"Build an audience," advises successful authors and media mavens.
But how?
Tell stories.
What kind of stories do I have that anyone gives a shit about?
Not everyone who hasn't heard should be denied.
What does that even mean?
Stop spiraling, Chas, just start writing...
Alright Stop, Collaborate & Listen
I get weird when I think people expect things of me. My thoughts turn stupid. And maybe that's why I've ignored Dakota Soulshine for the past month and a half. The people were responding, and rather t... ...more
Everything
February 24, 2021•4 min read
Nine Eleven
This is a story I've shared for nine years, lived for 19. Each anniversary, I can feel like I'm right back there, on that very day. ...more
Everything
September 11, 2020•1 min read
I Want to Live
“Oh heavens,” the post begins, followed by self-imposed justification of being too good for Facebook, then rambles every question in everyone’s head about what’s right what’s wrong to do in a worldwid... ...more
Everything
May 21, 2020•5 min read
Feel the Feelings
It's okay to do that you know. Feel the feelings, let them course through you, remembering you're human and that happens and that's okay. ...more
Everything
April 30, 2020•6 min read
Ebbing and Flowing
I've led one helluva life so far, especially for a small-town, poor girl from SoDak. How could Barbie-playing Chasity ever know grad student Chaz would end up in New York City, the city of her dreams,... ...more
Everything
April 28, 2020•7 min read
Travel Bug is Biting
Until I boarded my first plane at age 18, my travel days played out in an 18-wheeler. I loved going on trips in my dad’s big truck. ...more
Everything
April 24, 2020•5 min read
The People We Meet
Three best friends showed up when I needed them. There they stood, with warm smiles and open arms. ...more
Living ,Storytelling &Socializing
April 24, 2020•5 min read
Forts are Fun
QUESTION 10: My favorite place as a child? I grew up in tiny rural towns dotting the prairie in eastern South Dakota, with populations barely breaking a hundred, gravel-road tic tac toe boards encircl... ...more
Everything
April 23, 2020•4 min read
Stuffing the Deck
Dear Self, yesterday was toughest so far, like not okay in my head. Alcohol is a depressant and I consumed plenty of wine the night before so maybe that lingered, dissipating as slowly as the days. ...more
Everything
April 06, 2020•4 min read
Nooks and Crannies
I'm finding it important to have spaces in my home where I can retreat. Sometimes locking the door on my bathroom but also nooks for reading, journaling, working, whatever revives my mojo. It's time t... ...more
Everything
April 01, 2020•3 min read
Young and Restless
Somehow we're all surviving in our own way. Mine is to write. Finding extra time these days. Quick recap: answering questions to trigger stories = an excuse to excavate. ...more
Everything
March 30, 2020•5 min read
Stillness for Now
I remember in the 80's when a tv evangelist claimed the world to end on a specific day and time, and it would have been during the early evening news at my Midwestern prairie home. I was playing with ... ...more
Everything
March 19, 2020•4 min read
Smalltown SoDak
Yale, SD where my grandma, the Queen of Yale, reigned until Jan 2019 at the age of 97, leaving this world across the gravel block from where she entered. Yale is just one of my small-town hometowns, d... ...more
Everything
February 24, 2020•7 min read
Sibling Lovalry
Well, now you’ve “met” the two wonderful people who created this angel *wink* but I wasn’t the only Wilde to exit my mother’s womb. A brother arrived two years before me, then two sisters followed, on... ...more
Everything
February 03, 2020•8 min read
The Silver Fox
Week/Question #3, now we're going deep, talking about my mama bear. We share a blessed relationship. One blog post barely skims the cream that is Grandmalene. ...more
Everything
January 14, 2020•7 min read
a Name is a Name is a Name
>While this blog isn't exactly brand new, it is, new to a new routine, of me posting weekly. I can imagine my mom and my sisters and my aunts and my friends reading my blog. ...more
Everything
January 08, 2020•6 min read
I Ain't No Mainstream Writer
Hey, I’m Chas aka Dakota Soulshine. My purpose keeps poking me to explore my heart and share my ideas, but the demon of vulnerability always interrupts. ...more
Everything
January 08, 2020•2 min read
Just A Rural Cinderella
Maybe Question 1 intrigued you enough to return for Question 2. Maybe you’re just jumping on board, and good for you, you’re still early. Maybe you’re wondering who the hell thinks she’s so important ... ...more
Everything
January 08, 2020•8 min read
Voice, who are you and why are you speaking?
I admit, I turn into an overbearing remote hawk when NBC's The Voice is on. We record it, so any fast forwarding through interviews and commentary irks me and I kindly ask, "Can you please rewind that... ...more
Everything
January 08, 2020•2 min read
Slow Down Turbo
I went skinning this past weekend. Part skiing, part hiking, not part skinny dipping, although I did that afterwards in a hot tub to relieve my tired legs. ...more
Everything
January 08, 2020•4 min read
To Love Well
Because I'm injecting more juice into my life lately, I look for the "Strawberries," as my friend Mary calls them. The little moments that give life more meaning, the moments that feel like they're me... ...more
Everything
January 08, 2020•2 min read
Today, I Turn 45
Because I am choosing to see value in the age 45, I'm playing out my birthday in 45-minute increments. ...more
Everything
January 08, 2020•2 min read
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