Three-part Essay Series on Branding and Social Media, Publishing Essay #1 March 12, Essay #2 March 17, and Essay #3 March 24

A brand is a promise and value created for those using a product or service. For example, customers value Yeti’s superior coolers, drinkware, and bags and the brand’s focus on the outdoors and family. Similarly, authors and readers value Intrepidus Ink’s variety, action, and triumphant story endings. Our audience appreciates our tales of danger, struggle, emotion, and overcoming. In short, “intrepid culture” illuminates our brand and differentiates us in the marketplace.

WHAT IS INTREPID CULTURE?

Our brand focuses on how narrators navigate danger while struggling to achieve specific goals, and is overcoming and inspiring. Some may say that danger is subjective because it can be physical or metaphorical. (True.) Still, Intrepidus Ink’s founding vision is to publish stories about narrators taking action despite the risks.  

WHAT IS AN INTREPID STORY IN PRACTICE?

Sean McNicholl’s literary fiction “My Name Is Andy,” published January 29, 2025, exemplifies intrepid culture in a boy’s quest for courage. McNicholl masterfully captures the reader’s attention through foreshadowing, arc, and a pinpointed focus on the narrator’s brave pursuit.

Andy, a youth, bicycles to meet a stranger a friend has said can solve Andy’s problem. If the stranger-danger implication is not enough, we soon learn the stranger is a witch. Andy actively makes decisions–and takes action–in direct conflict with his well-being. Readers silently urge Andy to back away from the stranger’s cottage. Yet, despite the risks, he presses on: “I near turned and ran down the lane, leaving the bike to rust and rot in the hedge, but Paudie had swore blind that she’d be able to help, so I pushed the gate open.” Here, we find the elements of foreshadowing, struggle, and notably, danger, a particular hallmark of the intrepid culture brand.

As the story progresses, we learn about Andy’s situation. Spoiler alert: You will cry. Few short fiction authors grasp emotional writing like McNicholl. When asked in his live X interview (2025) how he tackles issues of the heart, he said, “I like to use innocence and vulnerability in stories to heighten emotional resonance, alongside believable, authentic characters with high stakes. Sensory details and relatable content help to immerse the reader and so emotional triggers hit harder.” Indeed, McNicholl’s concrete details shift the story to high-stakes danger when Andy returns home. He must navigate a tricky line between his volatile father and protecting his mother. During a tense moment, Andy’s dad “Raised a finger and drew it across his neck, but [thinks Andy] I wasn’t scared no more…” Things look grim for Andy, and we hold our breath, yet his emerging strength gives us hope.

McNicholl embraces intrepid culture and never loses focus on the story’s goal, which is to inspire. His perfectly foreshadowed character pays dividends when Andy dials an emergency operator, saying, “My dad is beating us…” Because McNicholl presages Andy’s grit in the opening, we utterly believe the boy’s transformation when it arrives. You must read the story to discover it fully and how it illuminates this intrepid and inspiring story. 

IN CLOSING:

Our brand–our promise–is intrepid culture: stories of alarmingly individual narrators who fight to achieve high-stakes goals and who overcome and make readers cheer. 

We want to share your Gutsy Words with the world, but we can do that only if you send us your stories. Submissions are open now at www.intrepidusink.com. 

Next week we’ll discuss personal brands and how to develop yours. 

Resource:

McNicholl, S. (2025, January 29). “My Name Is Andy.” Intrepidus Ink. https://intrepidusink.com/my-name-is-andy/