I rarely need any extra motivation to get me writing. I’m generally just sitting here spilling my guts onto the page with very little need of any kind of prompt or starting point.

That’s why I have whole journals that are too personal to publish, although they still often end up being a good jumping off point for publishable writing.

But recently I’ve needed a little kickstart to get back into a regular writing habit after a challenging summer. Here are a few suggestions to consider writing about if you’re struggling to get going.

Who you want to be (or who you’re becoming)

I love this set of questions from . They’re really helping me get back on track at a time in my life when I’m going through a big, scary, midlife transition.

To get the most out of them, first set some time aside to work on them, and then reread them daily.

What you want the world to look like

We’re here to change the world as writers, so it can help to get a really clear picture of what we’re aiming for.

Some world-changing writing starts with a crazy Utopian fantasy, and then delves into exactly what would need to happen - in practical terms - to create something a little closer to that vision.

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What you don’t want the world to look like

Almost every piece of dystopian fiction starts with something bad that has happened or is happening and explores what that means.

If that’s your genre, writing about the worst case scenario that can develop from current events can be a great starting point for a short story or novel.

As a non-fiction writer, it can lead to an essay on the impact of current events, with perfect clarity around the big issues and what we need to do about them.

What went wrong (and what went well)

Analysing what went wrong in some aspect of your life, as well as what went well, can lead to a useful and insightful personal essay on almost any topic. Try applying it to something you’ve done in recent years. It could be:

• A fitness journey

• Parenting

• Paying off debt

• Moving to a new country

• Starting a Substack

• Writing a book

This piece on caring for a parent with dementia started out as a what went wrong/what went well exercise.

What you think about an existing piece of writing

I wrote recently about the art of the reaction paper. It basically just involves you reacting to an existing article or essay, either directly or indirectly. It can be particularly useful when the piece you want to react to is controversial.

You can also delve back into your own writing – published or unpublished – to write a brand new piece or an update on something you’ve covered before.

Your mission for today, should you choose to accept it, is to simply pick one of the above and write for half an hour. See what emerges. Decide whether it’s worth crafting into a publishable piece.

Thoughts from other people that I’m loving this week:

Refreshing your writing life (even though you’re exhausted) from

Excellent advice for Substack newbies (or anyone trying to grow on the platform) from

A tribute to Dolly, and her story telling magic from

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It’s been a long summer. To cut a very long story short I’ve been out of my home since May, due to a leak that turned into a flood that turned into a costly and time consuming home renovation.

Things are finally getting back to some kind of normal and I’m aiming to make up for lost time. And to do that I have to focus on what I really want out of my writing life, and do (a lot) more of what will help me achieve that.

When I think about what I want as a writer I often think in terms of the basics.

• I want to write about stuff I love

• I want to be published

• I want to be found and read by genuine readers

But after digging deep this week, here’s some of what I really, really, want.

Just one or two writing clients I absolutely love. The type of clients I would take a bullet for. The type of clients that allow me to spread a message that makes the world a better place.

Time to focus on my own writing, and the creative energy to do the deep, important, and authentic work that has a far-reaching positive impact.

The opportunity to build an audience and community of like-minded writers, but without pressure and without having to hard sell anything.

A little time to play with fiction writing, because writing a novel was my childhood dream, and we all deserve at least one childhood dream that comes true.

I could go on, but I probably shouldn’t. I’ve long been on a quest to do less but better. And four goals is enough, for now.

I’m already working on them all, in some small way, including slowly building my audience of like-minded writers right here on Substack. Join us if you’re a writer who wants to change the world.

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Your mission for today, should you choose to accept it, is to think about what you want as a writer. And then think about what you really, really want. Make a list. Then make a plan for each item on the list. And just like that, you’ve started designing your ideal life.

Thoughts from other people that I’m loving this week:

Cost-effective ways to market your book from

Monetizing your Substack without creating more content from and

Six weeks of writing prompts from

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I’ve been writing for pay for about 30 years now. My very early writing submissions were made by snail mail and my earliest paid gigs involved paying a (very small) check into my bank account.

Things were simple back then. And when the internet came along, they actually got simpler, initially. You could email your writing in now, and there was this thing called PayPal that sounded a bit scammy but allowed you to get paid online with just an email address.

Then the internet grew and new options appeared, and things started to get more complicated again. So here we are. In the twenty-first century, where being an online writer is no longer just about writing articles and getting paid for them. It’s also about:

• Creating and maintaining an online presence

• Consistently marketing your online work

• Creating digital products related to your niche

• And running an online store to sell them from

• Running a newsletter

• And a blog

• And maybe a podcast

• ‘Spin off’ income streams like affiliate marketing and brand sponsorships

Before you know it your little online writing business has multiple branches, messy priorities, and way too much complexity.

If that’s you right now, it might be time to simplify. I did that when I quit my three niche blogs and newsletters a couple of years ago, to focus exclusively on three main writing platforms. But I’ve inadvertently branched out again and now it’s time for another big prune.

Right now I don’t need new products, new writing markets or new strategies.

I do need to update my existing products, produce more work for my current writing markets, and refine my strategies.

I don’t need to start any new books.

I do need to finish and launch the book I’ve been working on for over a year.

I don’t need any new platforms.

I do need to focus on growth and optimization on the platforms I’m on already.

You may well be in a similar position.

Generally speaking it’s better to have:

• One or two platforms you write on consistently

• A few products that sell consistently

• A single newsletter that’s growing every month

But many of us have dozens of platforms, products and newsletters. Multiple accounts on some platforms. Multiple blogs or Substacks, all with separate social media accounts or pages.

If your writing business has gotten out of hand, ask yourself how you can get it back under control. Ask not what you can add, but what you can drop. Look at every aspect of your business to see where you can do less but better.

And if you’re just starting out? Keep it simple. You don’t need to be everywhere all at once. You don’t need a dozen digital products. You don’t need to be writing on every platform available.

I’d advise my simple three-platform system to start. But even then, start one at a time. Think of it as three simple building blocks that build on each other.

For me the blocks are:

Medium

A place to share my writing, behind a paywall, where I earn up to $2,000 or more for some articles and very little for others. I can also use Medium to link to my Substack, my digital products and affiliate partners.

Substack

A place to build a community, grow a newsletter, find an audience, and make money (from a paid tier, along with links to digital products and affiliate partners). I also re-post my best Substack posts behind the paywall on Medium.

Gumroad

This is where I sell my digital products. My storefront is a little messy right now while I update some products and get my freebies and tripwire products in place. But ultimately, this is the only online store I need for my products and freebies.

All the above platforms have the advantage of already having a built-in audience. People are already browsing them looking for information. So discovery is much easier than if you’re running your own blog, for example.

And it’s easier to stay authentic, focused and connected across three platforms than across ten or more. Focus beats variety. Simplicity beats complexity. Quality beats quantity.

How are you simplifying your writing business right now? Feel free to share, especially if it might help others. Not subscribed yet? Join the tribe.

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Thoughts from other people that I’m loving this week:

A simple rule for building trust on Substack from

Being brave with your writing from

Becoming a confident writer from

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Put these four books on your bookshelf (or Kindle) if you’re writing for change. You’ll reach for them over and over again.

Writing to Change The World by Mary Pipher

This one was published in 2007, which means I must have found it fairly quickly, as I think I first read it in 2008. I found it in my local library but soon realised it was going to be an ongoing reference book for me, so I bought my own copy.

That copy has been with me ever since, because Pipher’s advice on writing for change is both priceless and evergreen.

Write a Must-Read: Craft a Book That Changes Lives―Including Your Own by A J Harper

I have this one on my Kindle and am only half-way through it. But it’s already had an impact on how I’m putting together my current book. Apart from anything else, this book encourages you to get really clear on the problem you’re solving and who you’re solving it for.

You may think you already know this, but you could be wrong. It turns out the problem I’m solving is deeper and more nuanced than I thought. While this book is aimed at authors, it’s useful for any writer who’s writing to solve their reader’s problems.

Change The World, One Book at a Time by Nina Amir

This one came out earlier this year and I was lucky enough to be on the author’s street team. I went into the experience simply wanting to help a fellow author embracing the same core message as I do, but the book contributed a lot to how I’m putting together my upcoming book.

Like the book above, this one is aimed at authors rather than article and essay writers, but has a narrower focus, so is definitely best for those who are actively working on a book right now.

