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Copywriting, freelance life

October 2026: some recent work

DorkyMum

Everyone has a story

I’m not sure whether I’m proud or embarrassed that this is only my second update of the year – and my first since June.

I suppose I’m slightly embarrassed that this work blog has been so neglected (although I’ve been writing up a storm over on my personal blog DorkyMum!). But I’m also proud of being so busy with projects that writing a post on here has carried over on my to-do list from one week to the next… and then the next… and then the next.

Not all of my recent work is something that I can include in a portfolio.

For example, I am on one of the judging panels for the Tasmanian Literary Awards this year – a fun but time-consuming task that involves reading almost 40 books in seven weeks and taking notes on them for discussion with the other judges, before making some very big decisions. I hope that once the process is over I’ll be able to write more about it, but for now I’m bound by a confidentiality agreement and can’t say a word about what I’ve been reading. It has felt more like ‘work’ that I had imagined, to be honest!

Continue reading “October 2026: some recent work” →

Copywriting, Feature Writing

June 2026: some recent(ish) work

DorkyMum

Well, this year seems to have run away from me!

Shockingly, this is my first work update of 2026. My year started with a beautiful family holiday to Aotearoa New Zealand and since then it has been a constant stream of projects, ranging from short blog posts and social media captions, to mid-range features and articles, and a few much longer reports.

As a copywriter, quite a lot of my work is behind the scenes and comes without a byline, but I’ll share a few pieces below to showcase the diversity of clients and projects I’m lucky enough to have!

Continue reading “June 2026: some recent(ish) work” →

Reading

2025: My year in reading

DorkyMum

Photo shows a close up of a book with the pages fanned out, and the text '2025: My year in reading'

It’s time for one of my favourite annual traditions: a roundup of the reading I’ve done this year. Some of you have followed along with me on my Instagram account, which has been lovely. If you haven’t found me on there and you’d like to, please do come and say hello.

In 2025, I read 100 books. Of those, 51 were fiction, 46 were non-fiction, and three were poetry. I also logged six DNFs – which, by my own rules, only count if I made it at least 50 pages in before admitting defeat. Anything abandoned earlier than that doesn’t make the list at all.

Compared with previous years, this has been a slightly lighter reading year overall. ALMOST LIKE THE WORLD HAS BEEN REALLY MESSY AND I’VE SPENT TOO MUCH TIME DOOMSCROLLING LOL. Continue reading “2025: My year in reading” →

Copywriting, freelance life, Writing

2025: a final work update

DorkyMum

Image reads as follows: 21 clients + 59 unique projects + Too many words to count + 40 invoices (Only some of which needed a gentle nudge for late payment...) = I tired but very grateful freelance copywriter celebrating a full and fulfilling 2025. Thanks so much to everyone who made it possible.

The 2025 work year is over me – so I thought I would pop one final blog post up on here.

First, to say thank you very much to all the clients who have supported my little business this year. I am so grateful for the opportunities you have sent my way, and hope I have done your projects justice.

Continue reading “2025: a final work update” →

Copywriting, Feature Writing, freelance life, Writing

August 2025: some recent work

DorkyMum

It’s been a few months since I did a post about my work projects, so I thought I would pop on here and share a few links!

Firstly, a thank you to Brand Tasmania, who continue to be one of my most regular clients – and also one of my favourites! My work for them involves taking interview transcripts and turning them into profiles. Sometimes there are a few as part of a series – women in sport, or healthcare workers – other times it’s just an inspiring individual who in some way captures what it means to be Tasmanian. My recent profiles have included:

Continue reading “August 2025: some recent work” →

Copywriting, Feature Writing, freelance life, Writing

ChatGPT and me: a commitment to my clients

DorkyMum

 

I’m in a lot of writer groups online, and there’s one topic that seems to come up almost daily at the moment: ChatGPT.

The conversations around it are wide-ranging and often passionate. Some writers won’t go anywhere near it for ethical, environmental, or creative reasons. Others have fully embraced it, and are open about how they have incorporated it into their workflow. Some use it quietly, without disclosing it to clients. And some are using it against their better judgment, simply because clients expect or require them to.

It’s clear we’re still in the early stages of figuring out how AI fits into creative and professional writing. There are strong opinions and no settled norms – and as freelancers, it’s up to each of us to take an individual position that we are comfortable with.

For me, that decision is clear: I don’t use ChatGPT for client work.

Continue reading “ChatGPT and me: a commitment to my clients” →

Copywriting, Feature Writing, freelance life

April 2025: some recent work

DorkyMum

Hello everyone, I hope you’ve all enjoyed a break over the Easter weekend.

If you’re anything like me, you’re now racing to get a week’s worth of work done in three days before the next public holiday on Friday! Perhaps instead I should just give myself over to some enforced rest and pick things up next week when school goes back instead…

While I do have a moment spare, I thought I would share just a few links to some of my recent work.

Continue reading “April 2025: some recent work” →

Copywriting, Feature Writing, freelance life, Writing

Cheerio 2024, hello 2025!

DorkyMum

It’s that wonderful week between Christmas and New Year when there are few demands on my time, and still plenty of festive snacks left in the fridge.

I always find this period to be both relaxing and productive. Without any work obligations, I can tackle some of the other things that need doing around the house – all the paperwork tasks and chores that sit on my to-do list for six months, but take only ten minutes when I finally get to them… leaving plenty of time for an afternoon nap.

In order to put 2024 firmly behind me, I thought I’d pop up a quick blog post to share some links to my final few published pieces of the year.

Continue reading “Cheerio 2024, hello 2025!” →

Reading

2024: My year in reading

DorkyMum

It’s time for one of my favourite annual traditions! A roundup of the reading I’ve done this year. 

There are still a few days to go, and I’m about halfway through Salt Houses by Hala Alyan. I’m expecting to finish it by New Year, so that will bring my 2024 book total to 103 books. That’s slightly down on the previous few years, but there were some big chunky novels in there and fewer poetry collections, so I reckon my reading pace remains unchanged.

Of those 103 books that passed through my hands, 46 were fiction, 50 were non-fiction, five were poetry and one was a hard-to-categorise anthology of images and words.  Continue reading “2024: My year in reading” →

Copywriting, Feature Writing, freelance life

October 2024: some recent writing work

DorkyMum

Hello friends,

I hope the year is treating you well. We are very happy to be moving into spring here in Tasmania – the warmer, lighter days are a delight after a very wet and windy winter. I no longer have to shove a hot water bottle up my jumper when I’m sitting at the desk in my home office!

Since it’s been a couple of months since my last post on here, I thought it was time to share a few more links to pieces I’ve worked on recently. So, here goes.

Almost all of these are articles that I’ve written for CSIRO, but they’re on a very diverse range of subjects so hopefully there will be at least one that piques your interest!

Continue reading “October 2024: some recent writing work” →