We recently connected with David Ridd and have shared our conversation below.

David, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

There have been two projects I’ve worked on that have really impacted me for different reasons.

The first was my first-ever order on Fiverr. I posted my “gig” for Creative Writing, made my profile live, and within a few hours received a message from an artist trying to create a video game. He told me his story about life on the autism spectrum and how he wanted to find a way to express that in a video game. My only advice in starting a Fiverr account was to start out pricing far below what you think your work is worth. The end result is that I wrote my client a short indie game of about 75 pages in 3 days for $150. Since then, he’s built a team of artists, programmers, musicians and more around the story to really bring the game and characters to life—and I can’t wait to play it.

The second meaningful project was my first non-fiction book: You’re Going to be a Dad! First-time fatherhood had just become the biggest part of my life and I was given the opportunity to write about it, interview dads around the world, share advice and insights on everything from trying to move on after a miscarriage to packing a go-bag and understanding hormonal changes in fathers. It was so wonderful to speak to other dads experiencing fatherhood for the first time and offer a guide to help them on the journey.

David, 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?

I’m a freelance ghostwriter and copywriter who has worked on everything from video games, children’s TV shows, and non-fiction memoirs to web content for hundreds of well-known brands and businesses like Acer and Funko, and even articles for sites like Entrepreneur.

As much as I enjoy helping brands connect with consumers, my favorite work is always creative. Helping young indie game studios find their voice or aspiring novelists complete their first drafts have been some of my favorite experiences as a professional freelancer.

The thing I’d love people to know about the work I do is that it removes the confines of a traditional box of expertise. I assumed the only way I would find success as a freelance writer is in blogs, articles, and email newsletters. What I discovered is endless adaptability—learning different methods and mediums for writing—whether novels, poetry, TV scripts, video game scripts, graphic novels, or non-fiction books. It has also opened the door to meeting numerous artists and creators just trying to share their stories with the world—and I love helping them do just that.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Before the pandemic I was in the fitness industry, leading large group classes through workouts and wellness checks to help them on their journey toward healthier lives. Like many industries, the pandemic upended the business so much so that the owner had to close down. Staying in the same industry, I found another company who was doing group classes outside to maintain social distancing. I was about to dive into that full-force, investing savings and putting everything toward that goal.

However, to make money in the meantime, I had joined Fiverr as a freelance writer after my wife mentioned it in passing—seeing an influencer post about it on TikTok. Creative writing was my major in college and I had never really used it (go figure), so I thought, why not?

Just when I was about to sign on the dotted line with the fitness group, my Fiverr account started picking up steam. I rose in levels, met some remarkable, steady clients, and was enjoying the diversity of work. I’ve always loved writing, but I never imagined being able to choose my hours and write about any and everything under the sun. In hindsight, I couldn’t be more happy with the decision, even if it was a gamble at the time. Starting up my freelance writing business has allowed me to be home with my daughter every single day of her first years, watching her grow up with a front row seat.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

The most valuable thing I’ve learned about creating something has come from the big projects—the novels, the years-long video game productions, the graphic novels, and the non-fictions.

The lesson is to see the work as a process, not a destination. That’s easy enough when someone says “enjoy the journey”, but when doing something creative, it’s so easy to abandon all hope when that first draft isn’t the golden image in your head.

What I’ve learned is to treat any creative project as exactly that—a job. Put in the consistent time toward it, no matter how small, and you’ll see how it takes shape into that vision you had at the beginning. There will be trials and a lot of growing pains, but I promise it will be worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: DavidRidd.com
• Instagram: @Riddwrites
• Facebook: RiddWrites
• Linkedin: David Riddleberger II
• Other: TikTok @Ridd_writes