Reading time: 3.41

Hey Reader,

Two patterns I’ve noticed in my most successful authors (and one secret to their success)

➡️ 1. They allow (at least elements of) the writing process to be fun.

Why so serious?

➡️ 2. They burrow through their discomfort to get the substance underneath.

People don’t want a surface level book; they want depth.

They don’t want our “ooh what will people think of me” prose; they want our down-and-dirty truths.

The secret?

🔥Write the stuff you’re not sure you ever want anyone to see🔥

because they never have to see it!

But the act of pushing through that discomfort gets us to the other side of our fear of writing.

It helps us figure out what we truly think and feel and believe, and what our values are.

And what comes out of that is US.

Our voices.

We can take that stuff that can never be seen in public, and start to turn it into something we’re proud of — and that’s the fun part.

The bit where we get to unmask, undress, stop pretending, and it is LIBERATING.

Esp when you remember nobody else has to see it.

Getting there, though — that can be a PROCESS because we’re all so used to dampening ourselves down —

lest we be

too much

too loud

too rude

too vulnerable

too amateurish

too REAL

If you find yourself skating on the surface of ideas you KNOW are deeper than that, get some help!

It’s not always easy or possible to dig down there yourself.

So if you’ve tried and tried and it ain’t happening:

🤙🏼 call me

This is my forte.

And it’s the foundation of what I’ve built in MicroBook Magic.

There’s no point trying to write that book if you’re not 100% sure of what you’re actually writing or why. We unravel all that in the first week, so that on week 2 you’re ready to fly.

Like Laura, who is just about to publish her book Brilliantly Bouncy!

Check out what she has to say right here.

Then, if you’re ready to finally get your book done and you’re excited about digging into your own psyche to find the treasure I KNOW is buried in there, sign up here:

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

54 books by women from Africa’s 54 countries

First, this magazine looks brilliant so thank you so much to Sharon Hurley-Hall for introducing me to The Republic.

Second, if you’ve ever thought that maybe you’d like to expand your reading horizons to authors whose life experience may be vastly different from yours, here is a great place to start!

A microfiction competition!

Check this out — a great little creative writing exercise whether you want to enter this competition or not.

Create a till receipt, and then craft a micro story around it. More details here.

A different (and very silly) way to communicate

Last Friday I attended Dave James’s speaking workshop Smack Your Pitch Up and it was so much fun.

Not least because we were playing with balloons and I suggested maybe using the balloons to have a conversation.

So me and Katie Allen did this and it was silly and funny.

Pablo Picasso’s zines!

I’ve been a bit obsessed with Zines recently — I actually made one with my two hands, and paper and pens, and sent it in the post to people I thought might enjoy it. So far, I’ve had no objections. I’ll share the digital version at some point.

Anyway — the wonderful Jillian Hess wrote a piece on Pablo Picasso’s notebooks and imagine my delight when I found out Picasso used to make zines too!

​Check out the article here.

Accurate LinkedIn satire

And finally, some fairly accurate satire about what it’s like on LinkedIn.

If you’re stuck for content, pick something ridiculous about your industry or business and make fun of it.

What I’m reading

Currently knee-deep in Deborah Frances-White’s extremely important and enjoyable to read Six Conversations We’re Scared to Have.

If you’re in despair about how divided we are, and scared to speak on anything lest the thought-police come down on you for not quite toeing their line, you need to read this.

And if you’ve ever jumped on someone for using the “wrong” word or not quite agreeing with you, you also need to read this.

I have definitely felt the former and have, on occasion, been guilty of the latter.

Read this book.

What I’m writing

Currently writing my… manifesto? I guess you could call it that. I’m working with the brilliant Sophie Lee in her aptly-named Brilliant program to figure out exactly what it is that I do.

I know that sounds weird — I’m a nonfiction book coach and writing coach. But it’s MORE than that. And putting it into words is one of the hardest things EVERRRRRRR.

Word of the week

rudesby: one who is consistently ill-mannered and badly behaved.

I found this in Susie Dent’s An Emotional Dictionary and shall hereby be adopting it.

Quote of the week

Have a most splendid weekend.

And remember to sign up for MicroBook Magic if you want to write that book!

TTFN,

Vicky