Family Ties: Based on a true(ish) story

One of the biggest challenges you can face with an audience is user fatigue. People don’t want to read the same messages, hear the same stories, see the same images—but they do wan’t to feel related to.

I wanted to come up with a concept that tapped into the way people use WhatsApp organically every day. It needed to be equally relatable and attention-grabbing. I am one of three daughters and I remember that growing up, anytime my mom left the house it was chaos and drama for my poor dad—even though he did his best.

And with that inspiration I wrote Family Ties: The short story of a dad getting his energetic daughter ready for pre-school while mom is away on a business trip. Ultimately, he uses WhatsApp to get a how-to tutorial on doing her hair, creating a very real, very wholesome moment.