As a new member l am thoroughly enjoying working my way through all your posts and there's so much to learn, thank you Beth!!! The confession about guilt with family and writing rings so true and needing to devote some quiet time for writing. Can't wait to keep reading and what an amazing community you have created here. I am so grateful to you and everyone else for being here xxx💜💜💜
I’ve published three books and am revising my fourth. Yes to so much of what you share here. Writing is my air. And it’s the thing that holds so many of the unknowns in my life. What a stunning paradox!
Gosh this is so good. I just saw a FB add for a LTO (low ticket offer) that had this exact undertone of marketing.
The upsell offer had “YES INCLUDE THIS UPRADE WITH MY ORDER.” Right under that button it said “No thanks. I’d prefer to spend weeks figuring this process out on my own.”
Would be so curious to hear your thoughts on that Beth. It stirs me up. This type of language in marketing is shaming and disregards a persons own agency by saying “you must get what I have in order to be okay.”
I’m a therapist so sometimes I read into language maybe too much. But if you’re a person who has experienced trauma (which strips away agency) you will fall for this marketing tactic over and over. Giving the person money while you may be left not feeling empowered yourself wondering, watching the course but not taking action, then wondering what you’re doing wrong.
Okay sorry, off my soap box. Thanks again Beth for this letter. It spoke to me obviously 🙃
Bowing to the beauty of this post, so many healthy and hearty confessions.
I absolutely resonate with number one and two, I smiled at number 2, I recently published something in the same vein, I absolutely NEED to get away from everyone, even my most loved ones and create, my mental health is at stake, so I’ve finally learned not to judge this part of me.
Truly appreciate the openness throughout your writing, what a breath of fresh air!
I love reading your words. Such clarity, such ease. It's nice to hear about some of the background of the writer's life. In many ways, I find you a super woman, (being a mother, business owner and writer), yet, human when you share how life in your family looks like with this as your work. Super cool. xx
I love reading your essays on here. I have recently started my own SubStack and am slowly figuring it out. Your confessions are so true to me too. Having three little ones makes it hard to find the quiet time, but I recently have set that boundary and made my writing sanctuary. It is important for all of us that I get to have my writing. It makes me a better person, mom and wife. Thank you for making me feel like I'm not the worst mom in the world and I am not alone in feeling like I deserve to go after my dreams even while they are little.
Ah Beth...just this morning while working on lesson four of 'How to get a book deal', many questions running through my mind, wishing I could just call you up and ask them! Well...the universe just answered two of those questions, in #confession 1 and #confession 5. Confirmation that we are never alone, even in isolation, we are never alone. Thankyou.
I have never considered myself a writer, a dabbler...dipping my toe into poetry when ever inspriration struck. However, I'm in the process of taking part in your winter writing sanctuary, inspired by problems in my personal life. I was looking for a way of expression that wasn't verbal, but a way of getting thoughts out of my head. I have to say a huge thank you. Your course has made me realise that I am a writer, but also has been very cathartic. My writing will continue beyond the emotional recovery.
I have never considered myself a writer, a dabbler...dipping my toe into poetry when ever inspriration struck. However, I'm in the process of taking part in your winter writing sanctuary, inspired by problems in my personal life. I was looking for a way of expression that wasn't verbal, but a way of getting thoughts out of my head. I have to say a huge thank you. Your course has made me realise that I am a writer, but also has been very cathartic. My writing will continue beyond the emotional recovery.
Is that your actual typewriter? It’s a beautiful colour - an Olivetti?
Enjoyed your writing - full of courage. I am absolutely fear-full about my writing. It all new to me.
That said, I always say I don’t aspire to be fearless - I talk about fear as a frenemy. It serves purpose and no fear leaves us reckless. Yet perhaps when we point fear at a very specific action, or task - we can aspire to be fearless?
So much relief reading this. The Japanese parts resonate the most right now. I have JLPT 1 and my degrees are Linguistics and teaching (which was based on teaching Japanese) and I'm pretty sure your Japanese level is well above mine because I fell into learning Japanese through living there and avoided doing anything formally until I realised it might help to have a certificate. Seeing that the self doubt will never go away no matter how much more you keep studying is so good to hear!
But I will say that my heart was happy hearing your pronunciation of Japanese words in the Winter Writing Sanctuary. I know from reading your background that your Japanese and knowledge of Japan is fantastic, but hearing you pronounce the words and the quality of energy you said them with gave me that heartfelt sense of "ahhhhh... she really gets it".
I will be coming back to this to digest the other points too <3
It’s my belief that ideas are out there in the ether just waiting for someone to agree to flesh them out! I know this to be true because I have gotten ideas that someone else has birthed.
"I don’t write books because I have all the answers. I write books because I have so many questions." I love this so much! I've recently started writing again, and I feel like the process of dumping my thoughts on a screen and then organizing them into a way that might make sense to other people helps ME make sense of the world. Didn't know how much I needed it until I started, but now I have no idea why I ever tried to process things internally 😂
Thank you for the new perspective of self-doubt.