Writing for Impact by Bill Birchard

This book covers science-backed techniques that will help you engage your readers and encourage action, packaged into an eight-step framework that works for any writer.

Learn dopamine-spiking language tricks, and clever structuring techniques that increase impact and clarity in your writing. This is the book to focus on first if you already have the ideas and the motivation to write, but not the technical skills to make your writing shine.

Find more of my book recommendations here. And join us here at Change The World With Words if you’re not already subscribed.

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Thoughts from other people that I’m loving this week:

A new way to make money on Substack from

Developing high concept ideas from

Building a writing business that aligns with your nervous system from

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Many years ago in college one of my professors had a habit of making us write weekly reaction papers. She was one of my favourite professors but this was – initially – one of my least favourite tasks.

Other professors were happy as long as we completed our assigned readings, and even happier if we made a few notes and actually remembered a couple of pertinent points about what we’d read. But this one wanted a 500-word reaction paper, every week.

A reaction paper is what it sounds like. You react, on paper, to what you just read. You don’t simply make notes on the content. You think about the content, critically analyse it, share your own personal opinions, include evidence to back them up, and generally end up examining the details and nuances of the topic in a way you definitely wouldn’t if you were just ‘doing the set reading’.

It seemed like a lot of extra work, although we soon realised that if you really engaged with the reading, the reaction paper came naturally (and quickly) and added a whole new layer of understanding that stuck with you long-term.

It was an awesome way of making us think about the topic, relate it to our own experience, and ‘join the dots’ with other concepts we were learning about – all with about 30 minutes of extra effort.

What I didn’t realise at the time, is that it was also setting me up for a lifetime of professional writing.

As a writer, when you read someone else’s article or essay, it will often invoke an emotion in you. Maybe it misses important points, misrepresents the data, or only tells half the story. Don’t get mad. Get writing. React to it, and you’ll invariably produce a first draft of something that will ultimately be publishable.

Maybe it will stay in this form. A straight reaction to another writer’s work, published as such with a link to the original piece.

Maybe it will grow into something bigger, with the original piece no longer central or even particularly relevant to what you end up with.

Either way, you’ll have produced something worthwhile, that wouldn’t have existed without the original input.

My training in reaction papers happened in the very early days of the internet, before the comment section was really a thing, but it’s come into its own more than ever in modern times.

A reaction paper is a particularly useful, healthy, and often profitable way of addressing things you don’t agree with on the internet. When a piece is controversial, even when it’s obvious ‘rage bait’ it can be tempting to jump on in and get into a slanging match in the comment section.

But the comment section is never a place conducive to a nuanced and civil debate. No-one ever wins when you take the fight to the dark, ill-mannered, and volatile bottom half of the internet. Things can get ugly and very personal down there.

Bite your tongue. Keep your counsel. Go away and react at length and at leisure. With a whole lot of evidence to back you up and a thousand words or more to make your point.

Yes, it’s possible that the trolls will still come for you. That happens when you ruffle feathers. But you feel a lot more in control when it’s them reacting in your comment section, than the other way around.

What’s more, writing your own piece, especially if it’s viewed by some as controversial and worthy of comments, tends to line your pockets. Commenting on other people’s content tends to line theirs.

To be clear, a reaction paper isn’t just a rant about another writer and how wrong they were. It’s not pure criticism. It’s not the literary equivalent of a short-form video stitch. It’s an article or essay in it’s own right and should ideally include:

• An introduction to the topic and why it matters

• A critical analysis of the work, where you can acknowledge any strengths of – or explanations for – the author’s stance

• Evidence to support your claims, and maybe even the original author’s claims if there are parts of the piece that are factually correct

• Evidence to refute any claims you are debunking from the original piece

• Details of any misrepresented or incomplete data

• Connections to your own experience, broader themes and theories, the work of other respected authors, and related concepts

• A well thought out conclusion

A straight reaction paper is – pretty much by definition – a critical analysis of someone else’s work, but it can agree on some points and differ on others. In fact the best reaction papers are often in response to a piece that has addressed a topic in a way that partially makes sense, but left out a lot of extra nuance that’s needed to truly understand the bigger picture.

