So I seem to have slacked off a little with this blog. And when I say a little, I realise that I haven't actually posted since before I headed off to Iceland... which, although it was only five weeks ago, seems like a significantly long time.
My life has got busy. I mean, even before I left, I knew it was destined to be busy on my return, but now I'm starting to panic slightly about the amount of pies I apparently have fingers in. I'm not overly sure if I have enough fingers. But let's start at the beginning, right? So I can type out my worries and frustrations, get them soundly out of the way, and move on to pastures new (hint: those new pastures are going to involve a lot more writing about more than just travelling!).
First off, I went to Iceland - Reykjavik, to be precise. I was there for two weeks, living in a communal house with plenty of other foreigners, all between the ages of 21 and 30, all cooking together, cleaning (or trying not to), coping with a volcanic toilet, a giant's kitchen and a questionable sulphuric smell whenever we turned the shower water on. It was interesting, sure, but it was also incredible, in every way possible. I met so many new people, saw some unbelievable sights, discovered some amazing new music, and decided that Reykjavik is the bolthole I will always know I can escape to when the going gets tough. Iceland's scenery is so awe-inspiring that if I ever run out of inspiration for writing, I know I can head out to the coast and find some again.
So Iceland was amazing. And in the back of my mind, while I was out there, I knew there was a travel writing competition running in the Guardian, the first prize of which was to journey out to Antarctica and experience the same trek that Shackleton made all those years ago. Within a few minutes of reading the competition outline - max 500 words on an adventure you've had in the past year - I'd decided I had already won, and started planning how many more layers I'd need in Antarctica than I'd packed for Iceland.
Turns out I didn't win. I was a little deflated, especially as it was already in my mental diary. Dates of departure and everything. But on reading the entry from the actual winner, a woman named Lucy Grewcock who had spent two weeks measuring the mouths of baby crocs in the Amazon, it was pretty obvious that she had structured her piece of writing much better than I had - it read like a commissioned piece for the Guardian itself. But no harm done. I realised that by sheer dint of entering that competition, I'd had a valid reason to really focus on a piece of writing, to hone it to the best level I thought I could. I started googling this winner (I can't help myself when it comes to a spot of casual stalking) and discovered that she is, in fact, a verified copywriter, who turns her hand to travel writing whenever she has the chance, and evidently manages to score some seriously reputable trips in the process. It really got me thinking; she'd gone from a degree in geography to teaching, had used that experience to be a trip leader with BSES, the Exploring Society that tragically lost a young member to a polar bear attack in Svalbard this summer, and now writes copy, editorial and journalistic pieces for a whole range of different places. Looking through her work history, I could see the kind of journey she'd taken to get to where she is now, slowly expanding and developing her areas of expertise - and I decided it's not actually too difficult to accomplish.
And so, with this new resolution in mind, I've made a concious effort to do as much writing as possible. It's upsetting that I haven't really had a chance to write anything poetical in a while, but for the time being it seems much more sensible to attempt writing in as many differing areas as possible. I've been interning at a Baby Directory for the past month, writing articles about baby swimming lessons, shape sorter toys and no touch thermometers. It certainly hasn't been as exciting as my Black Tomato internship, but at least there's no end to the writing that needs to be done, however simplistic or brief it may feel. I've also been keeping score of the places I eat at during this internship - Brixton Village Market is a stone's throw away, so I've attempted to visit as many different places as possible to sample their wares - and am in the process of reviewing them all on Qype. And lastly, I'm sending off writing samples to various online magazines, in order to get blogging positions on a regular basis. I've been asked to start writing for the Cultural Expose, a creative listings site for "hip & arty urban adventurers"; four posts a month and I'll soon have a backlist of articles to add to my vague portfolio.
It's time for my lunch break. More busy behaviour to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment