📖 Table of Contents
👋 Warm Welcome – On a recently viral quote
✍️ Writing Tip – Staying in the “Just Written” Zone
📚 Reading Recommendation – Steven Pressfield
📝 Short Essay – Writing is hard because of fear
💬 Quote of the Week – Robert Hass
📰 Book & Media News – Sanderson, Horror Book Store
☕ Closing Note – Share and grow with us
📊 Closing Poll - Give us your feedback
👋 Warm Welcome
Happy Sunday, writers & readers!
I recently posted a quote that went semi viral (for me at least, in my small world of writers.) The quote was: “It’s hell writing and it’s hell not writing. The only tolerable state is having just written.” — Robert Hass.
I think this resonated with writers because it speaks to a deep truth about writing, and it’s that writing is hard. I’ll break it down in this months short essay. I call them essays, but some don’t have a thesis statement. Oh well!
Enjoy this weeks issue.
✍️ Writing Tip of the Week – Stay in the “just written” zone
Like our into alluded to, there is no better feeling than being in the “just written” zone. Here’s how to get there, and stay there.
Start a small journal about your experience with writing, and your emotional state after finishing a scene or writing sprint. (read 15 minute sprint in last weeks issue for more.) Spend 2–3 minutes immediately writing what scenes or lines you liked, what surprised you, and what you want next. This helps capture the emotional high after a session and you can go back to it for inspiration when you’re not feeling disciplined to write that day.
Stop mid scene or mid page when writing. Instead of finishing the scene, leave a question or tension to carry you into the next session. This literally leaves you wanting more, and you should know exactly what comes next for your next writing session.
Start a warm up page. If you’re stuck, start a blank page using an online prompts from somewhere, it doesn’t even have to do with your story. This just get’s your creative mind working, and even if for some reason you don’t write towards your book, you can say you’ve written.
📚 Reading Recommendation – Everything Steven Pressfield has written about writing.
Okay, this may sound like a lot since Steven Pressfield has written 6 books about discipline in writing, but they are easily digestible and each serve their own purpose. I recommend reading them in the order they came out:
1. The War of Art (2002)
His most famous book, a manifesto about battling “Resistance.” The invisible force that keeps us from doing our work.
Short, punchy chapters that pack motivation.
Core idea: Professionals show up every day, amateurs wait for inspiration.
2. Do the Work (2011)
A practical follow up to The War of Art.
A step by step pep talk for starting and finishing projects.
Written to be read quickly, almost like having a writing coach in your ear.
3. Turning Pro (2012)
Explores the mindset shift from “amateur” to “professional.”
About identity and commitment: amateurs dabble, pros dedicate.
A little more philosophical than Do the Work.
4. Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t (2016)
A blend of memoir and craft guide.
Shows how his years in advertising and Hollywood taught him to grab attention, respect the reader, and cut bloat.
Especially useful for understanding story structure and audience-first thinking.
5. The Artist’s Journey (2018)
Companion to The Hero’s Journey.
Argues that once you overcome Resistance and “turn pro,” your deeper work begins: discovering your calling and unique creative voice.
Less about daily grind, more about meaning and legacy.
6. Put Your A** Where Your Heart Wants to Be (2022)
Super short and blunt.
You don’t need more tips, you need to physically put yourself in the place where the work happens.
Get started writing, now.
📝 Short Essay: Writing Is Hard Because of Fear
Last week I wrote about the 3 things that helped me write my book in 81 days straight.
Whenever I tell people I wrote a book in less than 3 months, one of their responses are “wow, I didn’t realize writing a book was so easy. I would have thought it would take longer.” And that’s a fair response. For most people it does take longer, and they weren’t aware that a written first draft is not the same as an edited book.
Whether I explain the nuances or not, the inevitable next question is “when are you going to publish it.” Then I explain I have to edit the book, and even then as my first book I don’t know if I want to publish it because quite frankly most first books suck, but that’s a topic for another day. My point is, I haven’t fully finished my book yet because despite “writing” it in 81 days, I still haven’t edited it, which is just as much “writing” as writing the book itself. Editing is hard, and writing is hard. Two sides of the same coin.
So what makes writing so hard? There are a lot of reasons, some of them technically, some of them mental. Mental, but how? Well for instance there’s the factor of time. Lots of us, (myself included) simply say we don’t have the time to sit and write (or in my case edit.) But if we learned anything in last weeks newsletter about 15 minute sprints, you don’t need much time to write every day. So “not having time” is really a mental excuse. We choose not to put that 15 minutes into our schedule for a plethora of reasons.
Fear, I believe, being one of them. Fear of the blank page for some, and fear of judgment for others. Books, and the ideas we have for them, can seem so perfect in our head, but once we make it real, and realize one day someone else will read it, then fear can creep in. But what if we write for ourselves?
“Write the book you want to read” is advice I’ve heard, and posted on my instagram in different forms of quotes. It’s great advice, in my opinion, because there is only one you and the book you write is only the book you can write. So if you’re afraid, just remember that. No one else can write the book you want to write, only you.
And if you’re like me, maybe you’re writing for an audience of one for the first novel or so. Not a big deal. But even if you aren’t, if you act like you are, it will help you overcome the fear.
The technical aspects that make writing hard go away with practice and time. You can take a million courses but if you read a lot of books and write a lot, you will understand story on an intuitive level. So that’s no excuse, either.
Use the tips I wrote above on how to always be in the “just written” stage and you will feel all the better for it. I know I was riding that wave of euphoria every day during my 81 day sprint of writing my first novel. And if fear is still creeping in, read those books by Pressfield. It will light a writing fire inside of you that you didn’t know you had.
💬 Quote of the Week
“The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear. Then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist.” -Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
📰 Book and Media News
☕ Closing Note
Thank you for spending your Sunday morning with me. My hope is that this newsletter gave you motivation.
Whether it was a tip to try, a book to read, or the encouragement to sit down and write.
If you found this valuable, consider forwarding it to a friend who loves books or writing. Communities grow when we share them.
Until next week, happy writing and happy reading.