A piece that starts out as a reaction paper but ends up covering a much broader theme or related concept no longer has to be an analysis of the original piece. In that case you’ve used that piece as a jumping off point, but written something wholly original that can be published as such.

For me, it’s not unusual to get both of the above out of one piece of writing. Just recognise where your reaction ends and your expansion into original thoughts and related topics starts. Then split them into two articles.

Give it a try. Next time you read a piece that raises any kind of strong emotion, clashes with your own experiences, or only tells part of the story, get writing. See what comes of it. If you end up publishing it, share it with me. I love to see your writing.

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Thoughts from other people that I’m loving this week:

Simple changes that can add thousands of dollars of Substack revenue from

Marketing a book that doesn’t exist yet from BadRedhead Media (Rachel)

Questions to ask when the world makes you angry from Linda Caroll

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If you’re writing for change, you’ll spend some time tussling with trolls. It’s nobody’s favourite part of the job, but it’s really hard to avoid. This gig requires a thick skin, a courageous attitude, and a dedication to minimising risk of harm from those who don’t agree with you.

Writing for change often means writing about social justice issues, human rights, or marginalised groups, and when you do that you will make some people mad. Unsurprisingly, the people who get mad over things like human rights and marginalised groups are often not decent, peaceful, well-balanced people.

Write about things like racial equality, gender equality or LGBTQ+ issues, and you can pretty much guarantee that white supremacists, misogynists and homophobes will show up in your comments.

You can also be pretty sure that they’ll be very poorly educated on your topic – especially compared to you – and very unaware of that fact.

This video showed up in my feed this week. It’s kinda funny, but also way too true. It doesn’t matter that your Bachelor’s Degree AND your Master’s were in areas related to what you’re writing about. The online trolls will still tell you that you need to ‘educate yourself’ and they’ll mean you should do a Google search like they did.

They’ll also invariably not understand algorithms and search techniques and will therefore not realise your Google search might lead you to peer-reviewed, scholarly articles in prestigious journals whereas theirs will throw up AI slop and rage bait.

There are various ways to deal with online trolls:

1. Don’t feed them. Ignore comments. Switch comments off if you’re on a platform that allows it. Block, delete, ignore. And report if community guidelines are being broken, as they so often are.

2. Reply. With more information that refutes theirs. Don’t get into an argument. Just address what they’ve said with further studies, links, etc. You may even give someone the gift of a new perspective. But mostly they just won’t read the information you provide, especially if it requires a college reading level.

3. Get into an argument. Stressful and potentially dangerous. Do not recommend. Some internet users are both incredibly fragile and scarily volatile. Death threats and rape threats (especially if you are committing the crime of writing while feminist) occur more often than you would think.

Ultimately to write for change is to take risks.

We can minimise them by taking all sensible precautions. Don’t publish your home address online. Don’t reveal your exact location, especially not in real time. Don’t allow things like identifying landmarks, street names and licence plates to sneak into pics and videos you post. Be aware of how a more dedicated stalker can potentially find meta data in said pics and videos that might determine your location. Follow all best practices to protect yourself and your personal details.

Trust your intuition and listen to others in similar positions. I was once in a discussion forum of (mostly) women writers who were looking at work-arounds to avoid putting their home address on their newsletters, given that newsletter platforms generally require a physical, postal address to be included on every email. Experienced women writers were advising a PO Box address or similar for obvious (to women) safety reasons.

A man crashed into the comments to tell us that we were all paranoid and that his female partner (along with every other female he knew) would laugh at us for being so concerned about revealing our whereabouts to our subscribers who – he pointed out – couldn’t possibly have nefarious reasons for signing up to our newsletters.

The fact that he thought women are scared of other women laughing at them said it all, I guess, given that female laughter is a strange and very gender-specific fear. I went with number 2 above and provided statistics that refuted his argument. He didn’t read them. I went ahead and used a PO Box address anyway, ranking the hypothetical laughter of the sisterhood as preferable to threats to my physical safety.

To sum up: Writing about “controversial” issues like basic human rights can be risky. Continuing to do so in times like these is an act of courage. Be brave, but don’t be reckless. Keep writing, but take all reasonable precautions to protect yourself. As the ancient proverb advises: Trust in God, but tether your camel.

One last (vaguely) related issue to consider: If you’re a writer based outside of the USA, you may want to be aware of a specific recent development in US visa paperwork.

