Sunday 8 September 2024

Update Sept 2024

 Why, hello again!


It has been a fair while since I posted anything hasn't it? I would apologise but I think my reasons are fair. Sit back, grab a cup of tea (or coffee - whatever's your preference) while I regale you with a tale..


As I've mentioned, I was doing some training at university, and teaching/writing on my own website. Except, things didn't go exactly according to plan.


Back in 2022, I noticed that my back injury was playing up again. In 2018, I damaged my L1 falling down the stairs (I also managed to shatter my coccyx but what's a coccyx if not an arse, anyway?) while trying to pass a brew to a builder.


I wish I had a better story for that. You tell people you're bedbound with an impact fracture, you want to have a good reason. Fighting a dragon. Stopping a spy while jumping from a motorbike. That kind of thing. But, nope, I slipped on a little plaster and bump-bump-bumped my way down 300-year-old stairs. 


In terms of uni, I completed my academic portion and requested some adjustments (this is a whole thing that I'll come back to once it's resolved). Eventually, though, the pain and exhaustion became too much, and I took some time off. Then, I stopped writing. I spent weeks barely making it out of bed - and the times I was able to left me so wiped out that I had to recover for weeks after.


One year later, constant poking, prodding, peeing into cups and showing nurses where my "good" veins are, I was referred to rheumatology and diagnosed with fibromyalgia and ME. What caused the initial flare-up and exacerbated these illnesses I'm sure will be up for debate - was it physical and mental stress? Viral complications? Was it something I always had but it was never bad enough to explore before now? It could be any of these or a combination of all of the above. But the most important thing is that I am now a disabled woman, and I have to work with that. I was put on medication that completely flatlined my thinking capacity and spent months walking around in pain and having brain fog that wouldn't even allow me to finish a complete sentence. 

As someone whose life revolves around communication, the latter was the most annoying symptom of the illnesses and medication. If there's pain? Well, there's painkillers and musculoskeletal management... or trying not to move on really bad days. But not being able to communicate properly? ARGH!


Suffice to say, this is not an ideal scenario for journalism and copywriting. In all honesty, it hasn't been a great way to enjoy life. 


My OCD reared its ugly head (years after therapy and medication had, I thought, brought it back under control), and I've spent too much time wallowing and being miserable. I've lost friends, found my world becoming infinitely smaller and have also been so lucky as to have my fiancé and my little family to keep me looking forward. To them, I will always remain grateful.


With support from my kids and partner, and the kindness of work colleagues and the knowledge of medical staff, combined with the new friends I've found along the way, I like to think I am making a recovery. I will never be who I was, but don't the years do that to us all anyway? I can't move or think the way I used to, BUT it's all about optimisation. Therapy has been had, tears have been shed, medications changed... and the future I fought so hard for has been adjusted.


As I told my partner, it's not that I'm not strong. It's that I already did the work and already had to fight against insurmountable odds. I want the life I earned back.

There's certainly frustration and sadness in that.


But, luckily, all those prior experiences have only allowed me to harden to pressure and keep moving forward. After all, when you're stuck between a rock and a hard place, sometimes you have to move sideways. This is just another sidestep.


One way or another I will keep writing. How I write may change, both physically and mentally, but I will get back to the road I want to be on.


And, to the readers of this tiny blog, who have followed my works and supported my writings, I thank you for your patience during my absence without leave. You are all wonderful and I hope your years have been kinder than mine. 


I will see you all again - soon, this time.

Thursday 5 August 2021

Articles written June and July

 Hiiii guys!

I'm sorry I didn't update you last month with what I'd written. I was doing my nursing placement on a covid ward - so you can imagine the exhaustion! On the plus side, a considerable number of articles for June were "top-ups" again (in which the editor wanted some articles changed to keep up with SEO needs), but I've added them anyway. There were also a couple of articles that were centred entirely around Amazon Prime - so that was just madness.

On the plus side, I now have my own portfolio on one of these sites. Usually, with copywriting, all work goes under someone else's name (yes, it sucks. But that's the price of continuous work, I'm afraid.) But, I've been working on these sites since 2018, and they finally got new web devs in to add my name to each article I write (and some I don't remember writing, in all honesty).

