Reading time: 4.19

1,025 words

Hey Reader,

When I was at school, I didn’t really have friends. I had a stamp collection.

I hovered on the periphery like a weird little moth, waiting to be invited in — to parties, to sports teams, to life.

The library was my playground and I ate most of my lunches there, lurking in the stacks with my Marmite sandwiches and my Penguin biscuit and my apple and my wet wipes for my sticky fingers, shrinking myself into corners, hiding.

Because I did not know how to fit in.

I was always too weird, too much, and not enough.

So when Sophie Lee asked me to help her write her book Beyond Palatable I was beyond excited because Sophie is a sparkly disco ball of a human, easy for me to love, and I was always beyond palatable.

Funny thing — all the women (and other humans) I’ve become friends with since starting my business and embracing my odd little self — all of them are beyond palatable.

They’re my people.

And Sophie’s book is a trumpet call for ALL of us to step up and stop shrinking and I’m SO proud of her and SO proud to be a little part of her author journey.

Here’s a little blurb from the back cover:

I’m not small and compliant anymore, but I am bloody knackered. Dunno about you.

I can tell you for real, this book is going to be a gamechanger.

It’s out in March, but you can and should pre-order it now from Waterstones, and follow Sophie on LinkedIn and maybe you’ll get an invite to her book launch.

How are you shrinking yourself?

You’re reading this because you’re a writer, or you want to be a writer, or you’ve been thinking about writing a book.

What’s stopping you?

The time is never right, and there’s never a better time than now, and if you would like to get started this weekend I can help.

Get the Kickstart Your Book Bundle: a 90 minute workshop and workbook that takes you through everything you need to think about before you put pen to paper, then nudges you assertively to actually start writing.

It comes with a Reader Journey Framework that is my best tool for taking you from “I don’t know where to start” to “WOOOOOOO I’M WRITING!”

Best of all — it’s only £99 + VAT.

Right. It’s Friday which means — it’s Goodie Bag time! Buckle up, bunny, here’s what I’ve found for you…

This ventriloquist

Who was the first ever ventriloquist, do you think? What was the thought process? Oh yeah, I’ll pretend this doll can speak and I’ll go on stage and make people laugh. Or was it an evolution from a children’s tea party? Who knows? But this dude has skills. Enjoy!

Dave Officer ruining sweets for Hallowe’en

Dave’s always good value for silly and impressive creativity, and this time he’s turned his eyeballs to Hallowe’en treats and ruined them for everyone. Enjoy!

This tiny version of the Daily Mail

You may know that I make a zine by hand and send it to people I like. (If you don’t get one, it doesn’t mean I don’t like you, don’t read into it. It just means I haven’t got your address.) So when I found Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives, I was full-on delighted.

This dude has made (amongst many other cool social justice and protest-related stuff) a hand-drawn miniature version of the Daily Mail, complete with glossy magazine insert. It’s brilliant satire and I now have a copy on my desk to remind me a) how the media manipulates all of us and b) how we can use creativity as a force for good.

This dev nerd who gave us software for all

To listen to the media elite and billionaire simps, you’d think the only way to exist in this world is either 10X capitalism or the kind of communism that kills everyone through lack of potatoes. But there’s another way, guys. There’s nuance in the middle.

And Jean-Baptiste Kempf is in the middle. He’s the guy who founded VideoLAN and co-created VLC, open-source software universally loved and used by pretty much everyone. He did it by building a for-profit business that he used to create open-source software — and then kept it open-source for everyone to use. He said no to millions of dollars to keep it ad-free and available to everyone, and his software is top notch. Read about him here.

Mundane Hallowe’en

I know it was last week, but tough. Suck it up. I love how weird-in-the-best-way Japanese pop culture can be and this is a prime example: mundane Hallowe’en outfits. Like “person going to work on a windy day” or “woman having her fringe cut but the hairdresser has disappeared.” Sometimes the best costumes are not the most outlandish…

What I’m reading

Currently halfway through A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, which is a really interesting space opera dive into language, culture, and political manoueverings. It’s a thoughtful, slow burn, and I’m enjoying it.

What I’m writing

Doing my comedy coaching homework: I have three minutes of comedy and I’m supposed to be refining it and cutting it ruthlessly. So far I have a story about bananas, a suggestion for how to diagnose people with ADHD and autism, and a rant about how weird neurotypical communication is.

Word of the week

mystify

I love this word. It just feels, sounds, and looks cool.

Meaning: to bewilder or perplex someone. Use it in an email today.

Quote of the week

^^

Burn this into your soul, my friend.

Happy Friday.

Take care out there!

TTFN,

Vicky 🫡

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