For many people, YouTube serves as their primary digital space to learn and be entertained. Today’s featured IEW graduate, Christian Taylor, is a popular YouTuber who provides his viewers with helpful videos and tutorials about technology. We recently reached out to Christian to learn more about his experiences learning to write with Structure and Style and how his writing education has contributed to his career.
Tell our readers a little bit about yourself.
I was born in San Jose, California, and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, where I still live today. I was homeschooled my entire life. This gave me a lot of opportunities to explore my passions and interests as part of my school curriculum. I discovered my love for videography and tech in my middle school years.
What are you doing now?
I am now a full-time YouTuber and content creator in the tech space. I make weekly YouTube videos about online tech (web design, cybersecurity, and SaaS products) on my YouTube channel, Craylor Made. These videos are a resource for business owners and tech enthusiasts alike to learn about software in their industry.
In what grades did you use IEW curriculum, and what IEW courses did you take?
I started taking IEW classes in seventh grade with two years of Level B courses. After that, I completed Following Narnia: The Lion’s Song, Following Narnia: Aslan’s Country, and a year of writing essays with Structure and Style.
What is your favorite part of IEW?
My favorite part of IEW is the key word outline. I love boiling research down to the essential information. This concept helps me write bullet points for my scripts when I research content for videos. I also spent several years as a writer for a tech blog in high school, and the key word outline helped me produce articles efficiently.
What type of writing do you most enjoy?
I love writing comparison content. There are often many articles or videos about any one software or item, so comparison content leaves room for personal opinion. Writing content on the differences between solutions keeps the research process interesting and exciting.
What connection do you see between your IEW training and your ability to communicate beyond writing?
IEW taught me how to think critically in the research phase. Instead of regurgitating information anyone can find with a basic Google search, IEW pushed me to keep my content unique and original.
What plans do you have for the future where writing and communicating will be needed?
My career will continue to have a significant emphasis on writing and communicating. As my viewership expands, I will start public speaking, and I plan to release additional resources such as an online course or e-book.
What one piece of advice would you give your younger self?
I would tell my younger self that school really is important. I never liked the busy work of school, and I was always annoyed when I had to do a homework assignment instead of whatever project I was more interested in. After I graduated, I started to see the value of the skills I learned in school—especially English and math. Homeschooling offers a great balance of book work and learning practical life skills. I would tell my younger self that there is value in the book work!
With his subscribership currently boasting a community of more than 36,000 people, it sounds as if Christian’s content is definitely appreciated. We are so glad that IEW could help him develop his writing, speaking, and thinking skills, and we look forward to seeing his channel and his career develop!
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Jennifer Mauser has always loved reading and writing and received a B.A. in English from the University of Kansas in 1991. Once she and her husband had children, they decided to homeschool, and she put all her training to use in the home. In addition to homeschooling her children, Jennifer teaches IEW classes out of her home, coaches budding writers via email, and tutors students who struggle with dyslexia. |
