In 2022, siblings-in-law Kelly Lytle and Gabby Valentine were feeling the effects of pandemic isolation.

We spent long afternoons together writing on a porch in Ohio City, and soon the idea came to us: writing as a communal act.

Story Wars was born from the idea that shared storytelling creates authentic human connection, and that creativity belongs to all. It doesn't matter if "you're not a writer,” because we all have a distinct story, a voice, a point of view. 

Our goal is to democratize creativity and encourage spontaneous creative action.

Story Wars events are designed to remove the second-guessing, questioning, creator’s block, and everything else our heads do to stop our hearts from saying what they need to say.

In 2023, event-goer-turned-team-member Genevieve Santos-Miller officially joined our team as marketing extraordinaire. Since then, our holy trinity has built Story Wars into a home for creative spontaneity, inclusive community, and proactive creativity. 

We have traveled the country hosting live writing events for organizations big and small, from indie authors to insurance adjusters. And we’re not stopping anytime soon. We host multiple events each month in our hometown of Cleveland, OH, and are always looking for opportunities to spread the Story Wars bug.