Links
Successes
NYC Midnight Rhyming Story Final 2022 - 5th Place
NYC Midnight Microfiction Final 2024 - 5th Place
Writers' Playground 2024 - HM (story here)
Writer's Playground 2025 - 3rd place
About Me
Welcome at last, to my long overdue writer's profile page! I'm Natalie, 40ish, from Worcestershire, UK. I'm a strictly amateur writer (with one eye on eventually becoming professional) and have been writing stories for as long as I can remember.
By day, I pay the bills by being a secondary teacher of Religious Studies, PSHE, and Psychology - all the squishy, human focused subjects that theoretically should help me write deeply flawed and very relatable characters.
​I've been consistently entering writing competitions for the past five years, honing my skills through many, many, MANY rejections. But now, some of that persistence has paid off, with recognition in a handful of competitions (links above). When I can't get enough validation from readers online, I have been known to haunt the stage at local open-mic nights, performing punchy short stories and poems of variable quality (pic below).
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I like to write character-driven stories that explore the subtle, often dark ironies of everyday life. Despite my best intentions, my work tends to explore inner conflicts, quiet rebellions, and the pressures that shape us. I enjoy experimenting with perspective and form, blending poignancy with a touch of the absurd to bring my characters to life. And sometimes, I write REALLY sweary poetry. ​
I’m an occasional contributor to the marvellous God in Film Podcast, combining my love for movies and my nerdy, academic obsession with comparative religion. I also do freelance educational writing for Curriculum Press while publishing my own resources on TES. Should you need a lesson plan on Freudian Psychoanalysis or the Five Pillars of Islam in a hurry, I've got you covered.
Right now, if you Google me, you’ll mostly find news articles about a very public dispute with an unethical parking company, but I hope this website shows that I’m more than an obstinate troublemaker!​
Feel free to get in touch about anything!