Tag: Email

Writing is alchemy. You take the base metals of thought. Those raw, clunky nuggets of feeling, idea, and observation and through the weirdest, most mystical process, you turn them into something golden. Words. And words? Words are power. They’re not just squiggly lines on a page or glowing glyphs on a screen. Words move people.…

Today we’re weaponising nostalgia like a memory merchant dealing in pure, uncut feelings. Sometimes we go back to the good ol’ days. And we bust out the things that have been deeply rooted in our minds that take us back down memory lane. Case in point. Tonight I’m watching The Goonies again. I haven’t watched…

*aggressively mainlines sixth coffee while arranging brain fragments in murder shed* Put down that pristine writing manual and back away slowly, because we’re about to commit premeditated murder on the concept of “proper writing.” Let me inject this truth directly into your creative bloodstream. Writing like their is a word-demon living in your skull isn’t…

Writer’s block. The big, bad monster that haunts every writer’s nightmares. Or so we’re told. It’s this mythical beast, this eldritch horror, this ancient curse whispered about in coffee shops and Twitter threads. “Oh, I have writer’s block,” someone says, and everyone nods solemnly like they’ve just announced they’ve been diagnosed with a terminal condition.…

Yes I nearly died (An over exaggeration obviously) But I had to venture out.Out in to the chilly wild. So there I was, staring out my murder shed window at what can only be described as Mother Nature’s dandruff attack on our little town here in the UK, realising with mounting horror that I was down to…

I’m about to tattoo some truth onto your souls, and like that time you tried to give yourself a stick-and-poke at 2 AM (we’ve all been there), this is gonna sting. First off, let’s talk about those “New Year, New Me” posts flooding your timeline like a sewage backup of false promises. You know the ones.…

Oh, sweet baby formatting Jesus, look at this shiny, precious thing.  A formatting feature in Facebook groups?  Oh, the possibilities! It’s gonna be amazing for writing posts. I’m practically drooling, imagining perfectly spaced lines, clean breaks between paragraphs, the kind of formatting that’d make Helvetica weep. And then reality comes along, kicks down the door, and…

aggressively sips first coffee of 2025 while organising chaos manifestos in the murder shed We’re about to turn this year into something that makes 2024 look like a practice run at life. First off, let’s talk about what we’re leaving behind in 2024: – Self-doubt (that toxic ex who keeps drunk-texting your creativity) – Imposter…

You’re probably familiar with the proverb, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” That’s true. But here’s the real kick in the teeth. Taking that first step means jackshit if you’re walking in circles. Let’s be honest. You’ve started projects, built worlds, created art… only to watch them die in obscurity…

The social feeds are going to be FLOODED with “New Year, New Me” posts.So brace yourselves.Now for me. I like personal development. Growth is always a good thing.Doing the inner work is a must, even if it makes you curl up in a corner and ugly cry while eating the left over cheeses and Christmas…

Good morning comrades…Here’s a little post about why my online presence is basically North Korea.And why your social media presence needs to be run like a dictator’s fever dream.  You need to create a manifesto of some sorts, except it needs to be fun and here’s why…When people follow you they’re given; 1. THE ILLUSION OF CHOICE  Your…

This is the regular end of the year talk about that mythological beast people call “writer’s block” That mind-fucking Medusa that’s allegedly turning your creativity into stone while your muse drinks Mai Tais in Maui with your motivation. PLOT TWIST: It’s all horseshit. (Yeah, I said it. Come at me with your artisanal fountain pens…

In 2025 we become chaos merchants. I’m about to channel Dylan Thomas through a megaphone made of pure creative warfare. “Do not go gentle into that good night” isn’t just poetry anymore. It needs to be a battle cry and part of our Manifest for 2025. We’re not tiptoeing into the new year like we’re…

There’s a MOUNTAIN OF CHEESE currently occupying my refrigerator like some kind of cultured terrorist organisation. The thing about cheese is, It’s like story ideas… You can never have too many, and some of them get better with age. Currently, my fridge looks like a French cheese shop had a torrid affair with a Wisconsin…