I recently applied for a tourist visa for my son to visit the US and the form now asks for details of your online presence, including all social media profiles. I’ve travelled back and forth to the US my whole life and can confirm that this is a recent development.

I have no way of knowing how this information is processed, but if you write about equality, human rights, or social justice issues in a way that might anger the current administration, now might be a good time to avoid trips to the USA. Just saying.

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Thoughts from other people that I’m loving this week:

Growing your Substack (with data from 94,000+ posts) from

A masterclass in story structure - from watching a movie from

What it really takes to grow as a writer from

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Writing for change is at the heart of all my content here on Substack. But recently I’ve noticed some of my audience referring to how their world-changing writing is their passion, their vocation, or their hobby. That’s fine, if that’s what you want your writing to be. But it’s not what I want, and it’s not the message I’m trying to spread.

I want us all to be able to make art, make money, AND make a difference. It’s not either/or. You don’t have to choose between income and impact. In fact, the more money you make the more impact you’re likely having. The two are correlated in more ways than one.

My most impactful essay of last year was this one. Thousands of views. Hundreds of comments and private messages, most of them from people saying that the piece resonated, made them feel less alone, or otherwise helped them in some way. It was also my highest-earning piece on Medium last year. That’s not a coincidence.

On some platforms, your writing will earn more the more people it reaches. On others, you’ll get paid more up-front for your writing because the publication you’re writing for has more money to pay you - precisely because it has such a large audience.

Writing for change doesn’t mean writing for peanuts, and it doesn’t mean writing for free. If you’re a writer who wants your world-changing work to make you a living, ask yourself these questions.

What sort of art do you want to make? Do you want to write fiction, non-fiction, personal essays or how-to guides? Short-form or long-form? What type of writing is best suited to the messages you’re spreading, and where do your talents lie?

How can you monetise it? Is it suitable to pitch to high-paying markets? Will it earn well on Medium? Can it be part of your paid offering on Substack? Can you make it into a book, eBook, online guide or other digital product?

Will it make a difference? Who will it help? What impact will it have? How will your reader’s lives be improved by reading it?

You can make art, money and a difference. You just need to work out how and put a plan in place.

Need help? Ask me for advice. My comment section and DMs are always open to my readers and subscribers. Let me know how I can help

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Thoughts from other people that I’m loving this week:

How to keep writing through the hardly-any-followers-and-very-little-traction phase from

Fantasy world building and starting your writing career from zero from and

Becoming a published author on Substack from and

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Everyone talks about discipline when it comes to being a writer. Not because we hate writing but because sitting down to write every day can be hard.

Consistency is hard. Writing on the days you’re tired, or sick, or just not feeling it, is hard. Doing the same thing every day is hard.

But here’s the thing. Discipline itself is hard.

That’s why we need a well-designed life. Or as James Clear puts it:

“The disciplined life looks impressive, but the well-designed life lasts longer. Before you try to find more willpower, design your environment and arrange your day so you’re more likely to follow through.”

As Benjamin Hardy emphasises in his book Willpower Doesn’t Work, if we were all able to simply force ourselves to do the right thing, most of the problems in this world wouldn’t exist.

Lifestyle design can be particularly effective when it comes to creative pursuits. Willpower might get you to take a cold plunge when you don’t feel like it, but it’s unlikely to get you to write a whole book.

So designing a lifestyle that supports you is key to consistency. This can take many forms.

It can be a beautifully designed writing space, a set of comforting writing rituals, a pre-writing warm-up where you journal or free write for a few minutes, or a weekly writing group where you all get together to either write or share your week’s work.

It can also look like a notebook (or app) you constantly jot down ideas in so you’re never sitting waiting for inspiration.

It can look like a folder on your laptop with dozens of essays or articles or stories that are just a title or a few notes or an opening line, so you can open any one of them and get started.

It can look like a list of links leading to essays you want to write a ‘reaction piece’ to. It can look like whatever works for you.

And here’s a little secret that some writers will undoubtedly disagree with. You don’t have to write every day.

You can design a life where you get to write on your day off, on the couple of early mornings you don’t go to the gym, or every other Tuesday from 3 until 6.05, because that’s just what suits your schedule.

