Essential Writers > Essential Words > Creative writer and SEO expert Angeline Trevena reminds us that “Content is King”

Creative writer and SEO expert Angeline Trevena reminds us that “Content is King”

Posted by Judy Darley
June 19, 2010
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Angeline Trevena

Angeline Trevena

Angeline Trevena is a poet, short story writer and playwright, as well as having experience of running websites, establishing an online magazine and online marketing. She lives in a hamlet in mid-Devon, which she says provides a huge source of inspiration. Here she talks about how she created her own outlets for her writing.

What inspired you to become a writer?

I honestly can’t remember a time I didn’t write; my mum has often showed me stories I wrote as a child that I don’t even remember!

My grandmother was a writer, and also an artist. All of my siblings got the artistic skills passed onto them, but I can’t draw, so I clung to writing; creating pictures with words instead. So, I guess it was in my blood to write.

Further inspiration came from university. We were asked to write a piece about us as a writer, and I wrote that I can’t ever imagine writing being anything more than a hobby for me. My tutor’s comment on it was ‘That’s a real shame’, which was the first time I thought that maybe I could take my writing further.

Did you receive any formal writing training?

I have a BA Hons degree in Drama and Writing. The Writing part of my degree covered poetry, prose, journalism and script writing, and my lifelong background in practical theatre has given me a great understanding of the dynamics of theatre, helping enormously when writing scripts.

How did you find your first writing job?

Basically, I created my own. I have been published here and there as a poet and written a couple of articles, but it was when I decided to start up my own online magazine that I really started to make a mark.

Where can we see your work?

My own website www.devonwriter.co.uk has links to my poetry published in online magazines such as The Pygmy Giant and Shadowtrain, and links to my online articles in Mookychick Magazine and on the First Edition Magazine website.

How did you come to set up EGL Magazine?

I created EGL Magazine one evening in July 2008, just on a whim really. EGL stands for Exclusively Gothic Lifestyle.

Everyone tells you to write what you know, and it’s never truer than when you’re starting up your own magazine. No one’s going to pay you any attention unless they can see you have something to say and some authority with which to say it.

To start with, I often felt that people needed me to prove myself to them, but in two years I have gone from madly chasing people and begging interviews from them, to being contacted by established bands, PR companies, publishers and documentary makers asking to be featured or reviewed, and being offered press passes to gigs and other events.

I only started EGL Magazine as a hobby, but it has really carved out a noticeable place for itself. I had no idea how quickly it would grow, or how big, and I’m really proud of it.

How do you balance your time between creative writing and writing for the web?

I tend to go in waves, following where my inspiration is at the time. I might work for four months straight on EGL Magazine, and then the next month I’ll throw myself into writing poetry and short stories.

I try not to force myself to write something when I have zero motivation to do it; I’d rather work on something else rather than stare at a blank screen for hours and having nothing to show at the end of it.

What advice would you offer a writer with regards to SEO and social media?

Whether you love it or hate it, in this day and age, having an online presence is pretty essential. You don’t need to spend a fortune on an all-singing, all-dancing website, there are so many website builders you can use these days.

When it comes to SEO, the mantra is ‘Content is King’. While you want to make sure you use keywords for the search engines, at the end of the day, Google is never going to buy your book, so write for your readers.

Search Engines like regular content updates, so put a ‘latest news’ section on your homepage, sign up to Blogger and link back to your website in your posts.

Social Media has really exploded over the last few years. Twitter is fantastic for a busy writer. I was so dubious before I signed up, but now I’m a total addict. It takes a couple of seconds to update and let people know what you’re working on.

My number one Twitter tip is this: do a Follow Friday update first thing in the morning, and put up Twitter accounts that you want to steal followers from. That way, they’re more likely to mention you back again when they do theirs later in the day.

And keep up to date. Twitter’s the place to be right now, but next year something else might take its place.

What do you find the most challenging aspects of writing?

Momentum. I love creating something from scratch, I love creating new worlds and characters. But I hate redrafting. Hate it, hate it, hate it!

So, I have to force myself with treats. For example, I’m not allowed on Facebook until I’ve done an hour’s redrafting, or I’m allowed to have coffee and biscuits after an hour. I have to treat myself like a child!

Sometimes writing can be like flogging a dead horse. I always find breaking to do something normal and boring helps; like doing the washing up. I finda lot of inspiration strikes while I’ve got my hands in the sink!

What do you enjoy most about writing?

That feeling when you’ve just written the perfect phrase. When you read one sentence back and realise that you’ve just chosen the exact right words and jumbled them into the exact right order.

It sounds so big-headed, but I love the times I deserve a smug grin on my face!

Whose writing do you admire?

My favourite poet is Carol Ann Duffy. I first came across her when we studied ‘Mean Time’ for A-Level English. I love her gutsyness, the courage in her writing - I love that ‘This is me, take it or leave it, because I’m not going to change’ attitude.

I’ve just started reading The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver and the language she uses is so beautiful I smile all the time I’m reading it! If any writer wants an example of fantastic phrasing, then read this book.

What inspires you?

I live in a tiny hamlet in mid-Devon, and I can’t think of a more inspiring place to live. I grew up on the edge of Dartmoor, so I’ve always been surrounded by nature, and where I live now, there is an orchard with a public footpath through it.

I love watching it through the year; from delicate blossom, to thick green leaves, to heavy with fruit, and then to naked branches in the winter. That’s what inspires me, the constant cycle of life and the ever-changing view from my window.

What advice would you offer an aspiring writer?

Whenever you write anything, be it poetry, a full novel or just your CV, read it out loud. Reading it in your head isn’t enough; you know it too well and you won’t pick up on mistakes. If you read your work aloud, just to yourself, you’ll pick up problems like repetition, clunky syntax, uncomfortable phrases, poor rhythm.

You’ll never notice that just reading in your head. Stand up, project, annunciate and give yourself a private reading of your work.

What are you working on at the moment?

Other than EGL Magazine, which has taken up most of my time over the last few months, I’m working on the final draft of a sci-fi thriller stage-play.

I’m trying to cut it down, which is often the hardest kind of redrafting you have to do; and trying desperately to save my favourite scene with the protagonist and his Father. I need to learn to be a little more ruthless with my work; and a little less sentimental.

For more about Angeline, visit www.devonwriter.co.uk


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