Reading time: 5.18

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Hey Reader,

Did you know a daffodil trumpet is 8 degrees warmer than the outside of a daffodil?

Me neither, but such are the wondrous facts we can discover from podcasts.

And also books.

If you want to get pointlessly enraged, scroll social media.

If you want to be challenged and perhaps transformed forever, read a book.

And if you want to discover incredible things about yourself, change your life, and turn your message into a movement, write a book.

Ready to write your own book? Let’s make it happen. In March, I’m offering:

One VIP Day, which will blast you out of book purgatory, get words on the page, and leave you with a clear roadmap to your finished manuscript.

In one full 8-hour day together, we’ll:

• Diagnose exactly what's blocking your progress (structure? mindset? clarity?) and fix it
• Review your manuscript and create a clear roadmap for what needs to happen next
• Restructure chapters that aren’t working so your book actually flows
• Get a significant chunk of writing or rewriting done together - you’ll leave with tangible progress
• Build a realistic timeline to finish and publish your book

(We can split this into 2x4 hour days if timezones get in the way)

You finish the day:

• With a clear structure that actually works for your book
• Having written/rewritten a substantial section you can be proud of
• Knowing exactly what to do next (no more staring at the wall)
• Excited about your book again instead of avoiding it
• With a step-by-step plan to get to publication

This is for writers who are DONE with having a half-finished manuscript haunting them and ready to actually get this book finished.

Three Book Blueprint Sessions, which will get you rolling. Get started with confidence and a step-by-step plan.

In one 90-minute intensive session, we’ll:

• Nail down your Big Idea so you can explain your book in one clear, confident sentence
• Map out your reader journey - who they are, what they need, and how your book will transform them
• Create your rough book structure so you know exactly what to write and in what order
• Identify and demolish the specific mindset goblins that are keeping you stuck
• Get you writing-ready with a clear plan you can actually follow

You leave with:

• A book blueprint you can reference every time you sit down to write
• Clarity on your book’s core message and structure
• Confidence that your idea is actually bloody brilliant
• The ability to START WRITING instead of endlessly “planning”

This is for writers who have had it with procrastination and are ready to get their book out of their head and onto the page.

Hit reply and let’s talk about which is right for you.

Now, I’m off to London to Sophie Lee’s book launch party! You can buy a copy here and see what all the fuss is about — and think about how this could be you next year… or even later this year!

Have a fab weekend!

p.s. go and stick your finger in a daffodil trumpet and report back. I’ve been poking daffodils all week and honestly my sausage fingers can’t really tell the difference.

And now for the Friday Goodie Bag. I’ve gathered all of this for you:

Viola Davis’s epic NAACP speech

“There is no man behind the curtain who is in control of your life.” This is just one of the many beautiful truths Viola Davis dropped when she was awarded the Chairman’s Award from the NAACP.

My favourite quote from it is this one: “The definition of hell is when, at the end of your life, the person you became meets the person you could have become.”

Who do you want to be? Make it happen. Start right now.

The existence of ghost words in dictionaries

I’ve never seen a book without a typo of some kind. But what about dictionaries? They seem… more official, somehow. Ever wondered if mistakes creep around and hide in dictionaries? Well, wonder no more! They’re rare, but they do show up — and they’re often known as ghost words.

Like “dord” which is not a word but ended up in a dictionary with the definition “density” and no etymology or usage.

Mary Ellen Pleasant who cleaned houses then cleaned up

“In 1850s San Francisco, a Black woman named Mary Ellen Pleasant moved through marble hallways like a ghost. She poured coffee. She folded linens. She was furniture to them — part of the décor.” She was a domestic servant and while she worked hard for the rich white people, she listened. She took notes on stock tips, land deals, and bank activities. Then she quit her job and went to work. Before anyone noticed, she’d made millions, and used her fortune to free enslaved people. This is what money can do in the hands of women.

(I’m also gonna mention Mackenzie Scott here, who gave away more of her fortune last year than the five richest men in the world have given away in their entire lifetimes. There is more than one model for wealth and we’re focusing on the wrong one. Put wealth in the hands of women, and we share it with EVERYONE.)

This lovely conversation between two men

There’s a male mental health crisis and it’s there because patriarchy damages ALL of us, including men. It creates ridiculous ideals for what men should be, how they should act, and what is “acceptable”. Thankfully, there are guys like Joe Marler and Josh Widdicombe talking openly and without shame about stuff they struggle with, like the last time they cried.

These eggs with clown faces

Did you know that if a clown wants to trademark their makeup they have to paint it onto an egg and put it into the clown egg warehouse? And may I also present the Vent Haven museum, the world’s only museum dedicated to ventriloquism? When ventriloquists die, they donate their puppets to this place and I can tell you it is both magnificent and nightmare fuel.

What I’m reading

Currently most of the way through Rupert Everett’s To the End of the World: Travels with Oscar Wilde which is most entertaining. His memoir is about how he fought to make his Oscar Wilde movie, and all the shenanigans he encountered and instigated along the way. He’s a great raconteur and this is well worth a look.

What I’m writing

I’m refining my 10-minute stand-up set for Saturday night’s gig in Bromyard. And I’m getting down structural ideas for my next book. It’s taking shape and I’m beginning to feel excited about the book proposal I’m going to write.

Word of the week

Flâneur: A person who walks a city’s streets with no particular purpose, just observing and experiencing city life.

(This is one of my favourite things to do in London or in a new city.)

Quote of the week

I love this quote because it reminds me that writing and books are magical. They are time travel. They are a way of reaching into someone’s mind in the far future and changing something, a bridge between worlds and across time.

TTFN,

Vicky 🫡

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