ECLECTIC STORYTELLING
I often call myself an eclectic storyteller, pulsing at the chance to write strategic SEO copy for a home builder one day then diving into a non-fiction essay on media rhetoric the next. So, while the work I do is ever changing, what I bring to each piece is myself and my craft.
My goal as a writer is to connect people in the commonality of this human experience. My expression of this goal however will be ever changing as I am ever changing.
My vocabulary will grow as I read, listen, and absorb more; my ideas will become focused and then directionless in odd synchronicity; my life will be full of meaning and ego, then arbitrary and scaled back like an advertising agency during a recession scare. I will give focus to a particular cause and then abandon it with a heavy heart or a facetious wave. Because humans are faulty and nothing about us is permanent - especially not the expression of our craft.
To write, for me, is to breathe. To find peace. To learn by doing. To share and to connect.
EDUCATION
2017 - 2019
A Master’s of English in Transnational Creative Writing from this university came with a two-year experience in Stockholm. My passion for non-fiction writing only got fiercer as each sentence was given the opportunity for nuanced expression; treated as a unique 'unit of energy' as Charles Johnson puts it.
2016 / 2017
I completed UWA's Writing Essentials 12-week course online. Across 2016 / 17, I also completed a collection of practical writing workshops via the university's Extension program; learning craft-changing techniques from career writers.
2004 - 2008
A Bachelor of Communications with a double major in PR and advertising, and a minor in marketing. This degree was my first dive into a "career" path that combined writing with mass communications, media, and business strategy.
Work history
My writing career began in 2014 alongside a historic (almost a decade justifies the term 'historic') stint in advertising, marketing, and PR. I worked for some inspiring, award-winning agencies and clients; learning how to think strategically and write a single-minded creative brief with direction and intent. As an account director I also gained an insight into business management which I have taken into my own business as a freelance writer. Actually, I have pretty much taken everything I learnt during my time as a 'suit' into my writing career. Okay, maybe not the whole hierarchical, consumerism forever mentality - but my time management is second to none.
I can also recognise a compliment sandwich when I hear one, and that kind of knowledge is invaluable!
My work in mass communications really did set me up to become a writer. The expression of an idea into a creative execution is not something that just happens. The work behind the scenes, so to speak, matters a great deal and forms the basis of great creative work. The research and strategy are what give you a proposition to work from; you start to visualise the readers and their needs. The work becomes less about you, the writer, and more about that thing you want to leave behind. As my mum says (I actually think Maya Angelou said it first but who's counting), "People don't always remember what you say but they always remember how you make them feel."
In my creative work, there is certainly less strategy involved as the white-knuckled 'career' grip is relaxed to make room for an abundance of humanness. But, for me, the readers are never lost. They always matter and I always look to build a connection through my words, my eclectic storytelling.
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