I have mentioned Twin Cities Geek throughout my blog posts. Twin Cities Geek is an online magazine that’s local to the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and Saint Paul), along with the suburbs surrounding the cities. I started writing for Twin Cities Geek in 2015, and my first article was published on July 15th, 2015. I have written a few articles since then and have tabled at the Twin Cities Geek booth at a variety of different local conventions. I wanted to share how I started my journey writing for Twin Cities Geek and what writing for this online magazine has meant to me.

I found out about Twin Cities Geek through a random Facebook post. The post indicated that the website was looking for contributors. This wasn’t a paid gig, but volunteer writing experience. At this time, I had just launched Bizarre Brunette, and I was specifically looking for more ways to get my writing out there. The process was simple; I had to send a piece of my writing, so they could see what my style was. When remembering back to this moment, I can’t remember any more specific details. Once I sent everything in, I was given clearance to start picking what I wanted to write about.

When I initially became a contributor, I was going to write for the Fit Geek section. The Fit Geek Section is how fitness, exercise, and health can intertwine with geeky topics. I wrote for this section for a bit, but fell out of love with it. It’s hard to pinpoint an exact reason, but to summarize, I found a lot of toxicity within the health and wellness space, so writing for this section brought a lot of that up on my end. I moved into other categories, and now find myself writing about local businesses, reviewing books, and coming up with topics on a whim. Twin Cities Geek has opened my horizons as to what I like to write about, which is one thing I have learned from the last decade.

When I first started writing articles for Twin Cities Geek, they had to go through a ton of editing. I’m not even kidding, I had to rewrite whole sections. The editors were kind, but honest, and had a lot of good feedback for what I submitted. Throughout the years, my articles would take a lot of time to write with all the back and forth between the editors. Now, I can write an article, and maybe have to change one thing before it gets posted. It shows how my writing has gotten better over time. It’s funny, I’m going through and editing my older posts on Bizarre Brunette, and some of the posts are cringy. The way I wrote did not flow well, especially when I read the posts out loud to myself. I noticed how much better my writing is, and that’s because of Twin Cities Geek.

Reflecting on these past ten years with Twin Cities Geek, there’s a lot I want to say. Besides improving my writing, Twin Cities Geek has allowed me to table at conventions. I love tabling at conventions! It’s high energy, and a two-hour shift flies by. I enjoy talking to people who may be new to the Twin Cities area or are curious about geeky events that are happening. Another benefit of writing for Twin Cities Geek is that it’s a great resume builder. I have had job interviews ask me about Twin Cities Geek, and it has led to interesting conversations.

Writing for Twin Cities Geek is something I enjoy. It’s become a hobby of mine, and I continue to learn so much about writing and editing. Here’s to another ten years of writing!