We recently connected with Kim Green and have shared our conversation below.

Kim, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I have always been a creative, even before I knew that was a “thing.” I was always drawn to music and dance. In fact, my first desire was to be a choreographer. And my parents put me in ballet classes but it didn’t feel right to me being the only student in the class with hair that couldn’t go into a bun. I protested so much that my mother finally let me withdraw from the class. I found myself in my school’s contemporary dance club where we learned some ballet but mostly modern and jazz techniques. I fell in love with this type of bodily self-expression. After being successful in dance, I became a choreographer and was convinced this what I wanted for my life until I hurt myself practicing in my apartment and I realized that dance is too risky a career. However, my second love was writing and I found it when I experienced my first tragedy. My mother died suddenly on the New York City subway. I was only 15 years old and the only way I could process my grief was to write down all of the emotions that I was experiencing in this huge, forever loss. Writing freed me in every way imaginable to speak more clearly, and understand myself and my feelings and it gave me the gift of articulation. It was life-changing. Once I started my professional career in major corporations, I immediately felt the restrictive nature of being a part of a corporate body of people who all were trained to think alike. My bursts of creative thought were always met with disdain and I knew from my first day at the office that I could not go on that way. I learned as much as I could about the way excellence is achieved and after several corporate jobs, I took a risk and started my own writing business. It was the best thing I ever did and I then realized what it means to be authentically free.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a copywriter, author and writing coach. My love of words and music have never been a secret. My work is a wonderful culmination of my professional journey. I graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Advertising and a concentration in Creative Writing. My first copywriting job was for Macys. I wrote their fashion catalogues and ads. It so happened that one of my friends from high school called and told me about an opportunity at Sony Music. I went to meet with the copy director who told me that Sony had just acquired Def Jam Records and there was no one in the building that was familiar with the language or the music. They desperately needed a writer to advertise Def Jam. He gave me a simple assignment to write an ad for LL Cool J and if I did it to his satisfaction, I was hired. That’s how it happened. I went on to work for Sony full-time while writing for 16 music magazines simultaneously. I wrote for The Source, Essence Magazine, some music magazines in England, etc. I am proud of the many interviews I did with amazing artists including Tupac Shakur, George Clinton, Patti Labelle, Queen Latifah, Al Jarreau and many more. I was blessed to write Fantasia Barrino’s first book which was made into a Lifetime Television movie and was a New York Times Bestseller. I have written two novels but I think today I am most grateful for my work, coaching aspiring writers. It is amazing to support others in achieving this tremendous accomplishment.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My mission is to help people express themselves. I not only help writers with their books, but I am venturing into therapeutic writing which is not necessarily an artistic pursuit but I know that writing heals. I am currently planning a retreat in Tucson Arizona October 17-21, 2024, It is called You Have the Write to Heal. I am increasingly aware that this manic state that our country is going through stems from ignorance (of self) and a lack of opportunities to heal from past trauma. I have paired up with a licensed therapist and we are committed to helping people see the beauty and usefulness of self-expression. People can learn more about it on my website: www.blankpageconsult.com

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Touching people and being a mirror, so the courageous can dare see themselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wordsllc.com. or www.blankpageconsult.com
• Instagram: @kimgreenwords or @kimgreenauthor
• Linkedin: Linkedin/Kim Green

Image Credits
lcukie pix