Dierdra Zollar
Writer for Mahogany, multiple occasions
Capturing human emotion
Dierdra Joi Zollar can sum up her job as a Hallmark writer in two words: "Good gig.”
"I’m not sure if there is any other thing that I could be doing that would allow me to have the sense of gratification like I do,” she adds. “I am quite humbled and honored by the trust and faith people put in me to handle their deepest emotions.”
From her childhood when she sold stories to relatives for $1 each, words have been an important part of Dierdra’s life. After receiving a degree in English from Florida A&M, and a master’s in literature from the University of Pittsburgh, Dierdra was teaching English at Florida A&M when Hallmark recruiters came to talk to English majors at the college. She listened in and decided to apply for a job herself.
She says that coming to Hallmark was an enlightening experience.
"I just didn’t really appreciate the amount of writing, re-writing, reworking, collaborating, and going back to the drawing board when things don’t work and not just putting it back out in the market,” she notes. “It’s like a constant commitment to making our cards the best we can possibly make them.”
She finds inspiration for her writing in a variety of experiences.
"Wherever I can find it,” she says. “My own experiences, family and friends, popular culture, literature, nature. Pretty much anything and everything in life can inspire a card, because that’s what writers write about.”
When she gets an assignment for a specific card, Dierdra first thinks about the recipient.
"I do a lot of visualization, trying to imagine who is going to get this card, what is going to touch them, trying to put myself in their shoes so I can see if I can move that person. You become that person.”
She adds that it is often the most painful and difficult situations that she finds most inspiring.
"They inspire me the most because those are the ones from which you take your lessons in grace, humility, strength, joy, acceptance, wisdom, understanding, compassion, courage – in other words, all the traits you need to navigate life more successfully.
"It does feel sometimes at the end of the day that I have pretty much poured out my soul on the paper,” she says. “I like that vulnerability.
"I really, really want what I do to make a difference for somebody else,” Dierdra concludes. “That’s why I went into teaching.”
And it’s part of what she loves about her job at Hallmark.
"I’ve been sentimental all my life. I like getting in touch with my feelings and being able to express them. Typically, it’s going to be positive and it’s going to be uplifting, so what can be bad about that?”
Dierdra was raised in Daytona Beach, Fla. She's worked at Hallmark for 7 years.