Tag: Writer

Copywriting, Feature Writing

February 2023: some recent writing work

DorkyMum

Black text that reads 2023 on a great background

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful, restful break over the festive period, and you’ve started 2023 feeling enthusiastic and energised!

Here in Tasmania, schools only went back a couple of days ago. While I did manage a few bits and pieces of work over the holidays, it’s nice to be getting those longer stretches of uninterrupted and focused time again.

I thought I would share links a few recent pieces of work. It’s great fun having this blog to look back on and remind myself of what a variety of projects I do each year.

*

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Copywriting

Copywriting for CSIRO

DorkyMum

Photo shows a black background with a pencil on the left, and the text 'Three recent pieces I've written for CSIRO'

The last few months have probably been the busiest I’ve had since starting work as a freelance writer.

I keep thinking I’m going to get a week or two away from my desk, but every time I near the end of one project, another opportunity pops into my inbox. It’s a really lovely problem to have, and I’m feeling very lucky!

Most of the writing I’ve been doing has been behind-the-scenes work for clients. Some ghostwriting, a few websites, and lots of fact sheets and brochures. Not so much editorial work recently. Continue reading “Copywriting for CSIRO” →

Copywriting, Writing

Celebrating World Water Day

DorkyMum

A screenshot from the Hydro Tasmania website showing a blog post titled 'It takes a village'

 

Monday 22nd March was World Water Day – a valuable opportunity to reflect on how lucky we are here in Tasmania to enjoy an abundance of water, and also a time to acknowledge that not everyone in the world is so fortunate. Continue reading “Celebrating World Water Day” →

Copywriting, Feature Writing, freelance life

A New Year: Open for Business

DorkyMum

Decorative flat lay with the text 'Happy New Year' in the centre

You know you’ve been busy when you don’t get a chance to write a ‘Happy New Year’ blog post until the first week of March.

It feels a bit late to be posting a detailed roundup of the projects I worked on during 2020, so I think I will skip that annual tradition other than to say thank you so much to all the clients and editors who chose to work with me. Continue reading “A New Year: Open for Business” →

Copywriting, Feature Writing, freelance life

How to get out of a writing slump

DorkyMum

Image of crumpled paper in a bin and wording 'How to get out of a writing slump' by Ruth Dawkins

Write a content calendar, they said!

Plan a year’s worth of blog posts in advance, they said!

So, I did, and yet somehow it’s May 7th and I’m only now publishing the post that I’d planned for early April… I’ve had two big copywriting projects on the go, both of which required me to work through the school holidays, so when I did have spare time it felt much more important to spend that with my family rather than tinkering away in the back of my website.

However, school is now back, my diary is a little more under control, and I’ve got a chance to share this post that has been sitting in note form in my drafts folder for several weeks.

Somewhat ironically, given how busy I’ve been, I decided that in April I would write about how to get yourself out of a writing slump. Continue reading “How to get out of a writing slump” →

Copywriting, Feature Writing, freelance life

Should you ever write for free?

DorkyMum

Caption 'Should you ever write for free' above dollar bill

The question of whether a professional writer – or an aspiring professional writer – should ever write for free is one that comes up regularly in online groups and discussion forums, and it always provokes healthy debate.

One camp says no, never, absolutely not. A writer should never write for free: we should value our time and expertise; by completing work without payment we’re undercutting other writers; and besides, no-one can pay the rent with ‘exposure’.

The opposing camp would say that writers – especially those who are new to the business – need to build their experience and portfolio and writing for free is often a good way to do that.

Ever keen to find a compromise, I find myself sitting somewhat awkwardly between the two camps. Continue reading “Should you ever write for free?” →

Reading

My Top 10 Books of 2018… so far

DorkyMum

Top 10 Books of 2018 So Far Ruth Dawkins

My husband and I were lying in bed reading the other night and I could feel him giving me a sideways glance.

“Is that another new one?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “Why?”

He made a face at me.

“You read so much. It’s like… it’s like an OBSESSION.”

I can’t understand is why that’s supposed to be a bad thing, can you?!

I read much in the same way that I eat: quickly, and with great delight. But I’m much more choosy about my reading material than I used to be. Whereas I used to wander into a bookstore and choose whatever was included the 3 for 2 offer, now I only let myself buy things from a carefully curated wishlist. Life’s too short for bad books.

So far in 2018 I’ve read 28 books: 18 fiction and 10 non-fiction; 21 by women, 4 by men and 3 anthologies that were a mixture of both. Two of the books were slightly disappointing – not because they were bad, but because they weren’t what I was expecting – but the others have all been fabulous. I thought I would recommend some of my favourites here.
Continue reading “My Top 10 Books of 2018… so far” →

Copywriting, Feature Writing

6 Tips for Editing Your Own Writing

DorkyMum

Ruth Dawkins: 6 Tips for Editing Your Own Writing

One of the biggest differences I’ve found as I’ve started to expand my writing life to include copywriting as well as features is that as a copywriter you need to be your own editor.

Obviously if you want to make a living from writing you always need to submit your most polished work. Regardless of whether you’re sending it to an editor that you have a longstanding relationship with or a brand new corporate client, you don’t want it to come back covered in red pen.

But while an editor will have a lot of experience helping writers shape their work, copywriting clients often don’t – they’re hiring you to get the words right – so you need to develop the ability to cast an editor’s keen eye over your own work.

There are a few tricks and tips that I use to help with this, and I’m sharing them with you below. Continue reading “6 Tips for Editing Your Own Writing” →

Feature Writing

September 2017 Writing News

DorkyMum

 

Sunbeams in Hobart Tasmania

This September marked four years since our arrival in Tasmania.

I wrote a post for my DorkyMum blog about some of my thoughts and feelings about that celebration, which also falls around the time of our tenth wedding anniversary. Along with the lighter days and warmer spring weather, there have been lots of reasons to celebrate!

Work-wise September was one of those months that felt very busy with lots of little tasks. I wrote a good few posts for my own website, including recommendations for the best places to read personal essays, a list of useful resources for Australian writers and a lighthearted piece about my obsession with reading. Continue reading “September 2017 Writing News” →

Feature Writing

The Lifted Brow: More than MOFO

DorkyMum

The Lifted Brow logo

I’m really pleased to have my first piece published with The Lifted Brow online this week. It’s a guide to some of the fantastic activity that is taking place in Tasmania’s vibrant, innovative arts scene. If you’d like to read it, head over to TLB.

More than MOFO: A Tour Guide to Tasmania’s Thriving Regional Art Centres.