Time Pieces History Project: How I’m Using my Skills

The Time Pieces History Project is ambitious, and with 100 articles in 50 weeks, enthusiasm alone isn’t enough to see it through to completion and to make sure the content is clear and engaging. To make sure the project goes smoothly, I’m using a lot of skills I’ve acquired over the years, both as an employee and a business owner.

Preparing for the Time Pieces History Project

Organisation is a key part of it, and I’m planning ahead as much as possible. I worked in admin for several years, where I developed the ability to juggle deadlines and manage several projects at once. The items are logged onto a spreadsheet, with links to useful information and their publication dates noted down. The first 40 are also already photographed and ready to go.

I’ve recently taken on a fantastic social media manager, and while she’ll be primarily focused on content for my everyday work, I’m sure she’ll be helping with the Time Pieces History Project too.

I’m hoping to share both my personal history with each item and its background, as well as facts about similar objects and perhaps some lesser-known details.

Apart from academic writing, I frequently have to carry out research for clients, whether that’s information on cyber security, the latest marketing trends or how to prepare for retirement. And I need to communicate that in a way that’s easy for their audience to understand.

I’m gathering a number of resources to help me, including some locally-published books to give some background on the North East items. I’m not just limiting my research to the usual online sources, but I’m using local history societies, manufacturers and hobbyist blogs too. I’m filtering the information for what seems the most reliable but also the most interesting.

Each blog has to be engaging and straightforward, so the reader continues to the end and feels like they’ve learned something. Hopefully, I’ve picked items that will be interesting for people to find out more about, and perhaps discover something they didn’t already know.

I’ve got more than 20 years’ writing experience, which I’ll draw on throughout the process, and of course, I’m relying on audience participation, feedback and suggestions as well. It’s really important for me to find out if people are enjoying it, and perhaps what else they’d like to see.