Tell My Story is still only just over four months old, but off to a great start. It can read, write, walk and talk, already! It looks set to be a precocious toddler…

It was born at the height of the pandemic, but of course lockdowns and restrictions on movement are no problem for a writer. If anything, there are benefits to be drawn from the situation — more stillness, more concentration, and beyond that, a growing awareness worldwide that we increasingly communicate in words, onscreen — that our messages count.

For me, these early months have brought a fascinating variety of writing tasks, from charting the entire life story of a translator for a profile, to writing the web copy for an artisanal soap manufacturer, and from creating the LinkedIn profile of an Afro-European entrepreneur to crafting an artistic statement for an abstract artist, capturing her vision and her techniques. Other engaging projects have included web copy for a translator wishing to branch into cultural consulting in her native Egypt, a letter of motivation for a high-powered international NGO job and the website for a physiotherapist specialising in circus acrobats and athletes!

What unites all of these diverse texts is the presence of a real person at the core. A world away from corporate mission statements, or screeching copy to sell discounted widgets, these interactions involve in-depth interviews with my clients, based on questionnaires that seek to tease out their vision, their style and their personality, enabling me to write something that fits them perfectly. 

It was not by chance that I set out to create Tell My Story based on the tagline “Writing for real people”. My work is all about that close human encounter, that attempt to understand, define and capture, promote, and sometimes even shape… There are times, for example, when certain clients come to me with a diffuse and rather vague project, and we work together to map out exactly what they want to offer, and why. We also, crucially, identify the motivations, needs and challenges of their target reader. As a result, my clients often emerge not only brandishing a shiny new text but with a clearer sense of purpose, and stronger motivation than ever before.

It’s detailed, painstaking , introspective work, but in each case, the aim is the same: to produce a text my clients can’t wait to share. And above all, one that produces results — gets them that job offer, new eyeballs and engagement, or new clients.

And if the testimonials scattered across this page are anything to go by, then we’re on target!