Who are you?
My name’s Jess and I’m a British national currently living in Norway, where I try to assimilate into the general population by drinking far too much black coffee and praying that they don’t discover that I can’t actually ski.
Professionally, I work as a freelance translator (Norwegian/Danish/Swedish into English), proofreader/copy editor and copywriter.
Unprofessionally, I am a tap dancing Lindy Hopper, a watcher of horror movies from behind big cushions, and an avid believer in an oncoming zombie apocalypse.
Why start a blog?
The main reason I’m starting a blog is so that I have something to work on between freelance jobs in order to stave off the existential dread that comes with being my own boss in this current economy.
However, if I’m being brutally honest, I’ve actually been thinking about starting a blog for over a year now. However, like most things in my life, I was only spurred into action by indignation.
One day, I was lazily researching potential blog names and I came across a quote from a man named Jose Francisco de Isla:
“Why should it not be said, she was not a common woman, but a geniusess and an elegant writrix?”.
Jose Francisco de Isla, a self-declared Expert in common women
As soon as I had read this, I knew it was my responsibility – nay my duty – to prove to Mr. de Isla that it is in fact possible to be both common and a writrix. Thus, “A Common Writrix” was born (or, at least, finally had a domain name).
What do you write about?
As a translator and writer, thinking about language and culture is a big part of my daily life. Not all those thoughts necessarily merit a blog post – however, no doubt a lot of them will end up that way (for better or worse).
But since this is my blog and I am the editor, there is no one stopping me from writing about my other interests. Therefore, you’ll probably find everything from my life as a British person in Norway and travel, to sustainability and feminism, to horror movies and personal rants.
In the interest of navigability (and reader sanity), my posts will all be categorised. That way, you should easily be able to find what you’re interested in and can skip over what you’re not (unless, of course, you’re a family member or personal friend, in which case you’re honour-bound to read everything regardless).
Where else are you online?
If you want to find out more about my professional work, you can check out my website.
I am also a guest contributor to the blog “Life in Norway”, where I write about all things Norway/Scandinavia related. You can check out all my posts here.