Here’s how you can take control of your writer’s journey:

Welcome to The Writing Rundown, a weekly newsletter that offers advice, short essays, and reading suggestions to help driven writers improve their writing craft. It's nice to see you here! If someone forwarded you this email because they love your writing, you can subscribe here.

Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

“Write your dreams in a journal, note book, card or on a cork. When you pen down your dreams, an inner strength and divine power is activated for you to work towards the fulfillment of your dreams.” ― Lailah Gifty Akita

Elisa’s Thought for the Week

Does this sound like you?

...You’ve been trying to get your big dream writing project finished, but it never seems to get any further, because you can’t give it 100% of your energy.

...The more blog posts you read, and podcasts you listen to, and videos you watch — the more overwhelming it becomes to just start.

...You’ve received good feedback from people you know, who you’ve shared your project with, but you’re still not convinced you could actually succeed as an award-winning writer.

I’ve got some good news! You don’t need a bunch of complicated tools or degrees or extensive grammar studies to take your writing to the next level.

Whether you are a writer who is just starting out, or a writer who needs to improve their craft, or a writer who is ready to really skyrocket…there is a way that you can get there.

You can make your words even better, and it doesn’t have to be hard.

With our Cyber Monday Deal releasing on…well…Monday…I’ve created a special top secret Black Friday deal exclusively for The Writing Rundown subscribers.

Right now, you can sign up for this action-packed series of resources, memberships, and events throughout the month of December for only $97.

That’s almost 40% off the Cyber Monday Price that everyone else will have to pay, starting in the wee hours of Monday morning.

With this special deal, you can focus on not only how to improve your writing craft, but more importantly how to improve yourself as a writer.

See, that’s the thing I find with writers who are struggling.

It isn’t just about finding the right words, or the magic structure, or the perfect prose.

It’s about being the strongest writing version of yourself that you can be.

I’ve created a writer’s journaling system, and surrounding series of events and resources, to help you do just that:

- The Writer’s Journaling System

- Lifetime Access to 2022 Annual Review Workshop Replays and Materials

- 90-Day Access [Jan-Mar 2023] to Premium TWJS Membership in Close the Gap

- 3-Year Access [2023-2026] to Standard Membership in Close the Gap

- 1-Hour 2023 Planning Workshop

If you’re ready to finally level up your writing, and invest in yourself, check out how you can get started on the next phase of your journey.

What You Missed on Craft Your Content …

Our articles have the same mission we do — to help you to make your words even better!

• Want to give friends and family some ideas for what to buy from you this gift giving season? Or just want a list to buy all sorts of goodies for yourself? We have you covered with our 2022 Gift Guide for Writers — featuring 70 gifts!

In Other Reading This Week …

Need more insights and inspiration for your writing and mindset?​
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• This piece from Hamish McKenzie, on how he became Chief Writing Officer at Substack, and why writing needs more value in the world, is like a siren call.
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• As we come up on the end of the year, it’s a time for us to take stock of what we’ve done, and figure out what to do next. Naume Guveya explains on Literal Humans that maintaining your old content may be as valuable as creating new content.​
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• There’s a massive productivity tax you pay each time you switch focus from one task to another. It’s possible, but as Elaine Myer asks on Twist, “Is context switching worth it?”​
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• ​“We have hundreds of ways to get shit done, and we still don’t.” When a tech article hits Wired you know it’s serious, and Clive Thompson writes about the massive amount of software & tools promising to help you master all your tasks, while mastering none of them.
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• I’m so feckin’ happy to see this piece from The Guardian further confirming — via scientific studies — all the great things that swearing can bring to your life (and writing!)​
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Weekly Writing Tip …

A quick chance to learn from the masters.

“He began to write his thoughts and observations concerning the day's events [...] It helped him better understand everything he had seen and done over the course of the day.” ― Christopher Paolini, Inheritance

Untranslatable …

Exquisite words from other languages.

Jijivisha [ji-gee-vee-sha] (n.) From the Hindi जिजीविषा, it is a strong wish to live. But the word goes deeper, it is living life to its highest sense of being. It is a love of life, with intense emotions and ambitious desires. Sorta synonyms: indomitable spirit, bon vivant, pleasuremonger, sybarite

This Week’s Writing Prompt …

We often do our thinking when we write.

What does the strongest writing version of yourself look like? What are they doing? How do they feel?

For the Upcoming Week …

Because we all need a good chuckle to start things off right!

It’s important to know your strengths. 🤷‍♀️
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Cheers ~