Hi, I’m Louise. You can call me Lou.

Boring way to start, I know. But starting has always been the hardest part for me. When I write plays I start in the middle, and come back to the start at the end. But that doesn’t make sense for a blog.

Why am I here?

This blog will serve as many things for me. Mostly, it’s a release. I love to write, but I really struggle with my creative writing, and find getting into the flow of things really painful. So having this blog allows me to write in a freer way about things I like. There’s fewer constraints than when I’m writing a play. Plays have a format – you write stage directions in italics, character names in capitals, then the dialogue in plain font. It’s fiddly. And for someone like me, who is either hyper-focused or completely inattentive (there is no middle ground), it involves either smashing out ten pages or screechily labouring over three sentences. This is easier. Plus, it gives me something productive to do when my baby’s asleep, so my stay-at-home mum life isn’t just a blur of chores and baby snuggles.

Outside of mumming and blogging, I’m a primary school teacher, I’m a playwright, I’m a copywriter for a software firm, I’m a theatre director, and I’m an actor. Actually, I don’t know if I qualify as that last one anymore, it’s been almost six years since I set foot onstage. I do miss it, but at the same time, I wasn’t very good, so it’s nice not to feel the pressure to memorise lines – something I always found really hard, even though I loved acting. I think what I loved most about acting was telling a story, which I can do better as a writer.

My son’s name is Leo. He’s three months old and he has lit up my life in a way I can’t describe but know other parents understand. 

My husband’s name is Josh. He’s an amazing artist, a crazy talented writer, and a great dad. He’s my best friend and I admire him more every day. I wish I had his dedication to artistic pursuits. I will probably plug his stuff regularly because it’s just that good. 

What will I be blogging about?

A whole ton of stuff. Parenting. Teaching. Trying to be eco-friendly. Fashion. Shoes. I don’t know. Building a house? We might do that this year. For me, this blog is a release, to get me writing again after one year of being pregnant and giving birth in the middle of a pandemic and four years prior of an intensely challenging but amazing job that ate my whole life and left me crying in a therapist’s chair because of the expectations I put on myself.

Why is this blog called Halfway There?

Because that’s how I feel, all the time. Kinda prepared, but also behind. Scrambling to catch up. Halfway to achieving my goals. And hey, maybe writing again will get me the whole way there.

Hope to see you around. Feel free to leave me a comment anytime, or follow me on Instagram @halfwaythere.lou