top of page

Freelance journalist, writer, screenwriter

Welcome!

 

You don’t need to be a writer to know that great writing always makes an impact. It keeps readers reading, communicates information with style, and does so efficiently (especially online). As a professional writer who enjoys working with words, I know how to frame ideas in a compelling, engaging manner—and I’ll help you do the same.

 

I’m Dara Colwell. I work as a writer, editor, consultant, translator, and teach professional writing and storytelling techniques at the University of Groningen

​

Services

Services

As a writer, I am highly flexible and open to writing about almost everything. My talent is repositioning the camera, finding a different angle or take on a subject. I like to help clients tell stories with purpose, making what’s significant to them interesting and relevant to their audience.

 

In short: I shape dull, uninteresting text into something colorful, succinct and appropriate to your audience.

​

I offer the following services:​

​

  • Write Website Content

  • Edit and Proofread Written Work

  • Conduct Research and Interviews

  • Write Journalism Articles

  • Translate (Dutch to English)

  • Teaching
     

My rates are competitive, plus I work hard to give a quick turnaround. If you’re interested in knowing more, email me or complete a consultation form!

​

(new or based on what's there)

Journalism

I learned to be curious and observant early in life. I put these talents to good use by seeing what others often don’t.  Understanding things in depth is what drives me professionally and in life--and my goal in writing, whatever form it takes, is to make people think.

​

As a journalist, I am particularly interested in writing about the environment, human relationships (whatever form they take) and culture.

​

  • The environment because it’s my first love and nature is my church.

  • Relationships because they are moving and dramatic; everyone has a unique perspective and therefore, a story to tell.

  • Culture because the world is incredibly diverse, so there's really no such thing as “normal.” I am fascinated by how humans continually influence their environment.

​

Planet and Moon

Practicing a simple lifestyle makes people happier while using fewer resources.

Journalism

Fiction

What started as a non-fiction book project dreamt up over cornflakes, eventually morphed into a screenplay—it was simply too visual to be anything else.

​

My first feature-length screenplay is called The Freedom Machine. I submitted it to the London Screenwriters Festival and was chosen to participate in its 2018 Talent Campus 4.0.

​

Here’s the logline:

THE FREEDOM MACHINE: A wealthy, middle-aged housewife buys her way into a women’s cycling group competing in a race—a first for women at that time. She clashes with her unsympathetic husband, who threatens to destroy her if she participates, and has to choose between losing everything or losing herself.

​

The Freedom Machine Screenplay by Dara C
Planet and Moon

Heartbreak Hotel:

take a right on lonely street

Fiction

Teaching

I see writing as visual thinking. Just as a camera captures an image by freezing a moment in time, writing captures our thoughts by fixing them on a page. Because writing helps us figure out what we think, the art of writing involves actively reworking and finessing elements until it the whole thing glides together as smoothly as pistachio-infused gelato.

 

To paraphrase writer Anais Nin, writing allows us to taste life twice.

 

I teach students studying Media Studies at the University of Groningen how to approach professional writing. They learn that writing well isn’t simply a matter of fixing mistakes. It’s about daring to be creative and persevere as good writing is far too complex to get it right in your first draft.

​

I also teach private, customized lessons to business professionals who want to write more effectively in English. Workshops cover grammar, standard business expressions and vocabulary. (Clients include: the Dutch Foreign Ministry, Sony Music, Werkspot, Gouden Gids, Price Waterhouse Coopers, and European Consumer Centre.)

​

Teaching
Dara Reading 1.jpg

About Me

I grew up in Los Angeles, spent my twenties studying and working in the UK, and later graduated from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. I cut my writing teeth as an investigative reporter at Metro San Jose, long before social media became synonymous with the city, and I eventually moved to Brooklyn to work as a freelance writer.

​

In Brooklyn, I enjoyed walking along the same streets my grandfather had as a young man (I even borrowed his shoes), and discovering neighboring New York. New York City was my greatest teacher—both in learning how to tackle writing and enjoy life. 
 

I later moved to Amsterdam and fell in love with all the stereotypical things Americans do here: cycling, affordable healthcare, the city’s numerous elegant canals and its Rembrandtesque skies. I am thrilled to live in the same city where investors plotted the colony that later became Manhattan, and where my ceiling rafters are older than the US Constitution.

​

About

Testimonials

Dara has been a true asset to our company. She understood the tone of our message and was able to translate this and write 'to the point’ content that sticks. I am very happy with the clear deadlines she set and the work delivered on time. 

I would recommend her to anyone in need of someone who can write, translate and pro-actively think about the tone of voice needed to spread the message. 

​

Michiel Kaemingk - Tension Tamers Massage Studio - Amsterdam

Testimonials
Dara - Studio - 0312 - klein formaat -

"To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man"

Aristotle

Blog

.... Further, most current thoughts.

​

Check back soon
Once posts are published, you’ll see them here.
Contact
bottom of page