Stephen O
Writer #7701
Joined 9/5/2013
3 Star Rating
246 Projects
0 Endorsements
0 Elite Skills
Stephen's background stems from a career in the publishing industry, first as a graphic designer, then as an art director, thereafter as an editor/production manager. Currently, Stephen is a digital content manager. Stephen attended the university and studied criminology, English and psychology. It was during the higher educational pursuit that Stephen discovered his love for writing and, conversely, immersed himself in creative compositions, current events, and human interest stories.

Overcoming recurrent cancer, Stephen joined the law enforcement profession. This public service endeavor afforded him a significant amount of life experience and maturation from which abundant stories evolved.

Retired from law enforcement (pursuant to bone cancer resulting in limb amputation), Stephen delved deeply into his writing career and maintains this segment of his life as a freelance writer.

As a father of a 19-year-old daughter with autism (non-verbal, self-injurious), Stephen has been enveloped by the dynamics of this complex disorder and writes about his personal journey with his child as his embraced beacon.

Embedded within his writing style are evident emotional aspects such as empathy, sympathy, and compassion. Given his flair for human interest story development, Stephen has become a staple producer of hero- and heroine-based content, their attributes, personalities, character traits, and perpetuation of selflessly performed good deeds.

Given his practices and fondness of writing content for online platforms, Stephen has evolved as a proficient practitioner of SEO dynamics and utilization. Writing for several information-sharing platforms, Stephen attended virtual tutorials in SEO, AP- and Chicago-style writing formats and guides.

Additionally, Stephen ascribes to philosophies pertaining to content production based on "trending" materials, thereby optimally positioning his clients' materials.

Stephen's general philosophy is centered in ethics, is focused on fact-based content, and is authentically impassioned in many topics.

His interviewing skills as a policeman bolster Stephen's frameworks for researching, gathering, and writing bona fide material.

Portioned with his background as a graphic designer, art director, editor, proofreader, law enforcement officer, writer and father, Stephen pieces together each product empirically, unless otherwise stipulated by his clientele.

With a conglomerate of articles centered in law enforcement, autism, cancer, family, and the human experience, Stephen prides himself--his body of work--on direct connections to material stemming from real-life circumstances, whether personally or vicariously.

However, Stephen is also well-versed in fiction-based sagas and tribulations.

As a five-time survivor of cancer, Stephen exudes an even higher appreciation for life, as can be readily discerned from the flavor and tone of his storytelling.

Adaptable and amenable in nature, Stephen often expands his knowledge base by assuming challenges untested, untried, and unclaimed.

After all, writing is a mutual exchange between information-gathering and content production, a combination and duality Stephen adheres to quite well.
Web Page
Legal
Relationships
Career
Government
Medical
Politics
Humor
Health
Kids/Family
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Specialties

Law enforcement- and human interest-based stories are a staple of Stephen's writing, having served the public for 16 years. Personal affliction with cancer also provides a breadth of insight. Stephen's daughter battling autism affords a deeply-founded account from which Stephen writes personally. As an amputee (bone cancer), Stephen delves into this profound dimension of his life, writing about triumphant and pioneering survivors who have experienced neoplasia and/or limb sacrifice.

Interests

Stephen enjoys reading and remains a proverbially voracious consumer of novels, specifically those authored by Lee Child (critical thinking skills) and Michael Connelly. Moreover, Stephen fuses his professional time between writing and drawing realism-based pencil portraits, the latter stemming from formal art instruction in NYC. As a writer, Stephen's due diligence engenders editing/proofreading resulting in robust product. Accustomed to AP-, Chicago-, and AMA-style, Stephen maintains diversity among his ability to organize content based on client needs and formats.

As a former law enforcement officer and five-time cancer survivor --ambulating with the aid of a prosthetic limb-- Stephen maintains his professional status as a freelance writer and portrait artist, affording him remote-based capacity at home, thus underscoring availability.

Stephen is intrigued by marine biology and myriad wonders of the oceans. Oh, and his "best friend" is a Siberian Husky.

Education

University of South Florida

Stephen transferred to USF from the University of Tampa to continue his studies in criminology...while also working two jobs to support his growing family.

University of Tampa

Stephen's years spent studying at UT are deemed instrumental and influential in terms of writing classes and exploration in compositional styles. It did not take long before Stephen's writing-course professors assessed his strength in descriptive narratives.

Broward Community College

Focused on a law-enforcement career, Stephen studied criminal justice aspects, English, Spanish, and sociology.

Hillsborough Community College

Stephen enrolled in the state-governed law-enforcement academy instituted by local community college programs, instructed by active and/or retired police officers. (This roughly 4-month field of study equated to 15 college credits.)

Relationships

19 Projects Completed

The general feel of Stephen's writing style is founded in the realm of a compassion-oriented tone, recognizing individuals for their humanistic qualities and deeds. Stephen researches and writes on people's triumphs, especially come-from-behind experiences. Moreover, four children between two divorces under his belt affords first-hand accounting regarding how intimate constructs can dissipate yet teach a multitude of lessons about self and others.

Career

19 Projects Completed

Stephen has written extensively on human interest stories pertaining to law enforcement, cancer, autism, and homelessness. As a medically-retired policeman with cancer affliction, a parent to a daughter with severe autism, and an activist for the homeless population, Stephen writes from the heart and exudes passion for these and other life circumstances. As a human interest and current events writer, Stephen develops story-lines certain to provoke introspection and consternation.

Legal

18 Projects Completed

Stephen has endured myriad legal venues as a law enforcement officer testifying in open court, at depositions before trials, at Probation & Parole hearings, in traffic court, and as a civilian involved in family law legal issues.

Hobby

9 Projects Completed

Stephen is an accomplished artist in the realm of hyper-realistic graphite pencil portraits of people and animals. Additionally, Stephen generates pen/ink illustration, sculpts wood, and has been exploring oil painting and pastel pieces.

Kids/Family

4 Projects Completed

Stephen, a father of four wondrous children, often authors articles based on family dynamics and raising children. The myriad experiences involved in Stephen's family dimensions typically transcend family life in general.

Humor

3 Projects Completed

Stephen has authored several pieces relevant to stories with a humorous tone and wit, conveying story-lines with a non-acerbic quality.

Health

3 Projects Completed

Stephen is the father of a 19-year-old daughter diagnosed with severe autism. Stephen has battled cancer since 1987 and continues to do so, having recently endured his 29th cancer-related surgery since 2008. As a result of bone cancer, Stephen endured a leg amputation and has rehabilitated to walk with the aid of a prosthetic limb.

Government

2 Projects Completed

Stephen has had an illustrious career as a law enforcement officer and, as such, possesses insights into the workings of government. As a municipal police officer, Stephen endured union issues, city government give and take, and the nuances of city council functionality.

Medical

2 Projects Completed

Stephen has endured 26 years of a battle with cancer, having been subjected to limb amputation in 2010 (bone cancer). As such, Stephen has experienced a lengthy, arduous road of medicinal interventions and technologies, including brachytherapy and advancements in prostheses, currently donning the latest military model, compliments of Department of Defense specs for the civilian demographic.

Politics

2 Projects Completed

Stephen writes stories with interest in federal, state, county, and city governments, usually with a basis in law enforcement.

Web Page

165 Projects Completed

As a law enforcement subject matter expert, Stephen O. conducted research, authored, edited, and proofread 165 published pieces . With insights pertaining to police culture, court rulings, and the dynamics of cops, Stephen O. portrays in words the essence of what it is like to be a LEO.

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