Before diving into tech—she currently manages the content team on Google’s Ads products—Kristen House taught college students to write and to read literature closely. She is the founder of A Novel Idea, a nonprofit organization that teaches young people ages 12 to 18 to write novels during their summer breaks, and she loves the written and spoken word. “I believe communication is the answer to most of life’s questions,” she says. Oh, and she reportedly bakes a mean apple pie.

We look forward to getting better acquainted with her at In/Visible Talks 2020, where she’ll join Joscelin Cooper on the main stage to discuss “Content Strategy: A Transformational Lens”. Together they’ll look at how content strategy is applied to product design and organizational communications, with a foray into how the right words and messages can transform critical moments of one’s personal life.

Till then, here are some of the things that inspire Kristen.

What is your relationship to the creative process?

“Daily commitment. Like a marriage.” 

When did you first realize you needed to be in a creative field?

“Oh, I’ve always known. My childhood bedroom walls were filled with words I’d scrawled in the night when I woke from dreams. I painted and drew and sang and wrote all the things that I loved and feared. Every day, I practice rolling a single moment around in my mind until it’s smooth like a stone. And then I write it down.”

How or where do you find inspiration?

“In the quiet. In moments of grief and change. By finding the sore spot and pressing into it until I can find why it hurts. In the celebration of the small and wondrous moments that make this one single life worth living and sharing.”

What was one of your biggest creative challenges?

“Finding time to create things while I was starting my young family. I have four small children (ages 4 to 12), and their big lives demand a lot of my mental space.”

Who is one of your heroes and why?

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg, because she exercises more than I do. 😉 ”

Bonus Round: What are you reading now?

“I Miss You When I Blink, a collection of essays by Mary Laura Philpott.”