Reading time: 4.47

1,138 words

Hey Reader,

A few years ago, I got lost in an abandoned town near Fethiye, in Turkey: Kayaköy Ghost Town.

I was deliberately lost because I was imagining that I was in a computer game. And also because I wanted to interrupt my usual patterns of needing to know everything in advance.

(Because we all know how very possible THAT goal is to achieve.)

I didn’t have a map of the town. I turned off my phone data. I was completely alone.

So when the sun started to go down and I wanted to leave, I didn’t have a direct route out of there. It took me much longer than I thought it would to find my way out.

But it was worth it because I found the most brilliant mosaic floor on my meanderings. I wouldn’t have seen it if I’d preprogrammed the most efficient route into my map.

And I would not have found this portal to another world, either:

I’ve had to work hard to let go of the idea that everything in life should follow a prescribed path. Things rarely ever do, and I’ve discovered I don’t really want them to anyway.

Even if sometimes it is frustrating.

I was reminded of this earlier this week talking to a client of mine. We worked together a year or so ago and she hasn’t published her book yet — but she did tell me about her journey.

She had an idea, did my programme, and created her outline and a whole lot of chapters — and stalled for a while.

It’d be easy to think she’d just got stuck, but she hadn’t. She turned her idea into a programme of her own, and ran it for a school — and they absolutely loved it. It was proof her idea worked.

So now she’s back on the book train and she’s almost finished it, and I’m really excited for her.

I’m also grateful for the reminder that sometimes journeys aren’t linear. Sometimes what looks like a stumble is, in fact, an experiment that becomes part of the journey.

Of course, sometimes we’re just stuck — and that’s where I come in with my book coaching ways.

It’s worth knowing the difference.

It’s also common to get really close to the end, and stall out — so if you’ve got a manuscript that’s mostly there but you’re struggling to get it over the finish line, I can help with that.

In fact, I’ve just created a new programme called The Finish Line to do exactly that in 3 months.

Here’s how it works:

• One call per month (60 mins): we'll use this to review progress, tackle whatever's in the way, and set your focus for the next month.
• Telegram access between calls: for the moments when you're stuck mid-chapter and need a quick steer.
• Telegram nudges and prompts: to keep you moving.
• Weekly feedback on submitted work: send me up to 3,000 words (a chapter or a solid chunk of one) each week or fortnight, and I’ll give you proper editorial and coaching feedback: what’s working, what isn’t, where the argument needs tightening. This is directional feedback, not line editing.
• Deadlines and homework: because that’s what actually gets books finished.

My full 3-month coaching programme is £2,500/month. The Finish Line Programme is £1,500/month — designed specifically for writers who already have momentum and just need the structure, accountability, and expertise to see it through.

The total for three months is £4,500 +VAT. We can sort payment upfront or monthly and I have space for one client right now.

If this sounds right for you, reply to this email and we’ll get you booked in.

And now for the Friday Goodie Bag! Here’s what I’ve found:

This community football club reducing knife crime

It always makes me laugh when politicians trot out their “tough on crime” stance. Because if they were really serious about solving social problems, they’d be looking at causes, not treating humans as LOST causes.

Which is why I love this story about a local community football club and the changes it’s made for kids living in poverty. Community is ALWAYS the answer.

These incredible dinosaur costumes

Thank you Hannah de Keijzer for sending me these incredible dinosaurs which combines my love of dinosaurs with my love of cool uses of technology to make amazing costumes. I kind of want one.

This news on dinosaur quinceañeras

In more dinosaur news, this Onion article made me laugh. That’s all really. Writing a little satire in the style of Serious News Articles is always a fun creative exercise. Maybe give it a try?

The Salt March

I’m always fascinated by how much of what is presented to us as “history” is actually propaganda. Or outright lies. My favourite example of this is just how much women are missing from global history. Here’s another example of the heinous nature of British colonialism I never knew about until fairly recent: the salt tax.

The 1882 Salt Act gave Britain a monopoly on collecting and manufacturing salt, limiting its handling to government salt depots and levying a salt tax. Violation of the Salt Act was a criminal offence. Even though salt was freely available to those living on the coast (by evaporation of sea water), Indians were forced to buy it from the colonial government.

The AUDACITY.

So when I hear people talk about “the great British empire” I roll my eyes heavily because most people have no idea what really went on. Me included, because this is really the tip of a very grubby iceberg.

This dragonfly that lives in my garden

I just stood next to this dragonfly and watched it hunt and come back and hunt and come back for about an hour the other day. Isn’t it glorious?

What I’m reading

I’ve almost finished Magpie by Elizabeth Day and it’s what is known as “a real page turner.” And in fact it is! There’s a real sense of menace and unease right from the first page, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it.

What I’m writing

I’m trying — TRYING — to make my Summer zine. And I need to crack on because there’s not much Summer left. It will happen though. It will. So if you’re on the list of people who gets a copy, watch out over the next couple of weeks!

Word of the week

spindrift (n.)

The spray blown off waves in a gale, or fine snow or sand whipped up by the wind. I was caught in spindrift yesterday on the beach, climbing back over the dunes with surfboards.

Today I feel like spindrift.

Quote of the week

Amen, Walt.

TTFN,

Vicky 🫡

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