://valleyverbomania.com
• Instagram: @valleyverbomania.lit
• Other: Tiktok: @valleyverbomania.lit

Image Credits

Bryan Milstead