Create Not Consume: A Challenge for August
A few days ago I was flicking through Instagram Stories when I saw one from Sara Tasker, aka. Me and Orla. It was an answer to a question someone had asked her about how to become a better writer (or at least I think that was the original question). Her answer was...
Writing as an Adventure
About five or six years ago I think, I went to an event at a lighthouse in East London (this was the sort of thing I did quite regularly while I lived there). It was called the Lost Lectures, and while we sat on inflatable rubber rings on the floor, six people gave...
I don’t know what my future will look like
I spent last weekend down in Cornwall with a few friends, and while there I had a conversation that made me realise something: I have no idea what my future looks like. I was walking along the coast path with one of my friends, and we were chatting about her life....
CLOSING THE GAP: Veganism and an online spat
In my newsletter this week (not signed up yet? Do so here) I mentioned very briefly the online scuffle about veganism between Made in Chelsea’s Lucy Watson and food writer Ruby Tandoh. It started when Lucy tweeted: “If you’re against animal cruelty, like most people,...
Coming Home
I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine, who I met in Bali. At the time we were both living the digital nomad dream; Instagramming our rice-field facing desks, riding our scooters to jungle over-hanging pools or hidden water temples at the weekends, and...
There Are Other Ways
When I left university at 22, I thought there was only one path I could take: move to London, do some work experience, and then accept the first job that was offered to me. I knew nothing of digital nomadism, working freelance or entrepreneurship. I didn’t...
Lessons learnt from my first nine months as a digital nomad, and freelance writer and editor.
When I left the UK in early January for Bali, I had just one goal: to make the digital nomad lifestyle sustainable. I knew from pretty early on last year that I did not want to return to London and conventional full-time employment once my travels were...
Why you should take part in NaNoWriMo
I have a confession to make. When I worked at a literary agency in London I hated NaNoWriMo. My Twitter timeline would be flooded with people talking about it all November, and then once the month was over, my inbox flooded with the results. It used to irk...
How to Get Creatively Unblocked
This paragraph in The Artist’s Way is the most heavily underlined and starred in my whole copy of the book: “Shadow artists are gravitating to their rightful tribe but cannot yet claim their birthright….Shadow artists often choose shadow careers - those...
You don’t have to create something good, in order to create.
When you were younger did you ever just spend the afternoon with a big box of crayons and a pile of white paper? Or open your own “Mud Cafe” in the treehouse in your garden, serving a selection of delectable offerings made from different coloured dirt,...