So, you can see this here:

https://www.mypetneedsthat.com/author/wendy/

For Petside, I guess you'll have to wait and see! But here's some work from this month:

https://www.petside.com/dog-travel-bag/

https://www.petside.com/best-catnip/

https://www.petside.com/best-cat-food-for-constipation/

(As always for this site - lots of buying guides!)

Monday 14 June 2021

Articles Written This Month - May 2021

 Hiya folks!

Whew - I nearly forgot to post something along these lines for last month! My apologies, it's been crazy busy here, as I started my nursing placement. On top of that, my website is picking up the numbers pretty quickly - and I'm SUPER proud of my team for absolutely acing it. 

I know a lot of my readers on here loved to hear about deals and bargains - so I've decided I'm going to start a new series over on The Live Life. This will be dedicated to finding bargains across the internet, which you might love. I've already migrated my Money Matters posts over to that site, so you'll be seeing lots more hints, tips, tricks and lifehacks coming. 

Elsewhere, on the Internet

A lot of last month's works were for edits to existing pieces. So, if products become delisted, or are no longer being manufactured, my clients will often need replacement items, if they're using an affiliate scheme. As such, over 100 pieces went out - but the entirety of each text isn't necessarily my work. I just had to match the original writer's tone and style. So, I won't link to them, as that would be unfair to the other writers. 

Friday 30 April 2021

Articles Written This Month - April 2021

 Hullo!

So, it's been a pretty quiet month, content-wise. Which is mostly because I've been busy with exams and assignments for the masters. Not to mention that you can now find all of my personal work over on The Live Life. We'll get into that, in a little while!


My Pet Needs That:

Do Female Cats Spray?

Busch Wants Your Dog to Be a Taste Tester - I know, I'm amazed by what I get to write about at times, too. 

A Recall of Cat Food in 8 States

Puppy Teething Survival Tips 

Petside

The Ultimate Guide to Washing Dog Toys

Why Do Dogs Drink Toilet Water?

How to Care for Newborn Kittens?


So, what's this about The Live Life?

I'm glad you asked (you're so thoughtful)! The Live Life was something that has been rattling around in the back of my brain for a while. I wanted to create a website that took all the information which is usually targeted toward men, and change it up, for people of all genders. 

Too often, tech reviews are limited to cars and science - which are written for guys, typically. Similarly, entertainment for women tends to be a bit light and airy - based around celeb gossip. While entertainment for men focuses on the game releases, info about who's been cast in films and so on. There's such a clear divide that it has been maddening trying to find something that crosses those divides, without talking down to an audience. 

Enter The Live Life. Here, we'll be taking the high end, data-filled, factual info that you might typically find in National Geographic (for example) and we break it down into easy-to-read lifestyle pieces. Our tech reviews include parenting products and deep-dives into home and garden updates. Our entertainment includes indie games, all the way through to the latest film releases. 

The team behind The Live Life is amazing. Humaam hits everything with a touch of humour, Allie loves to get nerdy about all forms of storytelling, Eloise covers news and lifestyle in an upbeat easy-to-read fashion, Abi gets up-close-and-personal with what she knows best, Stef is a qualified doctor who covers all things tech and medical and then there's me, writing everything else and herding the ducks, as it were. 

If you're able to, we'd love for you to check us out. And - if you're a WordPress user - give us a follow! Even better, shout us out to everyone if you can. We have no budget at the moment, so the work goes entirely from the team due entirely to their passion for their subjects - and I couldn't be more grateful. 

Wednesday 31 March 2021

Articles Written This Month - March 2021

 Hello folks, this month has been super busy. As well as having all of my assignments due in for my masters, I've been working my behind off on a BRAND NEW WEBSITE. This is a labour of love from myself and I'll be going into a partnership with my good friend Eloise, so any and all content that isn't portfolio related will be headed that way, from this point on. 

The best part about this is that we can have other people guest post and write regularly with us, so it's not just my ramblings that you'll be subject to. Feel free to go check it out, and we'd really appreciate it if you dropped a follow, liked our posts and maybe shared it around your friends? If there's any issues with the site itself, let me know. I designed it myself and I'm not an expert with web dev, so I appreciate any issues being raised so I can see if I'm able to correct them. 


