About Chris Alden, a UK freelance writer with 20 years' experience

Hello. I’m Chris Alden, a writer and editor with more than 25 years of experience.

I’ve worked for national newspapers, specialist technical publications, and clients in technology, sustainability, and related sectors.

If you need a bio, you can find it on LinkedIn. Instead, for background on what makes me tick, read on.

I’m a curious and creative copywriter

I’ve been writing commercial content for more than 15 years. In that time, I’ve learned that the best way to write commercial copy is to really listen to marketers and research the market, so that I ‘get’ the required tone.

Of course, I’ve written in many creative styles in that time. For example, I used to write branded advertorials, in journalistic style, for brands buying media space in the Telegraph and the Guardian.

That’s very different from writing corporate thought leadership, high-quality research reports for professional services firms, or the varying blogs, brochures, product pages and web pages I’ve written for brands. So try me: being adaptable and curious is the primary skill a writer brings.

I have a background in journalism

Before becoming a copywriter, I was a journalist, where I had a fantastic time working in sectors such as technology, travel, the arts, health, and general news.

I offer my services as a freelance journalist from time to time.

As a staffer and freelancer at the Guardian, I wrote interview-led features (such as this one, on the dotcom crash), presented podcasts, and edited the UK’s first newspaper blog.

I’m a lover of languages

As a writer of mixed English, Welsh and Cypriot heritage, language has always been important to me. Some of my earliest memories are of trying to decode languages and understand why – and how – people express things in different ways.

Since childhood I’ve also been a fan of cryptic crosswords, which use a language of their own, with its own set of shifting conventions and (some say) rules.

I studied English at Oxford – an experience which was no great preparation for the pragmatic worlds of journalism and commercial copywriting, except perhaps that it taught me the importance of deadlines. That said, it was fun and I read a lot of books. (I still do.)

I run marathons

A lot of writers seem to be long-distance runners. Like writing, distance running is something which is attractive in its apparent simplicity – until you realise it’s not simple at all, but by which point you’re hooked. Much like a writer, a runner has to work bloody hard to make things look effortless.

I ran the Brighton Marathon in 2:59:14, which in running circles is a ‘Good for Age’ time.

It’s good to combine your interests, so I also offer running and outdoors writing.

I love Europe

Perhaps because of my Cypriot background, I have a love of European travel. For many years I wrote travel features, both commercial and journalistic, for the Guardian and the Telegraph.

I once had fun self-publishing a dip-in, dip-out guidebook to Cyprus (I’d lived there, which made it easier) and a quickfire guide to the Greek alphabet.

I’m a curious and creative copywriter

I have a background in journalism

I’m a lover of languages

I run marathons

I love Europe

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