matt finch / mechanical dolphin

The joy of copywriting: taking on government garble

May 26, 2012July 26, 2019Mechanical Dolphin

I recently took a contract putting stilted government language into plain speech. I’m rewriting hundreds of web pages covering all kinds of public service – from pest control to parking and schools to recycling.

Public sector copywriting might not sound glamorous, but it’s fun to attack a mountain of jargon and break it down into something clear, friendly, and informative for a wider readership.

I meet a lot of students who want to make a living as a writer. Although there’s a few working on screenplays, many teens imagine themselves growing up to be novelists – solitary, self-reliant figures hunched over a desk, creating a masterpiece which will earn them Rowling megabucks.

Yet the joys of many writing jobs are not solitary but social. Journalism and copywriting both involve getting out, talking with people, communicating and learning.

New article at ScienceWise

May 1, 2012May 1, 2012Mechanical Dolphin

Australian venom expert Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry

My latest article for ScienceWise, on Australian scientists who have tattoos of their own research, appears in print tomorrow, with an online copy visible today – visit the ScienceWise website to read more.

Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry, venom expert at the University of Queensland, is pictured above. He appears in another piece on science tattoos, also coming soon in the Aussie science press.

April update: Science tattoos, teen bloggers, copywriting, and comics

April 23, 2012Mechanical Dolphin

It’s been a little quiet on the blog lately as I ploughed through a swathe of writing assignments and tried (only partly successfully) to stay clear of the Internet.

I have a couple of articles out later this year for the Australian science magazines ScienceWise and Australasian Science, profiling scientists who featured in Carl Zimmer’s book Science Ink. Carl uncovered the weird and wonderful world of researchers who have their work tattooed on their bodies after he spotted a DNA helix inked on the arm of a respected neurobiologist at a pool party in the States. This led to a great book collecting photos of striking, beautiful and downright bizarre science tattoos from around the world.

NaNoWriMo in New South Wales: Australian Update from the Office of Letters and Light

February 25, 2012March 2, 2012Mechanical Dolphin

Stars from Tracy Dawson's NaNoWriMo project in Parkes, Australia

Last year, I ran a number of writing workshops for teenagers in Parkes, New South Wales. I had the privilege of working in a high school with an inspirational teacher librarian, Tracy Dawson. She was willing to let me try unconventional approaches for reluctant writers, like a 6-hour course on “How To Con Your Way to a Million Dollars.”

When I wasn’t light-heartedly promoting the grifter mentality among Australian youth, I encouraged the young writers to sign up for NaNoWriMo, the awesome challenge that sees contestants committing to write a complete first-draft novel in the month of November.

The Office of Letters and Light, organisers of NaNoWriMo, have just interviewed Tracy for their blog:

http://blog.lettersandlight.org/post/18151281043

You can also find Tracy’s recent guest post for my site here.

A drought stricken billabong…or an oasis of cool? News from Australian High School Libraries

February 22, 2012February 26, 2012Mechanical Dolphin

This week we have a guest post from Tracy Dawson, teacher librarian at Parkes High School in New South Wales, Australia.

I first visited Tracy’s library last year while working with the literacy scheme Paint the Town REaD. I was impressed by the vibrant, witty and hip vibe of this rural high school library – a real oasis of unconventional thought and inspiration for local teens.

Tracy did heroic work in 2011: she encouraged a group of teen writers to participate in NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program. In that program, young people commit to writing a long piece of fiction in the month of November. Parkes lacks a tradition of writing and writer’s groups, so Tracy’s success in shepherding four of her students through to completing the challenge is exceptional – especially as November is exam season for Aussie teens! See media coverage of Tracy’s young NaNoWriMo participants here.

Now over to Tracy:

I’ve taught English here at the same Australian state high school for seventeen years and was so passionate about my subject; I never imagined I would change focus.

But a period of time in which I became disillusioned with the education system and society’s attitude to education in general made me rethink my career, and retrain as a Teacher Librarian. I’ve ended up in the same school – the same school I attended as a teenager! – which some people would say is like being stuck in a drought stricken billabong. But a move up the stairs and out of the classroom has invigorated me, my relationship with colleagues and students, my love of literature and my belief that teachers make a difference.

New at Role/Reboot: Matt on Heroism, Masculinity and Elementary School

February 20, 2012February 20, 2012Mechanical Dolphin

You think you know fear?

I was only knee-deep in icy seawater, but that was enough. Beside me, a half-dozen anxious Moms formed a loose human chain. We were trying to cordon off a horde of 6-year-olds, cheerfully running amok at the water’s edge. My eyes flicked around the shoreline, trying to keep track of each and every child. I’d been teaching for less than a year and the safety of these happy, heedless kids was my responsibility.

You think you know fear? Try taking a class of 1^st graders to the beach.

This week on Role/Reboot, you can see my piece The Man Without Fear: Heroism and Elementary School.

Australian National Year of Reading launches with Paint the Town REaD

February 14, 2012February 14, 2012Mechanical Dolphin

Barbie Bates and Rhonda Brain of Paint the Town REaD visit David Bradbury MP in Canberra — Paint the Town REaD comes to Canberra - Barbie Bates & Rhonda Brain visit David Bradbury MP

Australia’s National Year of Reading 2012 was launched today, 14 February, in the capital city, Canberra.

My colleagues Barbie and Rhonda of Paint the Town REaD were on hand to celebrate the launch with David Bradbury, MP for Penrith.

Matt takes on the modern cowboy in TV’s “Justified”

February 1, 2012February 1, 2012Mechanical Dolphin

When I ran workshops for high schoolers at the University of London, I always encouraged the students to discuss gender roles. Whenever possible, I included sessions on Angela Carter, Naomi Wolf’s The Beauty Myth, and the great Leonora Carrington.

Timothy Olyphant and Erica Tazel star in TV's Justified — Two different faces of the US Marshals in Justified

This week, I’ve got a new piece up at the culture and gender site Role/Reboot, discussing the TV show Justified.

In ‘The Marshal and His Women’, I ask if this sharply written show will have a positive impact on definitions of masculinity, or merely perpetuate the same old stereotypes.

You can read my thoughts on Justified at http://www.rolereboot.org/life/details/2012-01-the-marshal-and-his-women-can-tvs-justified-reboot-t

For more on Angela Carter, see my review of a 2010 youth theatre adaptation of her collection The Bloody Chamber, at http://thefairytalecupboard.blogspot.com/2010/05/guest-post-matthew-finch-on-playbox.html