*emotionally sips coffee while organizing gratitude notes written on gas station receipts* I’m about to get uncomfortably sincere for a minute (Which is like the second time this year), and we all know that’s not my natural state. This year has been wilder than that time I tried to fight a goose while hopped up…

aggressively sips eggnog-spiked coffee from murder shed We’re all slowly winding down a little before eating more roast potatoes and all of the Christmas-y foods… I need to tell you about the greatest Christmas violence since Hans Gruber fell from Nakatomi Plaza. You know how sometimes you need a break from writing about murder to…

I’m about to tell you why the current state of marketing makes me want to throw my laptop into traffic while screaming Shakespeare insults at our digital overlords. The last year has been about as exciting as watching paint dry in slow motion while someone explains cryptocurrency. Every email, every sales page, every “revolutionary” marketing…

So today I woke up and my skull-computer is throwing up the blue screen of death. Not because there are actual worms up there (probably), but because gestures at everything THIS and points at calendar THAT have turned my neural networks into a malfunctioning carousel operated by God knows what. I completely whiffed on the…

Look, I get it. You’re a writer. Your natural habitat is behind a keyboard, preferably in a dark room, possibly pantsless (or is that just me?) The thought of showing your face or *gasp* SPEAKING makes you want to crawl into your murder shed and never come out. BUT HERE’S THE THING. I know you’re…

Here’s how I cut through the noise without becoming another crypto-bro. A follow up to yesterdays email and why this can be VERY good for you… 1. KILL THE CORPORATE VOICE Stop sounding like a LinkedIn algorithm had a baby with a customer service manual Write like a human who gives a shit Here’s an…

We need to talk about why telling the truth is about as effective as using a pool noodle to fight off brown bear on cocaine… spoiler alert: you’re gonna get your face eaten So for decades, honest business folks thought they could just wave their truth-flag around like some magical victory pennant. “Look at our…

I’ve had this idea percolating in my brain for the last few months. I need a Big Hairy Audacious Goal The plan? Add at least another 5,732 new cult memb– I mean, newsletter subscribers in 2025. Why such a specific number? BECAUSE ROUND NUMBERS ARE FOR COWARDS AND MARKETING BROS. Now I’ve kind of made…

aggressively sips coffee while arranging psychology textbooks by how much they piss off my inner critic So I had a chat with a buddy of mine about art and that whole creative thing we subject ourselves to. It’s something we do because we have to do it and without it we feel meh. Your brain…

I do this once a year and they’re in no particular order but I’m a firm believer in re-reading great work. From non-fiction to fiction there might be something in here that’ll tickle your brain soup. Let’s go… PSA by Rob Ulitski(A short story with a pretty cool style and the layout of it is…

So today in the endless parade of what-the-fuckery that is our modern hellscape… Funko. Yes, those merchants of dead-eyed vinyl nightmares decided to go full HAM on itch.io because their broken-ass AI copyright system can’t tell its digital ass from its algorithmic elbow. I’m not anti-ai in a lot of respects. They’re great tools for…

I’m about to get uncommonly sincere for a minute, so brace yourselves. Maybe grab a tissue. Or a bourbon. Or both. No judgment here. So there I was, having my usual 3 AM existential crisis about deadlines and word counts, when something weird happened. No, I didn’t get visited by three ghosts. That’s a different…

So you’ve written some words, and somehow people started following you like you’re holding the last coffee bean on Earth. Congratulations! You’ve accidentally started a cult. Here’s how to lean into that power without becoming an actual megalomaniac: CREATE AN ALTERNATIVE REALITY (AKA YOUR BRAND VOICE) Every good cult needs its own reality tunnel. Lucky…

Aggressively slurps coffee while typing this from said murder shed It’s not a shed. It’s just a kitchen counter top but murder shed sounded cooler tbh. Okay so I woke up a little spicier than usual. Mainly because I’ve seen a lot of my creative friends panicking at the current state this world is in…

Okay, so here’s a little bit for my fellow inkmonkeys… I’m about to tell you a story that’ll prove why pure, unfiltered GRIT matters more than your fancy MFA when it comes to slinging sentences. This tale might just be the difference between you cranking out masterpieces or crying into your keyboard while refreshing your…

“I never wrote a story in my life. What I did was, I would get an idea, and then I would put it on a piece of paper—a paragraph—so I wouldn’t lose it. And another idea would come, and I would write it down.” – Ray Bradbury Ray Bradbury up there with Isaac Asimov are…