At the end of this month, it’ll be 12 years since I published my first blog post. At the time, I was simply picking up a new hobby. Writing for fun after three years of academic writing for my undergraduate degree. I was also eight months pregnant with my second child.

If someone had told me my {poorly written} blog post would eventually spawn a successful writing career – that people would one day pay me to play with words on their behalf – I wouldn’t have believed them. But that’s exactly what happened. Here’s what I’ve learned from 12 years writing online…

  • You Never Get Worse at Something You Practice

Isn’t that a comforting thought? I can look back at my earliest work and cringe or I can choose to celebrate and acknowledge how far I’ve come. I’ve worked on my craft almost every day for over a decade and it shows. I can’t wait to refine and improve my writing even more over the next 12 years.

  • You’ll Probably Never Feel Like an Expert

In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours {or approximately 10 years} of ‘deliberate practice’ to become an expert. Deliberate practice isn’t just ‘showing up’ or ‘doing the work’. It involves goal setting, feedback and disciplined repetition designed to improve skills and mastery.

Gladwell might be right, but how many additional hours does it take for that person to realise they’ve transitioned from novice to expert? Because I’m pretty sure I’ve logged my 10,000 hours and I’m still waiting for the day I feel like I know what I’m doing.

  • There are Pros and Cons to Turning Your Passion into a Career

I am incredibly lucky to spend my days doing something I love. I get paid to write! But that fact has fundamentally changed my relationship with an activity I previously did purely for pleasure. In short, when you turn your passion into a career, you’ve got to keep things fun and interesting if you want your love to endure. And yes, if your hobby is now your job, you need a new hobby.

  • Writing Online Can Feel Like Shouting into a Void

The work I do for clients is a little different, but when it comes to the content I create for my own channels, it can be difficult to gauge how something has been received. Clicks, likes and shares are a useful measure, but nothing beats proper feedback.

In the early days of blogging, when the comment section was the only place people could connect with the writers and creators they loved, that feedback flowed more freely. Nowadays, people are consuming more content across more platforms than ever before. Not only do you have to compete harder for their attention, but they also have less time to engage with the things you create. If I were just getting started, I know I’d find that hard. It takes courage to keep showing up and shouting into the void, but in my experience, perseverance and consistency always pays off.

  • If What You Write Helps One Person, It’s Worth Publishing

And as Bianca Bass says, ‘it’s OK if that person is you’. At the same time, it’s important to realise the impact you have on your readers isn’t always obvious. Sometimes it takes a while to develop, and you must keep writing about a subject if you want your message to sink in.

The internet is also full of lovely people who lurk without ever letting on. Most of them will never tell you your words have made a difference. Sometimes, people wait years before sliding into your DMs to let you know how much a blog post helped them. Rather than relying on external validation, you need to believe in yourself and the things you create. Write what you need to hear, and the chances are you’ll help someone else in the process.

  • Stephen King is Right About Reading

‘Can I be blunt on this subject? If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that. Reading is the creative centre of a writer’s life.’ – Stephen King, On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft

  • And Maya Angelou was Right About Creativity

‘You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.’ – Maya Angelou

  • You Can Learn A Lot from Other Writers

As well as constantly analysing how my favourite writers put words together, I’m fascinated by the practicalities too. Where do they write and for how long each day? What’s their average output? Do they edit as they go? I’ve picked up plenty of tips and tricks over the years simply by studying the rituals and habits of other, more accomplished writers.

  • But You’ve Got to Find Your Own Way of Doing Things

What works for one writer might not work for you. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try a different approach.

  • Writer’s Block is Real and Inevitable

When asked about writer’s block, Chuck Palahniuk said something to the effect of, ‘when you don’t have to take a shit, do you sit on the toilet?’ It’s a sentiment I’m inclined to agree with. Over time, you can learn how to write when you feel like you can’t, but it’s important to realise some days just aren’t for writing and that’s OK. In many ways, non-writing activities are an essential part of the creative process. Your subconscious needs time and space to untangle your thoughts and good ideas need to marinate and rest.

  • You Will Never Remember in the Morning

Those ideas you have just before bed? Write them down. The same goes for ideas that come to you in the shower/on the school run/while you’re cooking dinner. Whether you decide to keep a notebook handy or use one of the various apps available these days, don’t let your good ideas get away.

  • Always, Always Proofread

I almost hit publish on this post with only 11 things on my list. This makes 12.

  • Whether you’re new to the blog or you’ve been with me since the beginning, thanks for reading. Here’s to another 12 years writing online and all the lessons we’ll learn along the way.

Love Audrey xxx

P.S. 7 Questions About Writing and My Career

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Love Audrey
12 Things I’ve Learned from 12 Years Writing Online
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May in photos 🤳

1. Finally, some Franky weather. One of the best things about this month has been dusting off my summer dresses and being able to wear sandals ☀️

2+3. Coronation weekend. So many thoughts 💭 But the food was good! I made a vegan version of my mum’s famous coronation chicken and it was delicious.

4. Jesse staying upbeat during yet another trip to hospital. That steroid buzz though. IYKYK.

5. Some of the food served at the first meeting of Bristol Cook Book Club since 2020. It felt so good to get this going again. I can’t wait for our next feast!

