This fortnight, I performed a story on stage, joined a writers’ group, started brainstorming for the 2024 Hungerford Award, and learnt more about SEO copywriting, and worked on my LinkedIn game.

Once Upon a Time in Freo

One of my very best friends, Patrick McCarthy (who I made Spinning Yarns with Nick & Paddy with) MCs a performance night at Clancy’s called Once Upon a Time in Fremantle. Each set is about five minutes long. People read poems and stories and perform music, and there are no rules. You’ll laugh and cry, and you’re almost guaranteed to see something you’ve never seen before.

Since the first event, my mates had been asking me if I’d get on stage, to which I repeatedly said, “I’m not a performer.” But lately I’ve been trying to better myself, and a few Guinnesses deep during the third event, I decided I’d put on my big boy pants and sign up to perform in the fourth.

That happened on Thursday night. I read a little horror story of mine, and it went really, really well. I surprised myself with my delivery, and it was way more fun than nerve-racking once I was actually on the stage (before it, during the day, I paced my apartment like a madman, of course). I got some great positive feedback, too.

I’d definitely do it again, and encourage you to come down for the next event. It’s a lovely time.

I also joined a writing group at the library this fortnight (or maybe it was the one before). This is the Emerging Writers’ Cooperative, hosted by my new friend Joel, who also performed at Clancy’s. It’s a great little community to be a part of. Super casual, but everyone there is wonderful and very inspired. If you’re even slightly interested in writing, I highly recommend joining us at the library on Thursdays arvos, four till six.

Fiction

Nothing too hectic happened with my fiction submissions this fortnight. Couple of rejections, a few submissions. I honestly spent a lot of time sharpening my writing skills through study, checking out some great YouTube videos and reading some interesting posts, including one on causality.

More importantly, the 2022 Hungerford Award just wrapped up, and I’m pretty bloody keen to put something together for the next one (assuming it’s happening). What I have in mind is a collection of stories set in the same town, a town based on Freo. I’m going to start putting pen to paper next month. Even if I don’t have any luck with the award, I’ll still have a great (hopefully) collection to shop around.

Anyway, here are this fortnight’s stats:

Pending: 10 (5 stories)
Submissions: 3
Rejections: 2
Withdrawn: 1
Acceptances: 0

Copywriting

I’m learning soooooo much about copywriting at the moment, especially SEO copywriting.

There’s way more to it than keywords, and even keyword research is more involved than I first thought. You can’t just find keywords with low competition and high traffic and call it a day. You’ve got to consider things like search intent, keyword cannibalisation, and synonyms. There’s an art to it, a thought process. And you’ve gotta have the right tools.

Unfortunately, the easiest ones to use are also the most expensive. But you can absolutely get by using a combination of free tools. Right now, after refining my process since last week, I’m using these tools in combination:

• Keyword Sheeter — for generating keyword ideas
• The Hoth’s Google Rank Checker — for generating keyword ideas via competitor websites
• Google Keyword Planner — for rough (but recent) volume data
• ahref’s Free Keyword Generator — for volume and difficulty data
• Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool — for literally everything (but with a daily limit with a free account)
• The plugins I mentioned in my previous post — for SERP data and on-page data

I also sunk some serious hours into LinkedIn this fortnight. I’m polishing my profile, making connections, and coming up with a content plan. Hopefully I’ll make some great friends, and hopefully they’ll wanna work with me. There’s no great rush, though, and I definitely want it to happen organically. I’m not going to spam your inbox, don’t worry.

As I mentioned a few posts back, I’m stepping away from writing for Frontier Media’s YouTube channel The Front. Most of the videos for which I wrote the scripts have come out already, but I think a few will trickle through from time to time. None this fortnight, however.

I’m still working with Frontier Media, too, editing scripts for the new writers. I love editing more than writing, I think. Probably because I’m a meticulous little goblin.

Thoughts

This fortnight was definitely one of learning and growth, punctuated by my performance at Clancy’s. I’m proud of myself and feeling super inspired.

Thanks for reading <3

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