As a new member l am thoroughly enjoying working my way through all your posts and there's so much to learn, thank you Beth!!! The confession about guilt with family and writing rings so true and needing to devote some quiet time for writing. Can't wait to keep reading and what an amazing community you have created here. I am so grateful to you and everyone else for being here xxx💜💜💜
I’ve published three books and am revising my fourth. Yes to so much of what you share here. Writing is my air. And it’s the thing that holds so many of the unknowns in my life. What a stunning paradox!
Gosh this is so good. I just saw a FB add for a LTO (low ticket offer) that had this exact undertone of marketing.
The upsell offer had “YES INCLUDE THIS UPRADE WITH MY ORDER.” Right under that button it said “No thanks. I’d prefer to spend weeks figuring this process out on my own.”
Would be so curious to hear your thoughts on that Beth. It stirs me up. This type of language in marketing is shaming and disregards a persons own agency by saying “you must get what I have in order to be okay.”
I’m a therapist so sometimes I read into language maybe too much. But if you’re a person who has experienced trauma (which strips away agency) you will fall for this marketing tactic over and over. Giving the person money while you may be left not feeling empowered yourself wondering, watching the course but not taking action, then wondering what you’re doing wrong.
Okay sorry, off my soap box. Thanks again Beth for this letter. It spoke to me obviously 🙃
Bowing to the beauty of this post, so many healthy and hearty confessions.
I absolutely resonate with number one and two, I smiled at number 2, I recently published something in the same vein, I absolutely NEED to get away from everyone, even my most loved ones and create, my mental health is at stake, so I’ve finally learned not to judge this part of me.
Truly appreciate the openness throughout your writing, what a breath of fresh air!
I love reading your words. Such clarity, such ease. It's nice to hear about some of the background of the writer's life. In many ways, I find you a super woman, (being a mother, business owner and writer), yet, human when you share how life in your family looks like with this as your work. Super cool. xx
Yes... thank you Beth! This all resonates... 🙏🙏🙏🌄
I have just finished the audiobook Wabi Sabi. It’s a beautifully written book and narrated by Beth. Now to start The Way of the Fearless Writer.
I love reading your essays on here. I have recently started my own SubStack and am slowly figuring it out. Your confessions are so true to me too. Having three little ones makes it hard to find the quiet time, but I recently have set that boundary and made my writing sanctuary. It is important for all of us that I get to have my writing. It makes me a better person, mom and wife. Thank you for making me feel like I'm not the worst mom in the world and I am not alone in feeling like I deserve to go after my dreams even while they are little.
Ah Beth...just this morning while working on lesson four of 'How to get a book deal', many questions running through my mind, wishing I could just call you up and ask them! Well...the universe just answered two of those questions, in #confession 1 and #confession 5. Confirmation that we are never alone, even in isolation, we are never alone. Thankyou.
I have never considered myself a writer, a dabbler...dipping my toe into poetry when ever inspriration struck. However, I'm in the process of taking part in your winter writing sanctuary, inspired by problems in my personal life. I was looking for a way of expression that wasn't verbal, but a way of getting thoughts out of my head. I have to say a huge thank you. Your course has made me realise that I am a writer, but also has been very cathartic. My writing will continue beyond the emotional recovery.
I have never considered myself a writer, a dabbler...dipping my toe into poetry when ever inspriration struck. However, I'm in the process of taking part in your winter writing sanctuary, inspired by problems in my personal life. I was looking for a way of expression that wasn't verbal, but a way of getting thoughts out of my head. I have to say a huge thank you. Your course has made me realise that I am a writer, but also has been very cathartic. My writing will continue beyond the emotional recovery.
Is that your actual typewriter? It’s a beautiful colour - an Olivetti?
Enjoyed your writing - full of courage. I am absolutely fear-full about my writing. It all new to me.
That said, I always say I don’t aspire to be fearless - I talk about fear as a frenemy. It serves purpose and no fear leaves us reckless. Yet perhaps when we point fear at a very specific action, or task - we can aspire to be fearless?
So much relief reading this. The Japanese parts resonate the most right now. I have JLPT 1 and my degrees are Linguistics and teaching (which was based on teaching Japanese) and I'm pretty sure your Japanese level is well above mine because I fell into learning Japanese through living there and avoided doing anything formally until I realised it might help to have a certificate. Seeing that the self doubt will never go away no matter how much more you keep studying is so good to hear!
But I will say that my heart was happy hearing your pronunciation of Japanese words in the Winter Writing Sanctuary. I know from reading your background that your Japanese and knowledge of Japan is fantastic, but hearing you pronounce the words and the quality of energy you said them with gave me that heartfelt sense of "ahhhhh... she really gets it".
I will be coming back to this to digest the other points too <3
It’s my belief that ideas are out there in the ether just waiting for someone to agree to flesh them out! I know this to be true because I have gotten ideas that someone else has birthed.
"I don’t write books because I have all the answers. I write books because I have so many questions." I love this so much! I've recently started writing again, and I feel like the process of dumping my thoughts on a screen and then organizing them into a way that might make sense to other people helps ME make sense of the world. Didn't know how much I needed it until I started, but now I have no idea why I ever tried to process things internally 😂