James Ellaby

Freelance Copywriter

United Kingdom

I'm a writer with backgrounds in journalism, communications and digital marketing. Writing has been a passion since primary school and I love the process of researching a new subject and finding the best way to write about it. Whether it's business thought leadership pieces or more personal blog posts, I care about creating content that is informative, educational and entertaining.

Portfolio
Social
02/22/2022
Top Tips for Crafting Compelling Storytelling - Social

Top Tips for Crafting Compelling Storytelling Stories have been at the heart of how humans communicate with each other since the very beginning. As a species we've passed important information down the generations through stories told at bedtime to our kids, or as songs, paintings, poems, books, comics, plays, movies, TV shows or social media [...]

Medium
03/18/2021
Caroline Flack, #BeKind and an apology to Victoria Beckham

Back in 2002 I fulfilled my destiny (or so I thought) by becoming a football journalist, working on two websites that now only exist in the realms of the Wayback Machine. It was amazing. I particularly enjoyed writing features because it gave me the chance to show off a bit and to be creative and (try to be) funny.

SOCIAL
02/22/2021
The importance of wintering and those Life Happens moments | SOCIAL

2021 hasn't started the way any of us would have wanted. Schools, restaurants and shops have been closed. Friends and families have had to continue to stay apart. That's before you even get onto the weather, which has generally been dark and either cold or wet. So far, we've all been wintering through 2021.

SOCIAL
05/04/2021
There's still a place in our hearts for old stuff in a digital world | SOCIAL

In recent months we've seen the dawn of a new way to purchase digital music, fashion and art. It's called a non-fungible token (NFT) and if you properly understand what that means or how they work, you're no doubt much younger than I am. Is this the future for music, coming at a time when [...]

Parent Co.
12/07/2016
Our Kids Need to Know That Love Is Stronger Than Hate

🔊 Listen to PostI woke up at 4 a.m. on the morning of the U.S. election. I was in my four-year-old's bed (he'd woken up during the night) and checked my phone to see the latest news. It was almost exactly the same situation I woke up to on the morning of the EU Referendum and ...

Den of Geek
Geeks Vs Loneliness: belonging

"I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member." That was what Groucho Marx told the Friars Club in a letter refusing an offer of membership. I love Groucho and that's one of his sayings that resonates with me the most, because right now, as with most of my life, I'm not a member of any club that I can think of.

HuffPost UK
05/30/2012
Is Game of Thrones' Joffrey TV'S Most Vile Character?

Has there ever been a more fundamentally loathsome character on television than Joffrey Baratheon? The wretched boy-King from Game Of Thrones generally makes only fleeting appearances, but each time is more vile and detestable than the last, and when his uppance comes (and it surely will) it will be so very sweet.

Parent Co.
12/02/2016
Date Night is Overrated, Here's How to Get Out of It

One of the first things my wife and I were told after we had our first baby - literally a couple of hours after - was that we need to make sure we go out on dates and make time for ourselves. It's important, you see, even if only to create jobs for potential baby sitters.

HuffPost UK
06/13/2012
Mad Men Season Five: Sex, Suicide and Songs

The fifth season of Mad Men had a troubled creation, with behind-the-scenes squabbles threatening its existence and delaying it for what felt like years, so it's perhaps not surprising that it turned out to be very dark in tone.

Parent Co.
08/03/2017
How Did I Become That Anxious Dad?

One of the things about having young kids is that you quickly have to get used to watching some films over and over (and over and over) and over and over again. Recently in our house it's been "Paddington," which is good fun even on the 114th viewing, but the repetition also helps drive home some of its themes.

HuffPost UK
06/15/2012
Are Albums Still Dead Then, Billy Corgan?

The first iPod was released well over a decade ago, and the new freedom to pick and choose songs more easily led to inevitable claims that albums would soon be 'dead'. One advocate of that theory was Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, so how come they've got a new album out?

Parent Co.
10/03/2016
The 6 Stages of Getting Your Kids to Like Led Zeppelin

When I first became a father, one of the things that got me through the long nights and gushes of bodily fluids was the thought that one day, I could place a paternal hand on my children's shoulders (luckily I have as many children as I have hands) and introduce them to the world of Led Zeppelin.