Meet the Staff: Blog Editor Carrie Vittitoe

I have, technically, been a writer my entire life. A diary when I was a kid. Terrible poetry in middle school. Short stories in college that managed to find a home in the school’s literary journal. And then I became an English teacher and taught young people to write.

When I left full-time teaching and began having my children, I sort of fell into part-time professional writing. I noticed a call for submissions that asked, “Are you a writer? Are you a parent?,” and I knew I could answer yes to both. I threw my hat in the ring without any expectations. Now, 12 years later, I’ve published hundreds and hundreds of articles for various Louisville, KY magazines. I’ve done marketing for local hospitals, nonprofits, and small businesses. 

But writing has become more than just income. I’ve circled back to what writing was when I was young–something that makes me who I am and not just what I do. It’s become something that feeds my creativity in other areas and has helped me become a better English teacher (which I’m back to doing part-time). 

Still, even if you’ve published or been paid for your writing, I suspect everyone has imposter syndrome. I can always find things to doubt about my writing. I’ve never published on a huge, national platform. I’ll never win a Pulitzer. I’ve only kept my blog since 2006. My readership isn’t a zillion people in this universe and several others. 

Maybe it’s because I’m pushing 50, but I’m increasingly done with this negative self-talk. It’s time for me to do things I want to do and be creative and help other people who speak a similar language. And that’s why I’ve joined Literary Mama. 

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Carrie Vittitoe is a part-time English/Social Studies teacher, part-time freelance writer, all-the-time mom to three kids who need her less and less (or claim to), and radio show/podcast hobbyist who enjoys reading, petting her cats, collecting skeletons whom she names Gerald, and traveling. She has written for many years about motherhood and her mood disorder on her blog, Mood-Disordered Mama.