Meanwhile, these are the articles that went live this month:

My Pet Needs That:

https://www.mypetneedsthat.com/chow-chow/

https://www.mypetneedsthat.com/how-to-stop-litter-tracking/

https://www.mypetneedsthat.com/scoopfree-self-cleaning-litter-box/

https://www.mypetneedsthat.com/what-breed-is-my-cat/

https://www.mypetneedsthat.com/maltese-dog-breed/

https://www.mypetneedsthat.com/caring-for-animals-after-the-fukushima-nuclear-disaster-how-two-men-defy-the-odds/

Petside:

https://www.petside.com/toygers/

https://www.petside.com/veterinarian-comfort-dog/

https://www.petside.com/doberman-pinscher/

https://www.petside.com/hero-dog-alerts-owner-to-man-stuck-in-icy-massachusetts-pond/

https://www.petside.com/missing-cat-returns-after-20-years/

https://www.petside.com/american-lab-vs-english-lab/


Sunday 28 February 2021

Articles Written This Month - Feb 2021

Howdy folks!

It's that time again, where I quickly brag about the work I've done over the past month. If that's not your kinda thing, please feel free to head over to other areas of the site, such as gaming, thrift or health and wellbeing.  

Petside

Everything you need to know about RV'ing with dogs: https://www.petside.com/rving-with-dogs/

Wondering why your dog is having a go at your blankets? Check out this article: https://www.petside.com/why-does-my-dog-chew-on-blankets/

Read about the joy of silent hamster wheels here: https://www.petside.com/best-hamster-wheel/

Help your dog avoid GDV and canine bloat, by slowing them down when they eat, with these tricks: https://www.petside.com/dog-eats-too-fast/

My Pet Needs That

Learn how to tame a parrot, with my article on the do's and don't of gaining your bird's trust: https://www.mypetneedsthat.com/how-to-tame-a-parrot/

Michael Shaw Photography

I've been consulting on changing up the website for the lovely Dr. Mike Shaw and his nightscape and astrophotography business. His stuff is amazing - and he helps to teach others how to take incredible pictures, with his regular workshops (currently online, due to Covid). He has been an absolute joy to work with, and is a superb listener and teacher - so go check him out!

Star Gifts UK

I've been working with Kirsty on quite a few of her e-commerce sites for a while now, and she's just opened up a new website, which offers personalised gifts. They're based in the UK and handy for whatever occasion you have coming up!

Sunday 21 February 2021

Update: February

Note: If you didn't come here to listen to me prattle, please feel free to check out my other articles. I've got interviews with Roger Craig Smith, Ben Diskin and David Hayter, reviews for games and the game industry or - one of my admittedly favourite topics - money-saving blogs, which start here.

I realise it's been a while since I've been able to bring you some decent content on here, and I apologise for that. I'm currently in the run-up to the busiest time of year for exams and assignments so, as I'm sure you can appreciate, I've been focusing on those. Added to that, placements are coming up and uni seem to be deciding on how those are going to work around the current Covid restrictions. 

I've also been working on my book, which I had to place to one side in the middle of last year, and I'm about 10,000 words in at the moment. I'm currently deciding whether to release each chapter, weekly, on here - or whether I should be soliciting agents and publishers, with a view to releasing it as a standalone product. 

Interestingly, I've also been writing for a mod. Fallout 4 is known for their community-created content, and I'm really looking forward to being a part of that. While the story is still being developed - and I can't wait to share more details with you - it's due to its early stages that it's taking up a lot of my downtime. Of course, being a mod, it's also unpaid - booo. Still, this is just one more appendage blocking the door toward potential success. And let's be honest here, I love being busy. 

Naturally, all of this gets put to one side when I'm with my daughter. Hard to believe she's growing up so fast, but suffice to say I'm so proud of her. And I love that I'm able to do what I do, thanks to the hard work of her dad and stepmum too, so shout-out to those guys. 

So, there you have it - the reason why I'm not pumping out as much content is that I'm pumping out too much content. Go figure. I'll try and get more stuff over to you soon, but it may be that I'm busy until around May. In the meantime, feel free to check through the backlog of articles or go find me on Twitter, where I'm usually distracting myself from the stress of life (or adding to it. It's social media, after all).