6. Me among the cow parsley, snapped by Jesse.

7. I’ve been thinking about creativity a lot this month while working through the ‘The Artist’s Way’. 

8. Breakfast outside.

9. {Still} scrapbooking December. Fingers crossed I can finally wrap up this project in June 🤞🏻

10. Izzy’s final show at The Tobacco Factory. After tonight, she’ll be done with college {and compulsory education} forever 🤯

We packed a lot into this month. Enough to fill two carousels! This might explain why I’m so tired! I’m looking forward to June though. Everything’s better when the sun shines ✨
@_charlieswift has been raving about ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron for years. I finally caved, ordered the book and agreed to work through the course with her and some other artists. 

The book focuses on ‘guiding you through the process of recovering your creative self’ to ‘help you unleash your inner artist’. It’s early days {I’ve only read as far as week two and I haven’t even started my morning pages yet - IYKYK}, but I’m enjoying the process so far. 

Today I took myself on my first Artist Date - ‘a block of time… especially set aside and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist’. I decided to treat myself to a solo cinema trip to see ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ The film was brilliant and taking time out midweek to do something just for me felt… kind of naughty? And fun! It definitely filled my creative well {again, IYKYK}.

Have you read ‘The Artist’s Way?’ Where would you go on a date with your inner artist?!
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Franky weather ☀️🌅🔆🌻✨

That’s it, that’s the caption.
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April in photos 🤳

1. Our trip to London over Easter was a definite highlight this month. Here’s the obligatory ‘flowers outside Liberty’ shot.

2. Finally! Some sunshine! More of the same please, Mr. Weatherman ☀️

3. Dressed for a day of sightseeing in my new favourite pink jacket. It’s Boden and I bought it in the sale 💖

4 + 5. Scenes from a trip to the big Waterstones in Piccadilly. This poem by @charlycox1 floored me. Crying in a bookshop. Not awkward at all.

6. I was proud of these steps, so I’m posting them here for posterity 🚶🏼‍♀️🥄

7. The Easter holidays also featured lots of lazy days 🎮😴

8. We bought a nutribullet and I’m officially in my smoothie era.

9 + 10. Dinner and drinks at @thecoconuttreeuk with our IzzyBee. Taking your daughter out for cocktails is a season of parenting I’m very much enjoying.

Not pictured: a family funeral and the chest infection I’m still getting over 🤒 How was April for you?
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Easter weekend in my hometown 💃🏼

No trip to London is long enough for me to see all the people and do all the things I want to do while I’m there, but we always manage to pack a lot in. It’s 17 years since I moved away, but somehow it still feels like coming home. Here’s some of what we got up to…

1. Being tourists.

2. Shopping at Westfield.

3 + 4. Hanging out and eating at Southbank.

5. Refuelling in Chinatown.

6. Enjoying the big Waterstones in Piccadilly.

7. Admiring the spring flowers outside Liberty.

8. Visiting the Imperial War Museum for the first time since I was a child.

9 + 10. Seeing Elton John at the O2 with my mama 👓🎹🎤🪩✨

I hope you’ve managed to enjoy the long weekend, whatever you’ve been up to! That sunshine though!☀️🤩
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March in Photos 🤳

1. How it’s going…

2. How it started.

3. My in-laws were involved in a terrible car crash earlier this month. They’re very, very lucky to be alive. It was a horrible time, so I’m grateful there was a happy ending.

4. My husband sent me this photo of a photo from our wedding day while he was visiting his parents. Turns out his mum carries it in her purse ❤️

5. While I was waiting for news from Derby, I took myself out on a walk and ended up in @thesmallcitybookshop. It was like my feet knew books would bring me comfort.

6 + 7. Just spring things.

8. Vegan lemon and almond loaf and a green smoothie from @theorchardcoffeeco 🍰🌱

9. I bought it 🌸

10. Other music? I don’t know her. 

How’s March been treating you? Personally, I’m ready for April and spring PROPER!
There is a past version of me who cannot believe I get to do this every day 💭📝💻

She’s around 12yrs old, working on her first novel in a little ring-bound notebook, dreaming up stories, devouring books and trying to imagine a life filled with words. Everything that makes my business possible now barely existed then, so even she’d struggle to conjure up  an image of what my life looks like now.

I’m grateful that I get to do this, for the clients who trust me to find the right words, and I’m grateful to that past version of me too. Without her, I wouldn’t be here now. Sure, she’d probably want me to hurry up and get back to that novel, but I think she’d be proud of the business I’ve built and the way I’ve managed to create a life filled with words.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
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Lockdown memories, three years on 🦠⏳

Very little of my life made it on to the grid in 2020, so this is the first time I’ve shared these images. They’re all from the first lockdown and most were taken between March and May. I think the arrival of spring will always remind me of this strange time.

When Boris made his announcement on the 23rd, our children had already been out of school for a week. Jesse, who was initially deemed clinically vulnerable, spent the next 6m shielding. He left primary school one day not realising he’d never go back. He did not see another child his age until the summer. Like many kids and adults in the same situation, the experience had a deep impact on his mental health. 

Izzy was in Year 10. As the pandemic raged on, she did most of her GCSEs online, celebrated her 16th birthday via Netflix Party, finished secondary school with minimal fanfare and missed out on prom completely. When she finally had a normal night out with friends in the winter of 2021, I cried quietly in the kitchen when she got home. Seeing her so happy and animated after a simple ‘cheeky Nando’s’ only highlighted everything she’d missed out on in the previous 18 months.

It’s easy to forget how little we knew about the virus in the beginning and how frightening that was for everyone involved. We had it easy in comparison to some, but I still marvel at the way we coped with it all. The way we isolated, home schooled and kept our businesses ticking over. My goodness it was hard! As my children often joke, I hope we’re done living through major historical events for a while.