Your task for today is to simply take a few minutes to think about how you could design a life that fully supports the writer you’re becoming.

Then take one or two small actions to make that happen. Create a writing space, buy a new notebook, or re-jig your schedule to make more room for writing. Join a writing group if that will help, or get an accountability buddy.

Just make sure whatever you pick is something that will actually work for you and help you reach your writing goals.

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Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Check out my Amazon Storefront for more recommendations.

Thoughts from other people that I’m loving this week:

Ten Things to Write Before Your Brain Decides Who You Are: How to use a blank notebook to rewire your brain and change your identity from

Creating a Working Writer’s Notebook from

What 99% of Writers Are Doing Wrong on Substack Notes from

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Your writing should be a haven and a comfort. Something you get to do, not something you have to do. You’ll be told over and again that consistency is key, but not that consistency is pleasurable. It can be though, and it should be.

If you’re aiming for consistency, getting into a writing routine is important. If you’re aiming for consistency that feels calm, comforting, and pleasurable, writing rituals are even better.

Routines bring us structure and predictability, helping things run smoothly, even when life gets chaotic. Rituals do something a little different. They bring a sense of magic, perhaps a spiritual element, and a calmness and clarity to our day.

A routine is getting up at 5 am, making a coffee, and doing some stretches before you sit down to write. A ritual might be snuggling into a cozy blanket, lighting a candle and saying thanks to the universe for another new day before starting to write.

Routines and rituals go hand in hand and sometimes blend together. But they are subtly different. Your routine will keep you on track, but your rituals will energize and revitalize you. And if your routine seems to energize and revitalize you, then maybe that routine is slowly becoming a ritual.

Let’s face it, writers are quirky.

• James Joyce reportedly used crayon pieces to write on pieces of cardboard in order to produce Finnigan’s Wake.

• Barak Obama wrote his entire memoir, A Promised Land, in longhand on yellow legal pads.

• Maya Angelou would rent a hotel room to write, asking staff to remove all pictures and ornaments.

Your rituals can be quirky too, or verging on the mundane. And they can fit into any part of the writing process. The ritual can be in the lead-up to the writing. It can involve how, when and where you write. Or it can be what you do to reward yourself at the end of a writing session.

It can be hibiscus tea before you sit down to write, a scented candle and classical music playing quietly in your writing space, or writing in your notebook on a clifftop with a view.

But it can also be writing in the car with a take-out latte while you wait to pick the kids up from practice, or voice recording your ideas on your lunchtime walk, or logging onto Facebook and doing a group writing session with your virtual writing community.

The world is constantly throwing productivity advice at us. Get up earlier. Set a timer. Use the Pomodoro technique. Write 2,000 words before breakfast. Use an app that destroys your writing if you don’t type fast enough (just the thought of it makes me anxious - making it the exact opposite of a ritual).

Life is busy. Typical productivity advice doesn’t work for all of us, but often, rituals do. Play around with some. See what works for you. Watch out for what makes you feel calm, comforted and creative. That’s your ritual, whatever it looks like.

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This Week’s Good Advice:

Even poets can make money on Substack from &

Writing lessons from cats from

54 Writing Contests in May 2026 from Erica Verrillo

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I came late to journalling, and many would say I don’t do it ‘right’. No prompts, no themes, no rhyme or reason to it. Just me dumping my thoughts and feelings and ideas onto a blank page, processing everything so it doesn’t have to live inside my head.

When I go back to it, some of it is stuff I can definitely use as a writer, and some of it isn’t. And some of it is a fairly coherent narrative that just needs tweaking to make it an article.

My brother died unexpectedly last year. And I had to deal with the nightmare that was telling my mother – not once but many times – because her dementia would not allow her to hold the information in her head.

I got through the ordeal my journalling it out as I went along. Those journal entries formed the basis of this essay: a piece that attracted thousands of views, close to a hundred comments, and several hundred dollars of revenue.

I didn’t journal during this time with the thought that I would put together an emotionally engaging, ultimately well-received personal essay. I did it to take the pain and trauma out of me and put it on the page. But when I eventually felt able to go back and look at that pain and trauma it became very clear to me that others might find it helpful or relatable. According to the comments, they did.

