Maybe it was the fact that as a preschooler I would sit on the floor of my bedroom, pencil in hand and rewrite my Golden Books. Or maybe it was my 5th class teacher telling me that I used "too many describing words". But somewhere along the line, no matter how hard I tried to stamp it down, the writer inside of me grew determined to come out.
I’ve been reading The Illawarra Flame for years. The whole house would look forward to it being delivered to our mailbox and we’d take turns poring over it. There’s something so interesting about reading about your neighbours and I’m a big believer that it's our collective small stories which make our community what it is.
A few years ago, the editor, Genevieve, contacted me to do an interview about Backyard Zoology, a page where I detail the wildlife in and around my backyard through photos and unsurprisingly too many words. I have about 6500 followers on Facebook but at the time it was a much smaller group and so I was thankful for the opportunity.
After the interview, in which I was too nervous to make sense, I went home and not only rewrote Genevieve’s questions but also my own answers before sending it back to her. Little did she know, but she had created a monster. A monster who ended up writing the occasional Backyard Zoology-based article for the magazine before writing and editing the Wednesday digital newsletter.
I have gone from someone who wanted to tell stories but was too scared to make the leap, to writing for Australian Geographic Books, Great Walks Magazine, Discover Magazine, Atlas Obscura and many more, thanks to the support and encouragement from the team at The Flame.
I’ve moved on from focusing solely on wildlife, nature and science writing to telling the stories of people, particularly women, who push their boundaries. And these aren’t necessarily big boundaries or record-breaking feats, although that’s fascinating too. But I like to focus on people who are doing small, interesting things that make their lives and those of others meaningful.
Some of my favourite stories are those that I’ve personally taken part in or that have inspired me to make changes in my own life. Tahlia Russell who created Wild Women of Wollongong inspired me so greatly during our chat that I threw myself into the group and have since snorkelled with sharks and huge stingrays, and made some fabulous new friendships as a result.
I also used the excuse of writing an article as the push I needed to head to No Lights No Lycra, where I danced in the dark with a room full of strangers, something I’d been dying to try but was too terrified to take that first step.
And I loved spending an afternoon with Sasha from Finzah Studio, crocheting and chatting about her boutique yarn store. It’s one of our most read stories and showed me how something that I love doing by myself – crocheting – becomes more magical and more meaningful when done in the company of others.
In a time where we can feel such a disconnect from one another, when AI is impinging on all of lives, sharing our small stories with our own unique voices is more important than ever. I hope you will continue to support The Illawarra Flame as it supports writers like myself telling the stories of our community.
