About Me
As a writer with over 10 years' professional experience, I can help you convey your business' message to your audience in a way that is simple and digestible, while being informative and engaging.
I began my career as a journalist, first as a freelance writer for local magazines while studying for my degree in English, then, after graduating with honours, I became a full-time editorial assistant at a luxury lifestyle magazine, before progressing to content writer, then deputy editor at a national hair and beauty title.
Following this, I decided to take the path to become a full-time freelance writer. Since 2017, I have worked with independent businesses, agencies and influencers to create content that captivates their audiences.
Why employ me and not ChatGPT?
I believe we have a moral obligation to keep a human element to business. Your audience is human, so what better way to connect with them than with a human writer? I can write (good) humour; I can make obscure references to nineties pop culture; I can talk about an experience or product in a way that elicits a visceral response from the reader, allowing them to connect with your brand in a way that can't yet be facilitated by AI.
I'm also a brand geek. This means that, when we work together, I become a fan of your brand. From the ins and outs of your audience, tone, style, genre, to graphic elements such as the use of imagery, typography and colour palette, I commit to understanding your branding just as well as you do. This helps me tailor my writing style to fit your business.
Experience
I have worked with a number of different content management systems in a range of formats. The CMSs I have experience with include Wordpress, Blogger, Webflow and Squarespace. I also have experience with Substack, Mailchimp, Shopify, Podio, Trello, Later, and a range of other platforms. I can also learn new software quickly, and adapt to your business' needs.
I have experience writing B2C as well as B2B, in the sectors of: fashion, beauty, lifestyle, travel, pet care, horticulture, psychology, gynaecology, rheumatology, recruitment and human resources.
If you have any questions, please contact me at jenloumeredith@gmail.com
I hope we can work together!
Jen
Friday 29 June 2018
Chocolate DOES make everything better
Friday 22 June 2018
What is gaslighting and has it happened to you?
Gaslighting isn't anything new. In fact, the term stems from a play by Patrick Hamilton called Gas Light, in which the main character Bella is made to feel insane by her husband Jack, who disappears every night and flirts with their servants.
The word has been used to describe behaviour in a relationship where one party tries to manipulate the other's perception of a situation by making them second-guess themselves. For example, in a physically abusive relationship, the opressor may deny that they were ever violent towards the victim, making the victim question themselves. It creates dependency for the victim and control for the opressor, which is obviously toxic in a relationship.
The reason I'm talking about gaslighting on my blog today is due to the amount of media coverage surrounding Love Island's Adam and his attitude towards Rosie. I'm a follower of the show (and I'm not afraid to admit that because I think you can watch something and just appreciate it for what it is instead of trying to rise above it and criticising it when it is obviously trashy TV), and from what I've seen over the past few seasons is the beginnings of some very real instances of emotional abuse. We'll get to Adam later, but we've also witnessed Jonny being controlling over Tyla, Olivia verbally abusing Chris (who was then revealed to have a history of struggling with mental health) and Kady hurling abuse at Tina and Scott (the latter being arrested for assaulting Kady following their departure from the villa).
Some might say that, with all of these negative relationships being portrayed, Love Island is a pretty toxic show. But I think that it's important that these kind of relationships are highlighted and talked about, as creating a dialogue could help people who are struggling in similar relationships get the help they need.
Unfortunately, these situations happen too often, and victims may not even know about it. For example, I was gaslighted when I was younger. I didn't know it was happening, and now looking back I wish I had seen Love Island and read the media coverage so that I could have helped myself.
I was a teenager at the time, and was seeing a boy who had a very close relationship with a girl who he insisted was a friend and made me feel insane for thinking otherwise (and even painted me out to be insane to other people). But I knew that they went on nights out together a lot and texted each other at all hours, and even other people were asking me what was happening between him and this other girl. All the signs were there - lying, denial, and a completely sociopathic lack of empathy for me and how the situation was crushing me inside.
Eventually it turned out that I was right to be suspicious, and I'll leave it at that. But I really wish I had been able to identify this behaviour, or at least had someone 'in the know' to tell me how to deal with it. Instead, people were giving me the old 'boys will be boys' talk, or telling me to 'leave him alone otherwise he'll think you're nuts and leave you' - like it was my fault he was acting like that, and I was pushing him away.
It was a really sad time in my life, and because of that, it really hurts to see it happening to other women. When I watched Rosie pouring her heart out to a stone-faced (and almost smirking) Adam, it reignited that sadness, as well as frustration and anger. Rosie told Adam, 'I don’t think you have any idea how much you’ve hurt me and how much you’ve really upset me. And the worst thing is, I don’t think you care,' whilst Adam tried to make her question her interpretation of his actions towards Zara, before claiming that she pushed him away with her jealousy. Sound familiar? This is the very start of gaslighting, and again Rosie was right to be suspicious as we then saw Adam and Zara kissing later in the show.
If you feel as if this relates to a situation you're in, here are 11 warning signs of a gaslighter, as laid out by Psychology Today:
- Lying about their actions, thoughts or emotions
- Denying somthing they or you did or said, even with proof
- Getting personal (i.e. accusing you of having a jealous personality)
- Gradual worsening of behaviour
- Conflicting their actions with their words
- Throwing you off with a positive comment or action after a series of bad behaviour
- Making you feel confused
- Accusing you of engaging in similar behaviour to distract from their own
- Aligning their or your family, friends or co-workers against you
- Telling others you're crazy
- Telling you everyone else is a liar to make them seem like they are the truthful one
Saturday 16 June 2018 / London, UK
What the hell is up with H&M's sizing?
H&M aren't doing well at the moment. Not only are they one more racist t-shirt away from worldwide boycott, their sizings are just awful.
Here, I'm wearing a polka dot dress from H&M's SS18 collection. You might have seen this on a few bloggers via Instagram. I think it's little bit of a hit, because, well, it's a really pretty dress. But all is not as it appears.
This dress kind of came to me accidentally. I didn't buy it - my sister did. I was round her place about a week ago when she gave it to me, telling me that she bought it as a size 12, took it home and upon trying it on, realised that there was no way it was actually the size that was advertised. It was much, much smaller. To put it in to perspective, I'm a size 8, and it fits me perfectly.
In what world does a 12 translate to an 8? H&M's, I guess. And this isn't the first time I've come across dodgy measurements with this brand. A pair of size 8 jeans I tried on about a year ago made me feel like I was squeezing my legs into extremely tight sausage casing. It was terrible. I think I almost cried ugly tears when I was in the changing room.
Unfortunately this is an ongoing issue with H&M. You might remember a story that surfaced a year ago, when a size 12 girl from Swansea couldn't fit into a size 16 H&M dress. Well, it turns out that the brand's sizes are actually labelled incorrectly. Apparently, they don't abide by standard sizing conversion charts, for some reason. So you're doomed from the start unless you have prior knowledge of their weird system.
Obviously, there's no problem in sizing up for clothing occasionally. You should never have to feel shameful for wearing clothing which is a size larger if that's what fits you. Not all clothing at all stores fits the standard size charts (cough, Miss Selfridge, cough). However, two sizes or even three sizes larger? That's just a joke.
What's been your experience with H&M clothing? I know that all their clothes aren't like this, becuase I've bought things from H&M which have fitted just fine. But this problem is happening all too often... am I right?
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