Like many writers, I often write to work out what I think. I clarify my own opinions, defend my ideas, and develop new perspectives through writing. A journal is a safe space to do this. You don’t have to publish everything (or anything) that you spill onto the blank page. I’m journalling around some very personal stuff right now that will likely never be presented to a public audience, but maybe some of the insights I’m gaining will be.

And not everything in my journal is personal. A lot of it focuses on my professional life. I wrote this article based on a page of notes I made when I was brainstorming how I wanted to simplify my writing life, and this one based on some random thoughts about why I write and the legacy I want to leave as a writer. To date, they’ve made me approximately $1,315 and $2,260 respectively.

Life is messy. Keeping a journal can help you make sense of it. It doesn’t matter what form that takes. Your journal can be physical or digital, elegant or utilitarian. It can be a document on your computer, the Notes app on your phone, or a page in Notion. It just needs to feel like a space where you can dump all your thoughts, insights and pain down. Then come back later and decide how much of that would be useful to others and in what form.

Your mission for today, should you choose to accept it:

Start a new journal page, or a new journal if you’ve never done this before. Dig deep. Find some vulnerabilities. Spill them onto the page. Leave them there for a week. Go back and see if anything you wrote is something you want to share with the world. Remember it doesn’t have to be the details. It can be the insights gained from writing them down.

And if you’re wondering how I make thousands of dollars from very ordinary essays and articles, that’s the power of Medium. If you’re not writing there already, it’s worth considering. And if you’re not subscribed here at Change The World With Words, that’s something else worth considering.

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This Week’s Good Advice:

Immersing yourself in your readers’ world from

What’s stopping you from growing on Substack from

0 to 8,000 Substack subscribers in 365 Days from

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Let’s not pull any punches. The world is a mess. War and conflict. Death and destruction. People in positions of power making monumentally stupid decisions.

It’s enough to make you think that writing for change isn’t really worth it. That your sane and wise words are a drop in the ocean of insanity and recklessness around you. That it’s time to give up and just focus on your immediate environment because that’s all you really can control.

For over 20 years I never doubted my own message. Words can change the world, I told any new writer who would listen to me. Go forth and write. Touch people’s lives. Solve their problems. Make them think. Make them feel less alone.

But sometimes, now, I feel like words are not enough. I feel like there’s too much wrong, illegal, immoral, and unethical in this world. Then I remember the story about the guy who made the coffee.

It’s a story that does the rounds from time to time. says he sets a reminder to re-read it once a year. It takes place on a dark, cold, winter’s evening, where a line of people are waiting for a visitation outside a funeral home. The people are tired, cold, and grieving, and suddenly a man appears giving out cups of steaming hot coffee to those in line.

Years later the mother of the boy whose visitation that was, worked out that it was the guy who owned the bakery across the street who turned up with coffee that night. She went to thank him. Told him how much that small act of kindness meant to grieving friends and family.

His response?

“All I could do was make coffee, so I made coffee.”

That’s the story I think about when I feel like giving up this crusade to have an impact on the world through my writing.

Sometimes in life you can’t mitigate the pain or reverse the tragedy, but you can make the coffee. And writing is like that too. Your words can’t change everything, but they can still have an impact. They can make one person feel better, or warmer, or more energised and more able to cope with what they’re dealing with right now.

That’s why I keep writing. Some days I’m not having a huge impact and I’m certainly not changing the world, but I’m still helping or comforting someone out there. I’m making the metaphorical coffee, and that’s worth doing.

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This Week’s Good Advice:

• Don’t believe the bad news about America’s reading habits from

• Feeling good about where you are on your creative journey from

• Three things most Substack creators overlook from Jari Roomer

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Several months ago I tweaked the format of this newsletter because I felt I had very little choice. My world was kind of falling apart. My mother was diagnosed with dementia, my brother died unexpectedly, and the combination of the two really knocked me sideways.

I didn’t want to abandon all my loyal subscribers, but I just didn’t feel able to show up each week the way I wanted to, so I started curating rather than creating: sharing the best snippets of writing advice I found each week.

I was still writing, because that’s my job. I had clients expecting work from me on a regular basis. But that alone - on top of my caring duties - was enough (on a good week) and a little too much (on the many not-good weeks).

