Stephanie Ernst
Freelance Editor, Writer, Blogger, and All-Around Nerd
Welcome
A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.
-Emily Dickinson
Welcome! If you're looking for Stephanie Ernst the editor, writer, blogger, animal advocate, vegan, tree hugger, and nerd, you've come to the right place. To get an idea of who I am and what I do, continue reading below, and check out my bio. To get in touch about working together, send me a note through the contact form. I look forward to hearing from you!
The first, equally simple incarnation of this Web site was located at vidadepalabras.com. When I updated the site a few years later, I also changed the domain name to stephanieernst.com, but the spirit of "vida de palabras" is still very much alive around here. And just what does it mean?
“Life of words” is the literal translation, but the meaning for this editor and writer is more complex. Right around the time I needed a new e-mail address several years ago, the phrase and the ideas I associate with the phrase kept surfacing in my mind. And thus this site's original domain name was born. (You may be wondering about my use of Spanish; it’s a beautiful language that I adore, a language that I regret not knowing as well as I used to, a language into which I occasionally meander for a word or two during conversation, writing, and—obviously—thought.)
"Vida de palabras" holds for me two meanings. It is an acknowledgment of my own life—a life about words, words written, read, said, and heard; a life composed of, consumed by, and dictated by words; a life in which words have had the capacity to excite me, elate me, and bring me hope and to break me, anger me, and bring me sorrow. And it is an allusion to the life that words themselves take on. Words can dance and float. They can slither and stomp. And when they combine with one another to move from the lips or pen of one person to the ears or eyes of another, they can cut, mend, widen, narrow, create, and destroy. Words rarely die, and even those that do still boast lives that spanned centuries. They are incredible little beings that we disregard too easily, that we misuse too carelessly, and that we fail to respect for their histories, their longevity, and their capacity to change minds and worlds and to affect so deeply when they are combined in just-right form.
As a writer, I revel in finding that just-right form in my own words, and as an editor, I revel in helping clients find it in theirs.
The Vida de Palabras Background
The first, equally simple incarnation of this Web site was located at vidadepalabras.com. When I updated the site a few years later, I also changed the domain name to stephanieernst.com, but the spirit of "vida de palabras" is still very much alive around here. And just what does it mean?
“Life of words” is the literal translation, but the meaning for this editor and writer is more complex. Right around the time I needed a new e-mail address several years ago, the phrase and the ideas I associate with the phrase kept surfacing in my mind. And thus this site's original domain name was born. (You may be wondering about my use of Spanish; it’s a beautiful language that I adore, a language that I regret not knowing as well as I used to, a language into which I occasionally meander for a word or two during conversation, writing, and—obviously—thought.)
"Vida de palabras" holds for me two meanings. It is an acknowledgment of my own life—a life about words, words written, read, said, and heard; a life composed of, consumed by, and dictated by words; a life in which words have had the capacity to excite me, elate me, and bring me hope and to break me, anger me, and bring me sorrow. And it is an allusion to the life that words themselves take on. Words can dance and float. They can slither and stomp. And when they combine with one another to move from the lips or pen of one person to the ears or eyes of another, they can cut, mend, widen, narrow, create, and destroy. Words rarely die, and even those that do still boast lives that spanned centuries. They are incredible little beings that we disregard too easily, that we misuse too carelessly, and that we fail to respect for their histories, their longevity, and their capacity to change minds and worlds and to affect so deeply when they are combined in just-right form.
As a writer, I revel in finding that just-right form in my own words, and as an editor, I revel in helping clients find it in theirs.
Copyright . Stephanie A. Ernst. All rights reserved.
