We recently connected with Elan Carson and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Elan , thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

One thing my parents did for me that shaped my tenaciousness from a very young age–I’m talking first grade–was frequently saying, “Don’t let anyone hold you back, not even us.”

That stuck with me and continues to, because it’s made me fearless in going after what I want in my career and pushing back, even against them, when they didn’t see the vision I had.

In my twenties, I remember getting push back from my mom in terms of my writing career, for example. She didn’t want me to major in creative writing in college because, practically speaking, what job would hire me with a creative writing degree? Fast forward, and I’m working at Disney as a senior copy editor. My mom said she wouldn’t doubt me again, and to this day, she continues to be my biggest supporter.

Thank God my parents had the foresight to give me this gift. Because you need to have fight in any creative career. Believing in yourself keeps you in the boxing ring a little longer to see your vision through.

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?

I’m a content creator and aspiring TV comedy writer on a mission to broaden how we see women of color on screen.

As a Black woman, I can tell you—yes, I can be bad at dancing and have my Black card revoked; yes, I can be socially awkward (anyone else ever thank a friend for a newsletter shoutout, only to realize their friend’s email template just auto-inserted your name?); and yes, I can be more than the strong Black woman stereotype. I can also be the girl next door whose neighbors aggressively stomp on the floor because she won’t stop blasting Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” (10-minute version).

The trouble is, growing up, I rarely saw characters who reflected this—women of color who were quirky and didn’t fit into the usual stereotypes. That awkward Black girl absence on TV shaped my mission as a writer: to create the kinds of characters I needed and still need—silly, a little cringey, and unapologetically themselves. That passion for nuanced storytelling carries over into everything I create today—from social media content with my mom (aka my bestie—not in a Tessie… we’re a Toyota family) to improv and even children’s books.

If you’re looking for comedic storytelling that highlights Black women who break the mold, I’d love for you to follow along and be part of the journey.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

Hot Take—and I’m ready to be judged… actually, no, I’m not. I’m a weenie… please be kind.

I think NFTs could provide some value in the future once we figure out a real use for them—kind of like how everyone slept on QR codes before the pandemic, and now QR codes are everywhere. I don’t know what function or day-to-day utility NFTs will have, but I think it’s possible they could be used in innovative ways.

For example, I published two of my books as NFTs. I did it because I didn’t have to go through a third-party site like Amazon for print-on-demand services (where you literally get pennies in royalties), and I saw it as a chance to actually be compensated for my work. Sadly, though, NFTs became synonymous with pyramid schemes and bro culture, so this business model never took off for writers.

Hopefully the tech continues to evolve in way that benefits artists and society as a whole, and I’m OK being optimistic about that.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

DIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS! I started taking improv classes at Groundlings and UCB a little over a year ago, and like all schooling, it takes a lot of cash-money.

Living in L.A. is already back-breakingly expensive, and that’s why I’m so thankful that people shared information with me about diversity scholarships for improv training. The scholarships helped me—and my credit card—a lot! I hope these opportunities don’t go away under the new federal mandates. That’s a fear I have now, being able to continue to fund what I’m passionate about.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://elanmcarson.com/
• Instagram: @ElanMCarson
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elanmcarson/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ComedyBarbs
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@elanmariecomedy

Image Credits

N/A.