And if I’m honest, I didn’t feel able to keep writing about changing the world when my own world was so out of control. I didn’t seem capable of managing my own life, never mind changing other people’s.

Then this week a couple of signs presented themselves to me. I saw that corny old quote that says something about how sometimes when everything is falling apart it’s just falling into place. Then I found an old piece of my writing where I was expressing the fact that writing itself is one of the processes by which my own thoughts and ideas fall into place.

So here I am. Writing without a brief, again. Writing in pockets of time around my client work and what has evolved into pretty much full-time care-giving. Writing about what matters to me right now.

I’m hoping that as I write, things will fall into place, or at least make a little more sense. Hoping that I can get back to writing the book I started over a year ago, or that – at the very least – I can start serving my audience better and spending time in the writing communities I’ve neglected recently.

Oh and I’ll still be curating and sharing a few snippets of excellent writing advice each week too.

For now, I have questions. Have you found writing gets you back on track? Does it help you clarify your thoughts, focus on what’s important, or even just take your mind off everything else? Does it help things fall into place?

I’m hoping so, and I’ll be reporting back on how well it works (or if it doesn’t).

Make sure you’re subscribed if you’re interested in how that pans out.

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This Week’s Good Advice:

• Lies writers are told about marketing their work from

• Why the conscious people need to keep speaking up (and writing) from

• Making this a breakthrough year on Substack from

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Happy Sunday! For those of you who celebrate Easter in any way, I hope you’re having a lovely weekend.

I inevitably do some work on a weekend, even a holiday weekend, and today is no exception. But I’m taking a moment to feel extreme gratitude that I love my work - and serving this audience - so much that it genuinely feels like “I get to work” not “I have to work”.

Here’s what I want to share with you today:

• Helping your audience master the things you most love to talk about

• Writing bravely about what we believe in

• How I write over half a million words a year

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Happy Sunday! Here’s what I found for you this week.

This week’s advice:

• 21 snippets of advice that will make you a top 2% writer

• Why 85% is the new 100%

• The Substack newsletters earning a million dollars or more

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Happy Sunday! Here’s what I found for you this week.

This week’s advice:

• 95 paying markets for writers

• What you really need to get a book deal

• Add a simple extra income stream to what you’re already doing online (three-minute read)

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It’s been a hell of a fortnight, spent mostly in the hospital with my 91-year-old mum. She’s home now but I’m on pretty much full-time nursing duty. I’ve managed to pull together a few resources for you though. Hope you find something useful.

This week’s advice:

• Substack Made Simple Part III: Rescuing your ‘hidden’ Substack posts

• The (Almost) Lost Art of Relentless Focus

• Giving All Your Writing a Job to Do (one-minute read)

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I’ve been busy this week putting together a new guide to faceless marketing which you can get for free here. Like lots of writers, I’m camera shy with no video editing skills at all, but I’m also aware that platforms like Instagram and TikTok can be great places to find readers and book buyers. So I’ve been experimenting and I’m sharing what I’ve learned.

Here’s what else I found for you this week:

• High paying markets for writers in 2026 (video)

• Why more is worse when it comes to information

• Breaking into a new niche as a writer

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I’ve been busy this week making a new quick-start guide to affiliate marketing which you can get for free here. Affiliate marketing has always been my second biggest income stream after freelance writing (you can see all ten of them here) so take a look if it’s something you’ve been considering adding into your newsletter, blog, or other content.

What I found for you this week:

• 8 new agents you can pitch your book to

• How Substack Notes are working in 2026

• Making the freelance writing life easier

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Welcome to all my wonderful world-changing subscribers. Here’s what I’ve found for you this week.

Worthwhile reads:

• 12 writing secrets for both fiction and non-fiction writers

• Marketing tips for authors

• Unfollows & unsubscribes are creating your ideal audience for you

From this week’s sponsor:

Establish true authority in your niche by becoming known for something.

Have a wonderful week and remember, you’re only in competition with yourself.

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2026 isn’t exactly throwing a lot of good news into our feeds, so this week we’re looking at how to keep writing through the chaos, among other things.

Worthwhile reads:

• Writing about ordinary things when the feed feels apocalyptic

• Margaret Atwood’s thought-provoking takes on writing and writers

• Increasing views and revenue on Medium (one-minute read)

From this week’s sponsor:

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