Reading time: 2.10 512 words Read this email in your browser. Hey Reader, I choose joy for 2026. You know that thing where people choose a word for the year? I don’t usually do that. Not sure why; something to do with how literal and binary my brain can be, I think. It’s like I believe the entire year must then only feature that word, and how can that possibly be? Because I, like you, contain multitudes. But this year, I said balls to all that and chose JOY. Because lawd knows we all need a...
1 day ago • 2 min read
Reading time: 1.27 345 words Read this email in your browser. Hey Reader, I’ve been asking people why they joined January Uncaged and wanted to share another answer that I thought might resonate with you. J joined because they’re facing a juggling challenge at the moment — family, studies, and leadership — without losing their wellbeing or giving up all the space to think and write. “Everything feels non-stop, so having time to pause and get my head straight is the thing I’m really struggling...
2 days ago • 2 min read
Reading time: 4.48 1,140 words Read this email in your browser. Hey Reader, A weird thing happens when people start to write, and I’m pretty sure it’s one of the reasons people stop writing shortly thereafter. We adopt a voice that we think we ought to have. Everyone does it. At first, it’s because we’re scared. We think we’re not good enough to write, that nobody will like our work, that we won’t impress. Then, if we can get past that, we start to emulate the writers we love. And that’s...
5 days ago • 5 min read
Reading time: 1.01 241 words Read this email in your browser. Hey Reader, If you’re after a content strategy course, or how to beat the LinkedIn algorithms, or if you’re after templates or formulas to show you how to “write properly” and “go viral” this isn’t the challenge for you. It’s not a productivity hack of any kind, either. We’re not heading into 2026 already exhausted. That’s not the vibe. That’s SO 2025. January Uncaged is a flight of whimsy. It’s 30 days of play. We’re going to mess...
6 days ago • 1 min read
Reading time: 2.18 547 words Read this email in your browser. Hey Reader, I don’t actually have a problem with starting something new in January. It’s a pretty good time to try stuff out. A new year begins, and all that. It is a fresh start. Snowdrops and crocuses starting to pop up, Christmas trees going down, excess cheese being thrown out with a vow to never consume that much dairy in one go again. What I take issue with is the following: The idea that you are not enough and need to...
7 days ago • 3 min read
Reading time: 0.44 173 words Read this email in your browser. Hey Reader, The writing world is crawling with gatekeepers. People who’ll tell you indie authors aren’t “real” authors. That if your grammar isn’t “correct” you’re not legit. That there’s a proper way to be a writer and you’re doing it wrong. But the worst gatekeeper isn’t any of those people. It’s the one in your own head. The voice that says, “Who are you to call yourself a writer?” and sneers at your every attempt. The one who...
9 days ago • 1 min read
Reading time: 3.13 764 words Read this email in your browser. Hey Reader, Post-show blues is a real thing. It’s happened to me many, many times. After a great trapeze performance, after my comedy set in Bristol before Christmas, after I handed in my Masters dissertation. A bit like Boxing Day used to feel before I realised Boxing Day is one of the BEST days of Christmas. We do the thing, then… silence. Flaaaaaaarp. Like a let-down balloon. Well, not this time, Satan. After January Uncaged,...
12 days ago • 3 min read
Reading time: 1.26 338 words Read this email in your browser. Hey Reader, When Louise joined one of my writing programs years ago, she couldn’t move. Literally: she had a medical condition that left her immobile, off work, struggling to fill her days with anything meaningful. She wasn’t a writer. Or a reader. And no idea what she was doing. Three months later, she had 66,000 words — a full first draft of the book that had been rattling around in her head. You can hear her full writing journey...
14 days ago • 2 min read
Reading time: 0.27 107 words Read this email in your browser. Hey Reader, Your “terrible” first draft isn’t proof that you’re a terrible writer. It’s proof that you’re a writer. As Anne Lamott said, “All good writers write shitty first drafts. This is how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts.” But don’t worry about that right now. The secret is to find some joy in the mess. And that’s what we’re doing in January Uncaged. Daily prompts, a judgement-free Telegram group,...
15 days ago • 1 min read