We recently connected with Colleen O’Mara-Diamond and have shared our conversation below.

Colleen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I first knew that I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally when I was eight years old and in the third grade. Hard to believe now. I had written a short story for class, which was submitted to the annual writing competition. There we were, all of the students from our elementary school campus sitting together in the assembly. Before I knew it, my name was called, and everyone turned around to look at me as I made my way up the aisle to the front. The principal bestowed me with an award certificate for the “Best Short Story” and shook my hand. It was at that moment, looking back at the audience of my peers and classmates that I knew — words can persuade people. And unbeknownst to me, at such an early age, I had stumbled upon some inherent talent for writing. At my high school, we were lucky enough to produce and publish our literary magazine. In college, I began writing seriously and also joined the school’s literary publication, and started to publish short stories and articles. There is nothing like seeing your own words in print. Many years later, it still gives me a thrill to see something I have written get published.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

After I graduated from college, I got my start in the entertainment industry in a PR position working on an Educational Video Series on “Diversity” with Dr. Maya Angelou as Narrator, before diversity was even a term, let alone the movement it has wonderfully become. I then became a Magazine Editor, which led me to open my own Communications Agency — Hype — with my business partner. We were so young, in our twenties, that we thought we had worked for other people, why not try to work for ourselves? It was really that simple. So we did. We opened our agency and began providing PR services for entertainment clients, primarily talents behind the scenes like Directors, Editors, Visual Effects Artists, and primarily companies. Our clients work in film, television, commercials, branded content, and music videos. Around my agency work, I continued to write my own creative work as well, including short stories, essays, and articles. Until my sons were born, and I didn’t have much time, so I began to write poetry, which was short! This eventually led me to write my first full-length book, which is currently with my agent and being pitched to traditional publishers. Whether I am collaborating with a client on their PR, Marketing or Social Media now (our services and our clients have expanded over the years), or whether I am writing a creative piece, the cornerstone of my skill remains what I love most: writing.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

If I had to outline one goal or mission driving my creative journey, I think that would be the creative process itself. I had a client have me try to explain how I write to her once, and it was such a lightbulb moment for me, and for her too I think. I don’t know how I write. I just write. For me, it is like weaving. Each sentence is a thread. I put it all out on the computer page, typing away, and then I go back and start to edit, moving each sentence or word into place until it all flows into place. When I collaborate with our clients, I focus on their creative process, and what was unique or particularly challenging about their recent project. It is our role to pick out the story points that are unique or innovative. A client may tell you everything that happened on a particular project. It is our role as writers and communicators to sift through all the details and outline in writing what are the best story points to share. Creative writing is the same. One skill is to have the ability to write, which comes with innate talent and then years of practice. The other keen skill is to have the eye to know what to write about, to say things that have never been said before, and to say them in a unique and hopefully new way.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think the best way for our society to best support artists and creatives, and to have a thriving creative ecosystem is to start with young people. We need to encourage them to pursue the creative arts. I have teenagers now. They and their friends come to me to ask for advice and guidance about what they should do for college and their careers. If they are engaged in a creative art, I encourage them to pursue it. Follow your passion and your heart as a teenager and in your twenties. That is the time to take risks when you haven’t collected as many responsibilities yet. My friends who have had success in the creative arts have chosen one direction and over time walked in the same direction. Perhaps not always in a completely straight line. But when they looked back, they continued to pursue their passion and then found success, maybe years later. But there was a throughline for where they started in the arts and where they ended up. I don’t believe in backup plans. You can always make a change later on, go back to school, re-educate yourself if you choose to. Carpe Diem. Seize the Day. And seize the time, the era. The people you will meet along the way and the experiences you will have will be irreplaceable. I have enjoyed an incredible career and journey in the creative arts, and have had so many memorable, wonderful experiences collaborating with truly talented people. Their talent has inspired my own creative journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.colleenomaradiamond.com, www.hypeworld.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colleenomaradiamond/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleeno3/

Image Credits

Photos by AndyMac @andymacvfx