How do you feel about being wrong? rewrites.rachelextance.com/we-need-to-b... #amwriting #blogging #musings

#CreativeWriting #AuthorLife #Storytellers #amwriting #writingcommunity

I'm attempting to blog daily again. I did this about 8 years ago and managed it for about a month so this is not a promise or a pledge. It’s a device to get me over a mental roadblock.

Hundreds of people in Kansas had their driving licences revoked overnight. Everyday resources we rely on are now an opportunity for disruption. This is the weaponisation of infrastructure and we all need to be aware of it rewrites.rachelextance.com/the-weaponis....

How do you get your customers to value your sustainability initiatives? That's one of the questions Sarah Coates from Tees Law, Fiona McArthur from Skanska, and David Boden from Stagecoach discussed with Rachel Hales at Making Sustainability and Social Value Work for You this week.

I wrote my first book blog article yesterday. Gosh it makes you feel self-conscious. Anyway, if you are curious about the books I read during January, here it is (kinda got hijacked by Heated Rivalry tbh) rewrites.rachelextance.com/books-in-jan....

This is fascinating! Do you queue up now or do you still just go to the bar? www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

If you're wrestling with an idea and it just won't come together, go and have a shower. Works every time.

Morning from gorgeous, misty Cambridge.

Your weekly government news roundup 🧵 From reading campaigns to rail investment - here's what's happening across the UK this week:

#academicsky #philsky #edusky

#phdsky #academicsky #musicscience #psychscisky please can you help me promote my survey? I need to reach as many people with hearing loss as possible. Unfortunately Reddit has deleted all my posts (which I am appealing) but I need other places where I can share my call for participants. Thank you!

I keep the birthdays of old Doctor Who actors memorised so I don't panic if I see them trend on that day.

It's a scary time to be queer. There's a lot of negativity. So the response to Heated Rivalry is a joy. I've written about why storytelling, and seeing yourself in stories, is so important rewrites.rachelextance.com/heated-rival...

People fatally shot by UK police in 2024/25: 2 People fatally shot by US law enforcement in 2025: 1280

Latest book purchase!

2025 was a year of going back to my roots and rediscovering long-held interests. Like many people my age, I felt I had lost myself along the way. I’ve been sorting through who I am, what my skills are, and how I want to spend my time. Read what I learned rewrites.rachelextance.com/what-i-learn...

I wasn't planning on going back to university this year but it was a great decision. If you're curious about life as a mature student, or what a political communications course is about, here are my musings on my first term at Birkbeck in London. open.substack.com/pub/bbkbritp...

At that stage of writing a university assignment where you kind of vaguely know what you need to do but the gap between where you are and where you need to get to feels alarming.

So much joy for the power of stories and human creativity in this speech deadline.com/2025/11/pope...

What’s happening behind the headlines? Here’s my roundup of UK government announcements from the past seven days that you might not have seen rachelextance.com/funding-anno...

Want to know what other bloggers are doing to get their content seen, and meet their goals, whether that’s traffic, email sign ups, or sales? Orbit Media has just released its 12th annual survey of bloggers. I've had a look at what top bloggers are doing rwc.rachelextance.com/what-top-blo...

Not every government announcement receives attention in the news. Here’s my roundup of some of the economic and social decisions relating to businesses and communities which have been revealed in the past seven days rachelextance.com/wedding-refo...

16 days across Europe by train: our family’s epic Interrail adventure rewrites.rachelextance.com/europe-by-tr...

I love the idea of celebrating trees that have inspired creativity. Voting now open in this competition from the Woodland Trust. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

This is horrendous! #TransRightsAreHumanRights

7 reasons why I’m loving season 15 of Doctor Who rewrites.rachelextance.com/7-reasons-wh... #WritingCommunity

Why our equality laws need updating rewrites.rachelextance.com/why-our-equa...

This is not surprising www.theguardian.com/society/2025... #WomensHealth

I started a LinkedIn newsletter this week. Here's how I used AI to do it rachelextance.com/ai-write-lin... #writing

Nothing so good as the smell of fresh sheets dried out on the line. Spring, finally! ☀️

Writing is 10% actually writing and 90% thinking about writing while scrolling social media. #authorlife #writing

I went along to the @bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk annual conference last week, where they talked about 'wicked problems' like climate change, food security, and mental ill health. Here's my review of the day and issues raised rachelextance.com/storytelling... #BennettInst

I bought an Interrail Pass for the first time in 24 years at the weekend. Here is my guide to backpacking by train as a 40-something with kids rewrites.rachelextance.com/travelling-l... #writing #travel

A few years ago I met up with a friend in Cambridge. I thought we would go to a bar, it being the evening, but instead she walked with me out to Stourbridge Common. "How often do you walk on your own after dark now you're a parent?" She asked. Barely ever. So I always appreciate that freedom.

Live Blueskying doesn't have the same ring to it as live tweeting.

A provocative concept emerges - "pacing" careers by working fewer weekly hours but extending working life, redistributing leisure across the lifespan. This work-longevity tradeoff draws interest and scepticism. #BennettInst

If adults can work a 4 day week, could children only go to school 4 days a week? Great audience question at #BennettInst. My kids would approve of a 3 day weekend!

Four day week leads to different mindset about how work gets done says Brendan Burchell at #BennettInst

Amid technological disruption, economic pressures & changing work models, we face the danger of simply "relocating" disadvantaged workers rather than addressing fundamental issues. This reshuffling without structural solutions could deepen inequalities rather than resolve them. #BennettInst

Students using AI find it difficult to engage with output beyond cosmetic changes. It affects their ability to think critically and to know things says @sarahoconnorft.ft.com during discussion on work at #BennettInst. It narrows creativity.

In discussion about investment, what one thing would you like to see? "Making trains run reliably." @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social at #BennettInst

How do you tackle 'wicked problems'? These are the persistent issues we wish we had a magic wand for like poverty, mental ill health, food security and climate change. One of the key issues is they are all unique, says panel at #BennettInst conference.

At @bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk for their annual conference today. "We are talking about these issues at a time of crisis," says Michael Kenny #BennettInst

A brilliant day in Birmingham yesterday at Uplift Live, learning about LinkedIn. Here are my key takeaways rachelextance.com/9-top-tips-l... #SocialMediaMarketing

Here's a major source of microplastics in soils. Other sources, astonishingly, include the *deliberate application* of microplastics, to make soils more friable, and the plastic pellets in which many fertilisers are encased. It is simply crazy and must stop now. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

A gorgeous Cambridge day 🙂

I've been through the written evidence to the Commons' committee inquiry on local government finance - this brings into focus that the funding crisis is definitely being felt in the real world and not just council spreadsheets www.lgcplus.com/politics/lgc...

The world’s wealthiest nations are “exporting extinction” by destroying 15 times more biodiversity internationally than within their own borders, research shows www.theguardian.com/environment/...