Posts By Jessica Stapf

Plain Language Doesn’t Have to Be Plain

I had a really great conversation with one of my coworkers the other day about the concept of “plain language” which really got me thinking about writing across all parts of government–local, state, federal… Here in the federal government, we talk about plain language–which is the idea that language should be easy to understand forRead… Read more »

7 Songs That Get Me Through Big Projects

“Picture it: Sicily…” (If you get that reference, we’ll be best friends.) But seriously. Picture it: You’re crashing on a big project. The deadline is coming up. You’re running a little behind. (This may be off, because you’ve probably got excellent time management skills and don’t know the meaning of the word “procrastination.”) You needRead… Read more »

For Love or Money?

The other day, while I was thinking about what to write for this week’s post, I got to thinking about the rise of reality television. I was pretty young when it started…but it has become a pretty big part of popular culture. One of the more peculiar reality shows I remember was one that wasRead… Read more »

What My Favorite Author Told Me and Why It’s (Half) Bad Advice

As someone who writes stories for a living, I spend a good share of my time reading them. These days, my reading time is mostly spent among news articles and opinion pieces so I can sharpen my skills in technical writing and see how personal and technical writing styles have merged thanks to digital spaces like Medium. Even ifRead… Read more »

4 Things I’ve Learned from “Murder She Wrote”

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I’ve been captivated by the antics and misadventures of Murder, She Wrote’s protagonist, Jessica Fletcher. Dame Angela Lansbury, the actress behind the widowed bestselling mystery writer, keeps it real at every point of the series, which ran twelve seasons from 1984-1996. (So it’s just a littleRead… Read more »

Digital Storytelling vs. Blogging: The Difference is…?

Last week, I wrote about how I go through my creative process, essentially how I get down to the nitty-gritty of how I write a story. When I started this job, I thought I’d just be blogging. Just like I do on any of my personal digital spaces. But instead, I’m doing some “digital storytelling.”Read… Read more »

A Storyteller’s Creative Process

I’m the Digital Storyteller for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It’s a new position that I’m happy to say I’m really enjoying. I’ve gotten to learn so much about digital platforms, content, and subjects within the Agency. Back in January and February, I wrote and published a series on our blog about Community EmergencyRead… Read more »